Truing a fowler barrel?

I have an original 43" barreled steel (not damascus) 14ga. fowler barrel in fair condition that needs to end of the barrel recut to true it it up from damage...Should it trust it to a local gunsmith/machine shop...or is ther someone on this forum who performs this service?

Thanks...

You are talking about squaring the end of the muzzle, Right? Why not do it yourself? Any local machine shop or gunsmith should be able to do this for you, if you don't want to tackle the work.

If I were going to square this muzzle(and I have done this on a couple of guns), I would put masking tape around the muzzle. Then I would use a tape measure to measure from the back of the barrel to a point at the muzzle where I want to cut the barrel, and that will remove the damaged section. Mark lines all the way around the barrel, connecting them by using an index card folded around the barrel to give you a "Straight Edge" around the curves.

Once I have a line that is square to the bore, I can use a hack saw, and files to cut the barrel to the line. With a MLer, I then crown the muzzle by using a coned surface( a carriage bolt head works) and some emery cloth to polish and round the inside curve of the muzzle.

I know men who glue the emery cloth to the bolt head, then chuck the bolt into a brace, and use the brace to turn the abrasive around the muzzle. It certainly removes metal faster.

If you have a floor stand drill press, with a large enough chuck, you can use it to polish the crown and round that inside edge.

A lathe could be used, alternatively, to Cut the inside curve or bevel in the new muzzle.

Most of us don't have these kinds of power tools available. But, local machine shops do. :thumbsup:

Well, I'll throw my opinion in the ring too:

Take it to a local machine shop accompanied with a dozen donuts or equal barter.

Have them secure the breech in the chuck of a lathe and use a steady rest to support the end of the barrel to be cut. It's only way to get the cut square to the bore. If it is chucked near where it is cut (being a thinner barrel), the barrel could(will) collapse, as the breech is unsupported and will whip on centrifugal force, triangulating the barrel.

Attempting to match the results of a lathe with handtools is futile. Laying out would be difficult, simply wrapping cardstock around the circumference of a tapered barrel will not establish a plane 90 degrees to the bore.

Again, just another opinion.

-Ron

I apparently have the advantage of having a machinist's square, and know how to use the depth gauge of a caliper to square a edge of any tube to the inside of the barrel. I don't think there is any mystery, or great skill to doing so.

Using card stock, without FIRST marking your masking tape with a ruler or tape measure measuring from the breech of the barrel would have you relying on the cutting of the outside of the barrel being "plumb " to the bore. You are correct in that this would be a false assumption. It may be plumb, but it also may not be. It all depends on who made the barrel originally. Its less likely that the breech end of the barrel has been cut out of Plumb with the bore.

I use either my machist's square, or, in a Pinch, my caliper's depth stem to check the square of the bore to my muzzle during final filing.

The Proof of the pudding, so to speak, comes in firing the gun with its new muzzle. If its a shotgun, a Non-square ball will throw both shot and RB loads away from the POA. Filing the muzzle on the side of the barrel in the direction to which the ball or pattern is thrown, will move them back to POA. Even a lathe will not put a RB or shot pattern on target with POA on a barrel that is not plumb bored. If you do support a barrel in the lathe at both the breech, and then just behind the muzzle, you will see how much "Drift", or run-out" shows at the muzzle. The only way I know to use a lathe to square the end to the bore is to use centers at both ends of the pipe. That should have been done when the outside of the barrel was turned, or machined.

I have used the center in my tailstock to allow me to cut through the barrel most of the way, but not through, so as to not endanger cutting that center. Then the barrel is removed, and the cut is finished with files or saws. If the bore drifts at the muzzle, I at least know what is needed to be done to get the barrel shooting to POA.

I'm wondering, how many barrels have you cut off? :hmm:

me too

I have done several, including a DB shotgun. Its not some thing I want to do every day, nor enjoy doing. But I only had hand tools, and managed. It took a bit of thinking, that's all. I am sure there are lots of ways to do it. The lathe I had access to was very old, and did not have the best rails. I measured everything 3 times, and cut once, and spent 4 times as much time setting that up to cut than I have ever done on other lathes. I even ended up putting a small wedge between a rail and the tailstock, to remove some " wiggle".

A lathe has ways, not rails.

Bretwalda said:

I have an original 43" barreled steel (not damascus) 14ga. fowler barrel in fair condition that needs to end of the barrel recut to true it it up from damage...Should it trust it to a local gunsmith/machine shop...or is ther someone on this forum who performs this service?

Thanks...

Click to expand...

Bretwalda

I would take it to a gunsmith.

If you would like someone from this forum to do it “PT” them, or advertise in the classified part of this forum under “Services Wanted”.


Good luck
Tinker2

Either way figure $60 - $80 / hr and at least an hour of time to setup and make the part, face and chamfer. The proper way to do this is to indicate off of the axis of the bore but I reckon that won't work real well in this instance. Especially if this is a very old and inconsistent barrel.

If the bore is a "common" size and is consistent in diameter then Midway USA and Brownells offer crowning tools that are run by a drill press and or electric drill. the tools pilot off of the bore and after you hacksaw it off the tools square to the bore, crown, etc.

My opinion on this is just hack-saw and file. It's not a clock-works here. I know, some people just aren't that confident with hand tools, but you should be able to square up the muzzle very close by eye. As this is a fowler, and not a rifle, a bit of discrepancy shouldn't hurt a whole heck of a lot. As I've spent all my working days in machine shops, this sort of thing is just run of the mill.
Just my 2¢ worth.

fitter said:

A lathe has ways, not rails.

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Fitter


I have had a lathe that had rails, or rail anyway.
It had been made out of a chunk of train track rail.

The rail was cut like this anvil, so you can picture it in you head, just longer.

A rail anvil.




Tinker2

Paul

Thanks for answering the original posters question.

I wish more people had your courage in trying to help people here that asked questions on this forum. You leave your self wide open to all sorts of ridicule from people who offer no help.

I don’t always do things the way someone else does, but I am always open to other ways and ideas. There is more then one way to skin a cat.

I for one hope that you continue to share what you can.


Thanks
Tinker2

R.M. said:

My opinion on this is just hack-saw and file.

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R.M.

That’s most likely the way I would do it, also most likely the way my gunsmith would do it.

For a top notch machined rifle type crown my gunsmith would charge me $40.



Tinker2

I wish more people had your courage in trying to help people here that asked questions on this forum. You leave your self wide open to all sorts of ridicule from people who offer no help.

Click to expand...

Well crapola if you want to know how I do it I'll tell ya. Grab a damned hack saw and lope the barrel off and square the SOB up with a file. Presto Change-o DONE! Problem is, most folks don't have the courage I do when it comes to these sorts of things so I keep my mouth shut. If we all start taking the "V" man's writings seriously the world is gong to become a very scary place..... :haha:

now Mike :shake: have patience........ :rotf: What are we gonna do with you........ :idunno:

Sounds like we are reinventing a wheel, eh ? :hmm:

If it was over 1/8" I would take it to a verticle belt sander & sand the end flat & then smooth the edge off with a piece of 600 paper on a wood block.

If it was more than 1/8" required to clean it up, hack saw it off, then to belt sander & square it off.

All of that stuff with a lathe is just time consuming & totally unnecessary. Well.... unless ya are in the machine shop business & then you want it to be REAL technical, cause that is what pays your bills :wink:

hacksaw, file.

I have a lathe and only do them on it when i have a quantity to do. To chop off a barrel cut it off with a saw and file it clean. You can buy a cone shape stone at any big box store to take off the inside burr.

stone - $2.99
file - 8.00
hacksaw- 12.00

ttl. - $22.99

having done it yourself - priceless

""All of that stuff with a lathe is just time consuming & totally unnecessary. Well.... unless ya are in the machine shop business & then you want it to be REAL technical, cause that is what pays your bills""

I'd rather have the dozen donuts :grin:

I'm a machinist, and yes I have lathes available. To me it's a matter of a few minutes. :idunno:

I'd rather have the dozen donuts

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Donuts? I must have missed out on that. I'd rather have donuts than cut off barrels any day. :haha:

I did my .375 smoothie with a hacksaw, file and a machinists square. Before I retired the boys in the machine room could have done it for me on one of the Bridgeports. More fun doing it yourself.
R