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how to measure inside barrel diameter?
- Thread starter Matt85
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Get some Cerrosafe from Track (cheapest place I know of) It melts under 190 degrees. Stuff a wad of paper bowl down the bore, melt and pour in the cerrosafe, with a hooked piece of coat hanger wire or something to make a handle. let cool then pull out measure with calipers.
Cerrosafe www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/1212/1/CERROSAFE
Bill
Cerrosafe www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/1212/1/CERROSAFE
Bill
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Cerrosafe is great for the groove diameter. If you want the bore diameter, that's a tough one.
In order to accurately measure mine I used a Starrett bore micrometer with three points of contact.
Do you know anyone that works in a machine shop, machine tool type of company, or somebody that knows somebody? The reason that I ask is that borrowing one, or better yet taking the barrel only to a shop, would be a great way to go if you could. And they might love having a break from boredom (no pun intended).
In order to accurately measure mine I used a Starrett bore micrometer with three points of contact.
Do you know anyone that works in a machine shop, machine tool type of company, or somebody that knows somebody? The reason that I ask is that borrowing one, or better yet taking the barrel only to a shop, would be a great way to go if you could. And they might love having a break from boredom (no pun intended).
Find a section of 3/8-1/2" brass rod about a foot long and slide in down the bore.
Flatten a ball with a mallet or 2x4 till it's over size for the bore, then pound it into the bore with the same 2x4,
Turn the barrel upsidedown and use the brass rod inside as a hammer to knock it out.
If a ball will fit down the bore loose enough without a patch maybe that can be used instead of a brass rod.
Flatten a ball with a mallet or 2x4 till it's over size for the bore, then pound it into the bore with the same 2x4,
Turn the barrel upsidedown and use the brass rod inside as a hammer to knock it out.
If a ball will fit down the bore loose enough without a patch maybe that can be used instead of a brass rod.
Jethro224 said:
thanks!
hrm no i dont know any one who would have a bore micrometer, not sure of any local machine shops either.
had another person recently recomend hammering a piece of lead in the barrel. i do have some .690 lead balls i suppose i could flatten down. but, where the heck would i get a piece of brass rod that will work?
Hobby Shop?
All you need is something heavy, smaller diameter than the bore and softer than the steel barrel.
Ya might have something around the house??
Cerrosafe is easy too, you can melt it in a soup can. The alloy metal is poured molten at 190,
(less than boiling water)
then in 5 minutes it shrinks, in 60 minutes it returns to the actual size then shinks again slowly in 24hrs.
If ya goof something up and the cerrosafe gets stuck in the muzzle, ya just stick the muzzle in boiling water and the cerrosafe melts again,,
All you need is something heavy, smaller diameter than the bore and softer than the steel barrel.
Ya might have something around the house??
Cerrosafe is easy too, you can melt it in a soup can. The alloy metal is poured molten at 190,
(less than boiling water)
then in 5 minutes it shrinks, in 60 minutes it returns to the actual size then shinks again slowly in 24hrs.
If ya goof something up and the cerrosafe gets stuck in the muzzle, ya just stick the muzzle in boiling water and the cerrosafe melts again,,
the thing that worries me about cerrosafe is that i would need to stop up the bore somehow so it stays in one spot in a liquid form.
maby i could smash a lead ball in and use a Co2 ball puller to get the lead out. the Co2 canisters arent expensive so its not a major loss. perhaps if i fired the lead out of the barrel with Co2 into something soft like a blanket or a towel it might work...
maby i could smash a lead ball in and use a Co2 ball puller to get the lead out. the Co2 canisters arent expensive so its not a major loss. perhaps if i fired the lead out of the barrel with Co2 into something soft like a blanket or a towel it might work...
For bore or "land" dia. pin gages are the way to go. Groove dia. measurement is easier w/ even groove/land bores...pound an oversize plug of lead down the bore and mike it. Odd numbered groove/land bores require a much more extensive setup for measuring the groove dia. on a lead plug.....Fred
The lead ball is the classic way to go. But, as said, a brass rod might be hard to locate and would be expensive.
Another way is to make a rod with something on the bottom, like cardboard or felt. Pour in the molten lead, let harden then pull out.
And, no, the cardboard or felt won't burn up.
Another way is to make a rod with something on the bottom, like cardboard or felt. Pour in the molten lead, let harden then pull out.
And, no, the cardboard or felt won't burn up.
woodse guy
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If you decide that you need a brass rod send me a PM with your address I have one that you can use and then send back to me when your done. Might take me a couple of days to find it, but if you need it let me know.
woodse guy said:
thanks for the offer!
i managed to slug the bore by hammering a .690 ball out a little bit, then hammering the flatter ball into the barrel. after getting the slug all the way in the barrel i used a C02 ball puller to launch the slug into an old towel.
the diameter of the slug is pretty sporatic though. using a micrometer at work i measured it at any where from .700 to .694 but it seems on average to be around .696 +/- .001.
i think a .694 minie ball is what i want for this gun. not sure what the ideal ball size is though and i may make a second post about proper ball diameter.
Do you know some one that may work in a machine shop? They should have access to gauge pins. They go in .0001 of an inch increments in size. That's how I measured mine. Just find the one that just fits in the bore. The next that is .0001 larger than that one will not fit. The previous size pin is your bore diameter.
HH 60
HH 60
Matt85 said:
It worked! Cool,
Gonna hafta salt that one away for later on.
Did you drive the slug all the way to the breech? Or just into the bore?
necchi said:
just the bore, but thinking about it now i probably should have gone to the breech... i think it will be ok. am sending the slug, my measurements, and a .685 lyman minie ball mold to Erik at hollowpointmold.com. he told me that he can size the mold up to match my needs. (probaby .694)
his price seems reasonable, $45 + $6.50 for shipping.
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Ken Rummer
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I have a taper gage made by Starrett. It looks like a set of feeler gages but each leaf is tapered and scribed with a scale indicating width. The gage is No. 269B, has ten leaves and measures from .500 to 1.000. It is inserted into the muzzle and the width (diameter) is read on the scale at the point of contact with the muzzle ID.
This will only give the diameter at the end of the muzzle but most times this is what I want to know. Very fast and low hassle.
Starrett also makes a No. 269A that measures from .100 to .500 which is good for checking centerfire rifles when sizing your cast bullets.
Only works with an even number of lands.
This will only give the diameter at the end of the muzzle but most times this is what I want to know. Very fast and low hassle.
Starrett also makes a No. 269A that measures from .100 to .500 which is good for checking centerfire rifles when sizing your cast bullets.
Only works with an even number of lands.
