Now that is a thread name..... flame suit ready.
I thought I would share this in order to help another in need. I have a circa 1930s 4c for some time now. It was one bought as a project some years ago on the EE. It did not have a bolt and I did find one from a back east CGNer. Although it functioned, I was always concerned about the years of dry firing before me that hammered the chamber end of the barrel. So this week I took on the charge....that barrel was coming off.
Before I did so I researched around the net. Found nothing really on the 4c in particular. I read of the importance of headspace from top smiths in the 22lr benchrest realm. The suggestions I read were 2-3 thou headspace clearance. The main thing was to not have loose headspace and risk ruptures. And to avoid too tight and risk crushing and firing upon chambering. So then I thought.....can a hack do it yourself type at least get this to a tree rat level of accuracy. Well...the story begins from there.
I ended up drilling out the barrel/receiver pin. It was stuck well and had to resort to bubba level stress relief. Out came the hand drill (no drill press in my mancave). In quick order, the pin was gone and the barrel did not move. Next on to the pressing out phase. I used a 6" clamp, socket and extension and used the receiver as a purchase point...1/2 turn of the clamp and the barrel was free. Noticeably free from rust for an old girl like this I thought.
With the barrel removed from the receiver I had a closer look at the barrel. The indent from the firing pin was at least 20 thou. Extraction grooves were not even (way off center and deeper even into the chamber on one side. I would get frequent FTF and extraction issues and clearly this was the issue in front of me. So, what would a good bush fixer do....get out your flat file of course.
I removed 22thou of the barrel, inspected with my handy lens and a empty new cartridge. Checked with my square and managed to get an even flat face with the cartridge/barrel clearance even. Sanded with 220 and blued to finish. checked with a live round chambered and it slipped into the barrel without any obstruction, and did not hit the lands of the rifling. So in the end I did not remove a lot of the chamber (barrel looks like new inside so don't think erosion is the issue, just a long jump from chambering.)
Still not finished, I had to remove metal from the front face of the receiver. Because the barrel on a 4c has a shoulder it will stop at the receiver. So I removed 20 thou from the receiver and checked. I used a dummy case (bullet removed and set the barrel, receiver and bolt in place. All came together but still a bit long. Dummy case still had some space, so a couple thou more and all was in order.
After replacing the barrel, JB weld to set in place, then drill out the cross pin hole and replace cross pin with JB. Now I was ready to do a test. A dummy round was chambered, I fired and found a perfect indent with slight crush on the back of the dummy round. Perfect if not a bit tight. Will sort out with a few 1000 rounds of use again. Now I am back to perhaps better than new headspace for the federal cartridge I was using before in this rifle.
We will see if this ol girl shoots as straight as it did before my bush fix. Not trying to portray any sort of precision here. Just sayin it can be done. Would I rather use a lathe and learn the best way..yes. Again..if you were out back in the hills could you do it...yes. Be careful, research, test, small cuts and check then recheck. In the end I could challenge myself on setting my first 22LR headspace without the aid of the correct tools. (I do not advocate doing this yourself and seek a professional, done wrong and you could end up hurt or worse) For me I had nothing to loose but some learning experience.
Just thought I would share a moment of bubba with you.
Elky….
I thought I would share this in order to help another in need. I have a circa 1930s 4c for some time now. It was one bought as a project some years ago on the EE. It did not have a bolt and I did find one from a back east CGNer. Although it functioned, I was always concerned about the years of dry firing before me that hammered the chamber end of the barrel. So this week I took on the charge....that barrel was coming off.
Before I did so I researched around the net. Found nothing really on the 4c in particular. I read of the importance of headspace from top smiths in the 22lr benchrest realm. The suggestions I read were 2-3 thou headspace clearance. The main thing was to not have loose headspace and risk ruptures. And to avoid too tight and risk crushing and firing upon chambering. So then I thought.....can a hack do it yourself type at least get this to a tree rat level of accuracy. Well...the story begins from there.
I ended up drilling out the barrel/receiver pin. It was stuck well and had to resort to bubba level stress relief. Out came the hand drill (no drill press in my mancave). In quick order, the pin was gone and the barrel did not move. Next on to the pressing out phase. I used a 6" clamp, socket and extension and used the receiver as a purchase point...1/2 turn of the clamp and the barrel was free. Noticeably free from rust for an old girl like this I thought.
With the barrel removed from the receiver I had a closer look at the barrel. The indent from the firing pin was at least 20 thou. Extraction grooves were not even (way off center and deeper even into the chamber on one side. I would get frequent FTF and extraction issues and clearly this was the issue in front of me. So, what would a good bush fixer do....get out your flat file of course.
I removed 22thou of the barrel, inspected with my handy lens and a empty new cartridge. Checked with my square and managed to get an even flat face with the cartridge/barrel clearance even. Sanded with 220 and blued to finish. checked with a live round chambered and it slipped into the barrel without any obstruction, and did not hit the lands of the rifling. So in the end I did not remove a lot of the chamber (barrel looks like new inside so don't think erosion is the issue, just a long jump from chambering.)
Still not finished, I had to remove metal from the front face of the receiver. Because the barrel on a 4c has a shoulder it will stop at the receiver. So I removed 20 thou from the receiver and checked. I used a dummy case (bullet removed and set the barrel, receiver and bolt in place. All came together but still a bit long. Dummy case still had some space, so a couple thou more and all was in order.
After replacing the barrel, JB weld to set in place, then drill out the cross pin hole and replace cross pin with JB. Now I was ready to do a test. A dummy round was chambered, I fired and found a perfect indent with slight crush on the back of the dummy round. Perfect if not a bit tight. Will sort out with a few 1000 rounds of use again. Now I am back to perhaps better than new headspace for the federal cartridge I was using before in this rifle.
We will see if this ol girl shoots as straight as it did before my bush fix. Not trying to portray any sort of precision here. Just sayin it can be done. Would I rather use a lathe and learn the best way..yes. Again..if you were out back in the hills could you do it...yes. Be careful, research, test, small cuts and check then recheck. In the end I could challenge myself on setting my first 22LR headspace without the aid of the correct tools. (I do not advocate doing this yourself and seek a professional, done wrong and you could end up hurt or worse) For me I had nothing to loose but some learning experience.
Just thought I would share a moment of bubba with you.
Elky….
