Recrown Basics

[South Pender]

I have a new-to-me rifle that has seen quite a bit of use, and I would like to have the barrel re-crowned. I doubt much metal would need to be removed--just more like a polishing of the crown I suspect--to get it fully cleaned up. I'd have a gunsmith do this as I don't have the tools or expertise to do it myself.
Question: is the barrel typically removed from the action to do this professionally? Or can the crown be kept square to the bore without removing it from the action?

 

[guntech]

If the overall length is short enough and the hole big enough for the barrel to fit out the chuck, it can be done fairly easily.
Sometimes a crown can be freshened by using a piloted 60 degree chamfering reamer by hand.

 

[South Pender]

If the overall length is short enough and the hole big enough for the barrel to fit out the chuck, it can be done fairly easily.
Sometimes a crown can be freshened by using a piloted 60 degree chamfering reamer by hand.

Thanks, guntech, for that info. Are you saying that the barrel would be removed and then fit into a lathe? I don't fully understand what you wrote. On the other hand, can doing it by hand (using the 60 degree chamfering reamer) produce a really good job, keeping everything square?

 

[tiriaq]

Can the barrel can be passed through the lathe's spindle without being removed from the receiver? Depends on the barrel length, the lathe, sights on the barrel, etc.
If it can't be set up this way, then the barrel might have to be removed - and this complicates the job considerably.
A piloted cutter is perhaps the easiest and fastest way to touch up a crown.

 

[hunter5425]

I haven't fitted a barrel for years but when I did I used the aforementioned 60 degree piloted chamfer tool to finish the job removing any burrs that might exist. If the crown isn't too bad this would work. Out of curiosity how does it shoot now?

 

[woodchopper]

Can the barrel can be passed through the lathe's spindle without being removed from the receiver? Depends on the barrel length, the lathe, sights on the barrel, etc.
If it can't be set up this way, then the barrel might have to be removed - and this complicates the job considerably.
A piloted cutter is perhaps the easiest and fastest way to touch up a crown.

as an example the lathe I use has a 1 3/4" spindle and the headstock is about 20" So I can do most rifle crowns without removing the barrel from the action. However some rifles with shorter barrels are a problem and the receiver must enter into the spindle and if the receiver is bigger then 1 3/4" or irregularly shaped and wont center well then I have problems. Say a Win 94 with a 18 1/2" barrel becomes a problem for me to crown, a lot more setup is required.

 

[Leeper]

For short barrels, I made extensions which I could just thread onto the barrel to allow me to center it in the headstock. The use of a piloted reamer, by hand, to touch up a crown is a viable method and can result in a good job, It can also result in a poor job if the worker is a klutz.

 

[tiriaq]

For short barrels, I made extensions which I could just thread onto the barrel to allow me to center it in the headstock. The use of a piloted reamer, by hand, to touch up a crown is a viable method and can result in a good job, It can also result in a poor job if the worker is a klutz.

A variation on this theme is a piece which is a close fit in the spindle bore, and has a protruding center.

 

[slug]

This has worked well for me.