• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades

Barrel lapping question

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Jan 15, 2017
Messages
855
Reaction score
799
Location
Klamath Falls, Oregon
When lapping a barrel with Scotch-brite pads should it be done dry or with some type of lubricant? I have a couple of old but lightly used Jukars that have very evident machining marks. It looks like they were drilled and no effort was made to smooth them. I just want to smooth out the circular grooves on the lands.
 
They make flex hones for polishing smooth bores. Think it is best bet.
 
You will never remove those machine marks with scotch brite. FWIW, it's not really necessary to remove them. If the rifling doesn't cut patches, nothing is needed. All the economy rifles (CVA, Traditions, Investarms) have that residual machining evidence to some degree.

You can lap them out using a lead lap lug. It would be a long arduous process.
 
You will never remove those machine marks with scotch brite. FWIW, it's not really necessary to remove them. If the rifling doesn't cut patches, nothing is needed. All the economy rifles (CVA, Traditions, Investarms) have that residual machining evidence to some degree.

You can lap them out using a lead lap lug. It would be a long arduous process.

agree. If you use and make a lead lap, you’ll need an abrasive like valve grinding compound. Another in between method is to use valve grinding compound on 2 patches using a smaller jag. That will not keep the edges of the lands as grippy as using a lead lap.
 
Lapping is done from the breech with a cast lead slug and valve grinding compound.

When polishing from the muzzle use a guide to protect the crown. Keeping things wet does wash away muck and make the cutting go faster. Unless it is rough by feel, polishing with a patch and Flitz or Semichrome is enough, it will make it load easier and foul less.
 
I have salvaged many pitted barrels by lapping them with lead laps and valve grinding compound and finishing with rubbing compound. Remember to always use a bore guide on a "disaposible" rod.
 
There is a very easy way to smooth and shine a barrel AND it is FUN to boot;

Begin be finding your true bore diameter.
Second find a size die that will size .001 under your bore dia.
Find short boolit mold or just buy then ... 100 should do.
Find some paper that has high clay content and is .0015 to .002 thickness.
Wet wrap 50 bullets and let them dry over nite.
After these are dry ... run em thru your size die.
Now take em out and load em over 40 to 60 grains 3F blackpowder with a 1/8th inch over powder wad between bullet and powder.
When loading the next load ... put the powder down barrel followed by the over powder wad ... now stop and swab the barrel fairly clean before loading your next paper patched bullet.
Shoot all 50 and do not look for any kinda accuracy ... just shoot all 50 and get very aquanted with your rifle and trigger...

These paper patched bullets will give your barrel the finest kinda polishing that is imaginable. Removes tool marks and makes cleaning very much easier.

Sounds more a job then it really is. Plus you get to shoot while doing a first class smoothing job. No elbow grease necessary and no fat or thin spots. This high clay content paper will give very nice shiney barrel bore and groove's.

If 50 do not get er done ... wrap up another 50.

Keep the charge low and enjoy the path.
 
If you are going to firelap its advisable to invest in dedicated lapping compounds. They are economical and easy to use. The Wheeler kit from Midway is good and so is the compound from Veral Smith at Lead Bullet Technology. I've used both of them on at least 20 barrels both ML and modern with good results.

Realize though that there's a limit to what any firelapping can do. Some ML barrels have tool marks that can only be removed with lead slug lapping. However it will improve the barrel and improve the accuracy. Barrels with residual tooling marks can be very accurate as long as they do not have sharpness that cuts patches.
 
Interesting. How do you know a paper's clay content? I didn't even know paper has clay.

The BPRC crowd stays strictly away from paper that has clay content because it wears the rifling away fairly quickly. By quickly I mean that they shoot probably 500 to 1000 shots a month.

The high clay content paper is not necessary ... only to dress a barrel as stated above. My paper consists of 9 pound onion paper which is high rag content paper. Go to stationary stores online to get spec's on paper content.

This is a subject that is frowned on here so if it were me, I would get a fairly cheap little book by "Paul Mathews" called "THE PAPER JACKETED BULLET" . This is a fairly cheap little paper back book that has a bunch of info on beginning paper patching ... way good enough to get a person through a barrel polishing session.

I highly recommend this method. It will do no harm and while not PC in the time frame we enjoy here, it is a well documented method and has a good following today.
 
Back
Top