Why won't my gunsmith cut back the barrel??

bazza

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I really want to have the 22" barrel cut back to 18", BUT my gunsmith says it is impossible (and would damage his tools). Is he an outright liar who should be horse-whipped??? Surely it can't be that hard to cut back a chrome lined barrel...:(:(:mad:
 
yer gunsmith is wrong, plain wrong :D
I've even done the job myself and I am certainly no machinist
too bad you are in new Zealand as this is a routine procedure and easily done in Canada by several outfits.
if your gunsmith needs to know the correct bit and speed ...... give me a holler and i'll get the details .... but he should know already ;)
 
Getting a good crown with chrome lining can be problematic. One approach is to make the cut and then separately polish the crown

ht tp://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=3&f=4&t=163122

ht tp://m14forum.com/accuracy/108695-re-crowning-chrome-barrels.html
 
I believe the correct way to cut a chrome lined barrel is to use a lathe to protect the plating - he may not have the tools to do the job. Most gunsmiths try to stay in their lane, if he won't do it, there'll be someone somewhere who will.
 
the gunsmith doesn't want to do that job . probably afraid the chrome will peel off and he will be stuck with fixing / replacing the barrel .

it is also possible he doesn't have any tooling hard enough to properly cut through the chrome .

calling the guy names is just silly , he probably just saved himself a great deal of money and grief by turning down the job .
 
I really want to have the 22" barrel cut back to 18", BUT my gunsmith says it is impossible (and would damage his tools). Is he an outright liar who should be horse-whipped??? Surely it can't be that hard to cut back a chrome lined barrel...:(:(:mad:

His tools his rules.

If its that easy, you can do it yourself; right?

Sounds like the truth is somewhere in between him being due a horse whipping and it being impossible.
 
Find another gunsmith.


Or rather... "Find a gunsmith"


'Lot of hacks out there... 'Anyone who owns a dremel can call themselves a "gunsmith", but... they ain't.

I know of ONE fully skilled/qualified "gunsmith" within reasonable distance of where I live... 'Only guy I'd have "cut" anything.
 
Or rather... "Find a gunsmith"


'Lot of hacks out there... 'Anyone who owns a dremel can call themselves a "gunsmith", but... they ain't.

I know of ONE fully skilled/qualified "gunsmith" within reasonable distance of where I live... 'Only guy I'd have "cut" anything.

That is correct, unfortunately...ANYBODY can call themselves a 'smith. And will screw up a good pistol with their half baked ideas.
 
Find someone here in Canada (or at home in NZ) to trade barrels with you! When there were no shorties,
everyone was paying to have their full length barrels shortened, and when there were no F.L.rifles available,
everyone seemed to be lamenting the fact that they were unavailable! I've got one of each,
and the zen-like satisfaction that goes with that, but the F.L. gets more range time, FWIW.
 
I've dropped off 10 barrels in one shot, more than once or twice, at Dlask Arms and all 10 were done in a few short hours.
I can understand a guy's hesitation to cut and crown a chrome lined barrel. If he pooches it he's replacing it.
From wattching joe I've done my own.
Mr chop saw to buck her down to 19" , then the lathe to turn her back to 18.75 and crown thread. I don't think it's necessarily child's play.. But to a gunsmith with machining background it should be.
 
Or rather... "Find a gunsmith"


'Lot of hacks out there... 'Anyone who owns a dremel can call themselves a "gunsmith", but... they ain't.

I know of ONE fully skilled/qualified "gunsmith" within reasonable distance of where I live... 'Only guy I'd have "cut" anything.

Id cut It my self and when I screwed it up I would ask my gunsmith to make a brand new match barrel and say screw it might as well upgrade...

To cut the Norico you have to then adjust the gas system then remount the front sight and it's royal pain in the rear. The CFO also gets very angry if anyone cuts anything for any reason legal or not they hassle the crap out of people that do that... If you have a new barrel made it's allot simpler...

On top of that most customers complain like no tomorrow when a stock costs the same as the rifle to make and they go well china sells a 400 dollar rifle why can't you make the stock for less... Its time is money and it's not mass produced on slave labor but people complain over pennys sometimes... That's why most gun smiths look at that gun and go I rather not touch them with a 10 foot pole because of the cheap customers who love to complain. I had this same exact answer from 4 differen't gunsmiths on why they hate dealing with the rifle because of the cheapo customer that comes with it.

It really doesn't make much difference with a slightly longer barrel think about it's just a few inches. That gives you more velocity which means it's more powerful and it's noticeable. To shorten the barrel you also lose the muzzle break as they tend to be welded on so thread the barrel put a new muzzle break on put a new gas system in so you can have the front sight again and your looking at the following.

M14 adjustable gas lock $159.99
M14/M305 BARREL CUTTING AND TARGET CROWNING $44.99
M14/M305 MUZZLE THREADING SERVICE $65.00

Then add a muzzle break for around $60-130... still worth it because that's what's on Dlask Arms website... Just search M14
 
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