Coneing, I did it. Joe wood tool

CWC said:

I tried that email and got an unable to deliver failure response. Are there any on-line stores that carry the tool, or do you have to order direct from him?

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Hmmmmm, you're right, just bounced back from me too ... will do some more looking for you!

If I find, for some reason, he is out of business, then I might sell the 45 tool I have, though I will keep the 50cal tool, even though all I shoot as of late if flint smoothbores : thumbsup: !

The Firelock Shop
5311 Briar St.
Amarillo, TX 79109

806-352-3032

That number worked. Thanks a lot! I already called and ordered my coning tool.

I got a chance to see Mike Millers work on Saturday at Friendship. The design of his coning is really pretty. I was amazed by it.

I asked the guy at the Rice Barrel booth what he thought of coning. He said he didn't see how it could effect accuracy as long as it was done properly. (something about a lathe and such things) He directed me to Mike's booth.

I talked to Mike for about a half hour about gun building. He was very helpful.

Purty guns!!

I used spray adhesive because I could not find carpet tape. It was a bit messy, but the results were great. I not longer use a short starter and the process did not effect accuracy. :applause: and :hatsoff: to Mr. Woods.

I need to have my 58 cal. coned. Not only is it difficult to load, the patch gets torn from the sharp edges.

I have coned both of my .58's with Joe's coning tool. I wouldn't have a barrel that wasn't coned now. Best money spent.

I have seen the coning tool mentioned a few times. Is it caliber specific? Does anyone have a photo of this beastie?

Its caliber specific. :thumbsup:

Pork Chop said:

I have seen the coning tool mentioned a few times. Is it caliber specific? Does anyone have a photo of this beastie?

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They are caliber specific. I'll not post a photo so to keep Joe's secret.

They're top notch for sure!

HD

This one has a pilot and a stop.
http://www.benchrest.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3053&d=1145991081

That sure looks like a chamber reamer for centerfire rifles. I've got several. The coning tool is a completely different deal.

Pork Chop said:

I have seen the coning tool mentioned a few times. Is it caliber specific? Does anyone have a photo of this beastie?

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Page two has a photo.

So if the coning is putting a tapper in the end of a barrel why is a reamer not a good idea?

I haven't coned yet, but understand the process pretty well. I have used chamber reamers numerous times building centerfire rifles, and once even helping ream a TC-style QLS muzzle for a friend who insisted on having it.

There are two major differences: Degree, and expense. You just aren't removing much metal with a cone job, and it would be really easy to go too far with a reamer. And take it from me- you aren't going to get a custom, micrometer adjust reamer for the $42 cost of a Woods coner.

I guess there's a third important difference. You aren't going to be using a reamer by hand, either.

A reamer is MUCH more aggressive than the Joe Wood tool. Also, the pilot on the coning tool is exact bore size to keep the tool perfectly centered. The taper of the cone is very slight, just enough to allow you to thumb start a patched ball. It is also very smooth since you are using very fine grit (I went up to 600 grit) paper to do the cutting. Reamers are used for a totally different purpose -- usually cutting chambers on modern cartridge rifles.

I am a machinist by trade. I am laid of from a shop that makes cutting tools. I am not familiar with the reamers that are used in gunsmithing. I am just trying to get an understanding of the whole coning process. I am planing on building a flintlock ml. If you had a reamer with the correct angle and pilots to match the bore then the reamer would be able to cone a barrel right?

I think a reamer would work, but the cost of making it for this kind of work would be prohibitive. You are basically tapering a bore so that the muzzle is at Groove diameter, and 2-3 inches back of the muzzle the lands are at the bore diameter. In between, the lands have been reduced by abrasion to taper down to the groove diameter at the muzzle. There is relief behind the muzzle that is just enough to allow a PRB to be pushed into the barrel, flush with the muzzle, by thumb pressure, so that the patch material can be cut off the traditional way with a patch knife at the muzzle. Then the ball is run down the barrel with either: 1. First a short starter, and then the ramrod; or. 2. only using the ramrod. The ball is centered in the bore, and the land slowly take a firmer "bite " of the patch and ball as they are pushed down through the tapered section behind the muzzle. The rest of the way, the PRB is loaded down the barrel to the powder charge the conventional way, using a Ramrod that has a mark on it to indicate when the PRB is seating on the powder, and another mark that indicates when the barrel is EMPTY.

I hope this helps. There are several ways that coning tools are made. As a machinist, I am sure you understand metal removal techniques.

Sure, especially with your background and your shop. Heck, just get the specs for the taper on a good coning job and dial it in.

I see a problem with a reamer. The number of flutes on the reamer is important. If the number of flutes was the same as the number of rifling grooves, the reamer could wobble when the flutes were over the grooves. You would need a reamer with at lease twice the number of flutes as there are grooves. I never saw a small dia (.500) reamer with 12 to 16 flutes.

The Wood tool looks like the most precise solution to put a taper into the rifling.