Bobby Hoyt rebore results

[rickystl]

Here is a pic of an Albanian smooth bore musket barrel (pictured in the center). The barrel was damaged around the center area. Bobby connected a new piece of barrel to equal the original length. Then added a liner. Except for the polished finish I can't tell where the two barrels were joined. And the liner now makes it a one-piece barrel. It's just incredible he can do stuff like this.

Rick

 

[LME]

Actually, they were soldered more often than shrink fit, but epoxy or thread locker is the way to go today. It is exceedingly common and successful. Won't damage the finish like heating can.

I suppose I am to old school?

 

[Mtman725]

I've seen the Red lock tight do some amazing things in heavy trucks and auto repair.

 

[gunpa]

I have put sleeves in tractor engines by putting them in a freezer and dropping them in a warm block. They never move. Barrels don't have a head on the muzzle to secure them of course, so I plead ignorance to the process.

 

[Bad Karma]

I have put sleeves in tractor engines by putting them in a freezer and dropping them in a warm block. They never move. Barrels don't have a head on the muzzle to secure them of course, so I plead ignorance to the process.

I’ve used that process to install bearings in various applications. Works great, I don’t know how,well it would work for barrel liners. The two parts might begin to reach a homogeneous temperature before they were completely in place.
Also, I would suspect that boring a thirty inch hole accurately enough to be a press fit for the liner might be a problem. Maybe not. Mr. Hoyt knows though and every lined barrel he’s done for me ( four so far) has been at least as accurate as the match grade Rice barrels I’ve owned.

 

[Kev308]

I have put sleeves in tractor engines by putting them in a freezer and dropping them in a warm block. They never move. Barrels don't have a head on the muzzle to secure them of course, so I plead ignorance to the process.

We used this process to replace the cutlass bearings in our tug boats. Need a really good freezer though!!
I have relined a couple .22 rimfire barrels using devcon steel putty and or jb weld. Works like a charm. After the crown is cut and polished you cant tell.
kevin

 

[BigSkyRambler]

Bobby Hoyt AKA They dont make Folks like him any longer. Sad when the day comes he can no longer do this. The loss will be a hard blow in that respect.

All of these guys need apprentices. Not sure if Mr. Hoyt does. A guy in Texas used to be able to make almost any kind of obsolete cartridge cases using commercially available cases. When he died, the gunsmiths sorting his tools, home made dies and other specialty jigs had no clue what most of the stuff was for. Now our only option is ridiculously expensive brass turned on a lathe.

 

[LME]

I have put sleeves in tractor engines by putting them in a freezer and dropping them in a warm block. They never move. Barrels don't have a head on the muzzle to secure them of course, so I plead ignorance to the process.

You seem to have put sleeves in the same as we do. Using this method the sleeves do not move or if they do I have never heard of it? It seems to me it is easier and cheaper to use this method than to try to glue a sleeve? When a barrel heats up it would be sensible to think glue would be compromised? I am aware that methodology changes with time but glueing a sleeve leaves doubt in my mind as to being the best way to proceed?

 

[painter]

You seem to have put sleeves in the same as we do. Using this method the sleeves do not move or if they do I have never heard of it? It seems to me it is easier and cheaper to use this method than to try to glue a sleeve? When a barrel heats up it would be sensible to think glue would be compromised? I am aware that methodology changes with time but glueing a sleeve leaves doubt in my mind as to being the best way to proceed?

I think the reason he glues them is that the diameters, and wall thickness, of the sleeves he's dealing with are pretty small. It wouldn't be a stretch to think that the two pieces would equalize in temperature pretty quickly leaving the better part of the sleeve outside the barrel.

Modern adhesives can easily handle the temperatures involved in most firearms. We're not talking about a 50 cal machine gun here.

 

[Bad Karma]

You seem to have put sleeves in the same as we do. Using this method the sleeves do not move or if they do I have never heard of it? It seems to me it is easier and cheaper to use this method than to try to glue a sleeve? When a barrel heats up it would be sensible to think glue would be compromised? I am aware that methodology changes with time but glueing a sleeve leaves doubt in my mind as to being the best way to proceed?

Well that’s why there are choices.
Or maybe not. There aren’t many people doing this work. Bobby is the most well known, mostly because of the results he’s achieved and he’s done so using adhesives. Not interference fit parts. I’m not sure it’s possible to assemble a sleeve into a barrel with interference fit. It can be done with solder but solder release temp isn’t much higher than loctite red. I can’t imagine the point in shooting fast and furious enough to do so. (with a muzzleloading rifle.)

 

[M. De Land]

I usually sleeve with solder on .22 barrels but tried one with Loctite and prefer the finish look of a sweat in liner at the crown seem. I'm, currently in the process of relining a center fire and will probabaly sweat that one in as well. Loctite (red) takes something close to 500 degree F to release and there are few barrels in sporting guns of any type that get that hot. There are several types of Loctite used for barrel lining that work.
Some liners are installed with a bore through of the original barrel and others are bored almost through leaving a small section at the muzzle for the liner to butt up against. This method does not leave a noticeable seem on the crown. I've even read of some liners being TIG welded at the muzzle crown to remove the liner/barrel seem but would not care for this myself as I don't want the steel to have a potential hardness differential in the muzzle.
I don't see how a heat shrink fit would work on a barrel liner as the heat differential would be lost from conduction before the two where fully mated. This works well in bearing fit or steel wagon rims because the parts that are joined are not long in width and the mated movement is short before heat differential is lost through conduction.
I've read that green weeping Loctite (I don't remember the number at the moment) is the way to go as it will preclude any bubbles in the adhesive joint in the length of the barrel and liner.
Sweat in liners is really a method of the past before adhesives were adequate to the task and as good or better for the job but I like the crown look of a sweat in liner in conjunction with peening the seem joint and finishing it smooth.

 

[Bad Karma]

“I’ve read that green weeping Loctite (I don't remember the number at the moment) is the way to go as it will preclude any bubbles in the adhesive joint in the length of the barrel and liner.”

@M. De Land I was looking for that exact product as it has a higher release temp than Red also. No matter, Bobby uses what he uses and he results speak for themselves.

 

[M. De Land]

“I’ve read that green weeping Loctite (I don't remember the number at the moment) is the way to go as it will preclude any bubbles in the adhesive joint in the length of the barrel and liner.”

@M. De Land I was looking for that exact product as it has a higher release temp than Red also. No matter, Bobby uses what he uses and he results speak for themselves.

I think Larry Potterfield of Midway arms does a video of barrel relining and tells the number of Green Loctite to use.

 

[SmokepoleSam]

The green wicking loctite is #290 according to their website

 

[M. De Land]

The green wicking loctite is #290 according to their website

Thank you!

 

[SmokepoleSam]

You are most welcome

 

[towgunner11h]

Has anyone had him sleeve a barrel to shoot roundballs? I have several TC barrels that do not perform and looking to something with them.

He did a liner in an H&P smoothbore musket for me- first rate work.

 

[Bad Karma]

He did a liner in an H&P smoothbore musket for me- first rate work.

I’ve had him bore a .58 round ball barrel from a New Englander barrel. Obviously it’s not lined but if he lines a barrel he’s still reaming the bore and rifling it just as if he was boring from fresh native steel. This 58 is a fantastic shooter 1in 66 and round bottom rifling.

 

[Scota@4570]

Back to Mr. Hoyt... I have a 32 caliber 44" swamped barrel that shoots poorly by my standards. It is nearly new. The best I can get is 2" off the bench @ 50 yards with a peep sight. I can shoot less than half of that with other rifles. IMHO the barrel is rifled wrong.

If I send it to Bobby to rebore and rerifle to 36 caliber, what are the odds it will shoot significantly more accurately?

Will I need to shorten the barrel a bit at the muzzle to eliminate the flair from reaming and rifling? I would not have a problem with lopping off an inch.

I want the barrel rifled with a specific depth of rifling, twist and width of grooves. Can he accommodate such requests?

I have not had luck getting Mr. Hoyt on the phone so I ask here.

 

[Bad Karma]

Back to Mr. Hoyt... I have a 32 caliber 44" swamped barrel that shoots poorly by my standards. It is nearly new. The best I can get is 2" off the bench @ 50 yards with a peep sight. I can shoot less than half of that with other rifles. IMHO the barrel is rifled wrong.

If I send it to Bobby to rebore and rerifle to 36 caliber, what are the odds it will shoot significantly more accurately?

Will I need to shorten the barrel a bit at the muzzle to eliminate the flair from reaming and rifling? I would not have a problem with lopping off an inch.

I want the barrel rifled with a specific depth of rifling, twist and width of grooves. Can he accommodate such requests?

I have not had luck getting Mr. Hoyt on the phone so I ask here.

I’ve never been disappointed in anything I’ve gotten from him. You won’t need to remove any barrel because there will be no “flair” just clean rifling up to the crown. You can select rifling style, narrow lands, wide grooves, round or square bottom rifling, etc. rate of twist, it’s completely customizable.