Taper turning a barrel.

You have two options; one is to turn the taper as a series of intervals using the compound set to somewhere around 1/2 degree to 1 degree. You will have to figure the amount out by trial and error. The second method is to offset the tail stock and support the breach end with a faceplate and center. That means recentering the tail stock again afterwards.

cheers mooncoon
 
It helps to have a steady rest on the barrel.
My lathe has a taper attachment, have not had occasion to use it yet. I am just over an hour's drive.
 
If that barrel is an original Lee-Metford barrel in good condition, turning it will destroy its value. Lee-Metford barrels aren't exactly easy to come by.
It's been a very long time, but I don't recall there being such a thing as a tapering attachment. It was setting up the tool head to cut a taper. Mind you, I suspect it'd depend on the lathe.
 
The taper attachments I have used involve a heavy base mounted on the offside of the bed, with a dovtailed top which can be set for the desired taper. The cross slide has a slide fixed to the taper attachment. As the carriage moves lengthwise the in and out movement of the tool is controlled by the taper attachment, and the taper is generated. Feed depth is controlled using the compound. The one on my Standard Modern 1340 is the better part of two feet long; the one on the SB heavy 10 I used to use was shorter.
 
It's been a very long time, but I don't recall there being such a thing as a tapering attachment. It was setting up the tool head to cut a taper. Mind you, I suspect it'd depend on the lathe.

Taper attachments are very common on the older South Bend and Atlas lathes. They aren't as common now, but still available.
 
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