Need a 'shotgun' barrel straightened

PGW Steve

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Pending the outcome of a Canada Post claim, and a lead on a new barrel, I'm looking for a smith with the skills and tools to straighten a barrel.

It is an aluminum barrel off a Crosman 1100 CO2 powered shotgun and it is bent at the equivalent of a Remington's barrel/mag tube nut. The total cast-off is 1".

Thanks in advance.
 
Didn't even know co2 shotguns existed.....must either be horribly inefficient with the co2 or very slow muzzle velocity and sort range? Kind of neat though.

Aluminum can be tough to work on, I think your best bet (without me being a Smith, though I suspect not many smiths have tried to bend aluminum barrels) would be too use medium heat around the general area where it bent, but not to much heat. My understanding is you'd want it just starting to glow a little, and put very gentle force on it.

To make sure you don't collapse it, you'd be wise to plug the ends if the barrel and fill it with sand. That way, when you bend, you likely won't crease it etc. Try using something with a large radius to bend against, something like a concrete curb or similar. Something that you can bend against and not risk creasing or denting it.

Good luck. Oh also let the barrel and sand cool naturally and slowly, I'd put it in an oven at about 250 F after you've done the bending, let the whole thing heat to 250 ish evenly, and with the door closed turn it off. Let it all cool before opening the door. Less likely to get isolated spots where the heat gradient had weakened it.
 
I doubt anyone can heat an aluminum tube so it is starting to glow a bit... and bend it with gentle force... the aluminum dissipates the heat from where you are heating it so fast, you have to put a lot of heat at it, and usually you will just melt a hole. No slight glow.

The barrel was bent cold, it will bend back cold. It may or may not work. No big loss either way. It's bent now and no good. Worst case it will end up bent and no good.
 
Build a screw press along the lines of the one Brownell's sells, and give it a go.

Skip the heat, that will just ruin the paint and not really help you much.

Got nothing to lose, it'll only end up wrecked, like it is already.

FWIW, there have been a few guys that have cut off their Crosman 1100 barrels pretty short for foolin' around purposes. So if the barrel can be shortened and still be mounted to the gun, it has some residual value.

Shoot a PM off to Leonardj or PABirdman on this Forum, or check out the Canadian Airgun Forum, where there is more of a knowledge base about these.

Not been in production for a bunch of years, but there are still the odd source of new or (more likely) used parts popping up.

Best of luck with the claim. My experiences with making claims for postal damage have amounted to a lot of time wasted that would have been better spent doing something productive.

Cheers
Trev
 
Likely cost you more than the thing is worth, but Precision Arms in King City, Ontario should be able to do it. Whether they will or not is another thing. The Al used in air guns isn't high end.
They were only made until 1971 so Crossman likely will not have parts. These guys are their Canadian shop.
Gravel Agency
866-662-4869
418-682-3343 - Fax
csr@gravelagency.com
 
From my experience with canada post and bent barrels if it can be repaired they will request a formal quotation from a smith and just give the money to repair it and not replace it so this being a non straight forward repair used would be a better option.
Deal with the claim at this stage IMO
Cheers
 
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I doubt anyone can heat an aluminum tube so it is starting to glow a bit... and bend it with gentle force... the aluminum dissipates the heat from where you are heating it so fast, you have to put a lot of heat at it, and usually you will just melt a hole. No slight glow.

The barrel was bent cold, it will bend back cold. It may or may not work. No big loss either way. It's bent now and no good. Worst case it will end up bent and no good.

Fair enough, I've tried bending aluminum tube before with and without heat, and the only time I had real success was with sand in it, and even then, it was no where near perfect. But then, I'm not a smith, just a guy who likes to build and play with stuff, so I'd certainly yield to your advice haha
 
guntech knows what he's talking about.

Very likely that barrel can be straightened with careful approach, meaning proper set-up to avoid damage and to ensure the adjustment is in just the right place without putting other bends in the tube.

IMO in this situation a hand operated arbor press (non hydraulic) with the proper set-up as I have said might work perfectly.

I think even these days factory barrels are straightened before being put on a gun.


How do you know C.P. is responsible? Maybe it was shipped already bent.
 
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Yea I've certainly got lots to learn still, that's for sure. Lots of stuff I've learned doesn't seem to always apply the same with guns....far tighter tolerances in precision stuff and far greater pressures than most other "do it yourself" hobbies I've had (mot saying gunsmithing is diy all the time, but I've tried to make as much as I can a diy thing!)
 
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