If you are going to get a new barrel I suggest practicing the dove tail cutting again on the old one until its looking and fits right. Its not that difficult but it does take time and elbow grease.
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How bad did mess up my dovetail?
- Thread starter SnyperX
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You can buy a custom barrel for for about that price. I talked to The Gunworks muzzleloader Emporium about a drop-in barrel for my t/c hawken. I wanted a .54 barrel. The lady said all they needed were the measurements.
Sidney Smith
58 Cal.
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Silver solder and even silver bearing solder melts at around 430 to 450 degrees. Much too low a temp for a barrel to get a tight spot. You need the temp of the metal much much higher before you will get warpage, shrinkage, etc. Brazing maybe, welding definitely. Soldering no way.
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Take this with a grain of salt - I'm not a gunsmith.
If you used the drilled and tapped holes as a guide for how deep to cut your dovetail, you may have a weak spot in your barrel now.
You can get away with holes that drill down near to the bore because the pressure on a small area results in a small force. But that same pressure over a larger area is a much larger force. This is how hydraulic hand pumps can lift a car.
So you may now have an inch or so thin spot in your barrel, which is quite a different thing than a couple of drilled and tapped holes in your barrel.
If I were you, I would take the barrel out, and use some calibers to measure the depth of cut at the spot where you cut your dovetail.
Then make a measurement at the muzzle from the bore sidewall to the top flat.
Subtract those two numbers to see where you are in metal thickness at your sight.
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Great job taking the plunge at doing your own metal work. Everyone starts somewhere. Sounds like you are going to get a new barrel, which I think is wise. Now you can use the old barrel to practice cutting dovetails on.
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Go on ebay , I have bought quite a few barrels on there for under a hundred bucks some of them never shot, and call deer creek ask what they have also pecatonica river, just bought 44inch 62cal barrel 200 bucks
SnyperX
32 Cal
I ordered a new barrel kit from Traditions. $137.06 with shipping. Only problem is the lead time is 120 days since the parts are sourced from Spain, but at least I have a new barrel on order. Thanks everyone for all the great info that was provided.
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SnyperX, i am sorry to hear of your troubles. Don't want to sound negative, but i think you're making a wise (and safe) decision in replacing the barrel.
One guy's opinion ... free and no doubt well worth the cost.
One guy's opinion ... free and no doubt well worth the cost.
SnyperX
32 Cal
Scota@4570
54 Cal.
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Buy a set of digital calipers. Measure as you go. There is no good reason to make ML dovetail deeper than about 0.050". Much less is plenty deep. IF a sight is too large, work on the sight, not the barrel.
nchawkeye
58 Cal.
Now, you have a barrel to make a pistol with.... ☺
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Snyperx, good decision, i have a few barrels laying about that i upscrewed.
for future reference, there is no reason for a dovetail to be deep. there are even dovetail chisels that when stabbed into the flat raise a edge. repeat in the opposite direction and you have a flush top dovetail. flush with the top of the barrel with no file work.
many ways to install a sight.
glad you thought of going to the source.
best of luck.
for future reference, there is no reason for a dovetail to be deep. there are even dovetail chisels that when stabbed into the flat raise a edge. repeat in the opposite direction and you have a flush top dovetail. flush with the top of the barrel with no file work.
many ways to install a sight.
glad you thought of going to the source.
best of luck.
Wildrangeringreen
40 Cal
It's pretty deep, that's for sure; and anything that fits it isn't going to break out 
! I would assume that this is most likely a .50 bore with a 1" octagonal barrel? And that you are not going to be shooting in excess of 150gr charges and 500gr bullets? You are almost certainly fine, it's not THAT deep. As always, when you cut into a barrel, I recommend reproofing it... outside of the stock. I do 1.5x charge and the heaviest projectile I will shoot, seated approx. 1" off the powder. Mark the barrel every 1/2"-1" down the barrel, take good measurements with a caliper, fire the proof load 3 times, measure and compare the dimensions. So long as there has not been a dimensional change in excess of .002 (and no observable changes... like, say, bulges, cracks, or you can see rifling through the side of the barrel
), I would say you are fine. You could un-breach it and pound a slug down the bore before and after, but honestly, I feel that's overkill. These are modern (read: consistent) steel barrels, made from solid stock that has been gun-drilled and heat treated... if it were a fine skelp shotgun barrel from the 1850's, I would be a little more concerned. 
I would carefully clean up that dovetail bottom, though, more for appearances than anything. A new sight can be found, or you can make them, they aren't that difficult (especially ones that simple).
This is why I like to solder things on, not because I can't cut dovetails, but everyone makes an Oopsie every now and again (and most of the barrels I work with don't have much margin for oopsies). But dovetails don't need to be that deep, just enough that if you grabbed the item dovetailed in, and tried lifting the rifle with it, it wouldn't pull out.
Best of luck
! I would assume that this is most likely a .50 bore with a 1" octagonal barrel? And that you are not going to be shooting in excess of 150gr charges and 500gr bullets? You are almost certainly fine, it's not THAT deep. As always, when you cut into a barrel, I recommend reproofing it... outside of the stock. I do 1.5x charge and the heaviest projectile I will shoot, seated approx. 1" off the powder. Mark the barrel every 1/2"-1" down the barrel, take good measurements with a caliper, fire the proof load 3 times, measure and compare the dimensions. So long as there has not been a dimensional change in excess of .002 (and no observable changes... like, say, bulges, cracks, or you can see rifling through the side of the barrel), I would say you are fine. You could un-breach it and pound a slug down the bore before and after, but honestly, I feel that's overkill. These are modern (read: consistent) steel barrels, made from solid stock that has been gun-drilled and heat treated... if it were a fine skelp shotgun barrel from the 1850's, I would be a little more concerned. I would carefully clean up that dovetail bottom, though, more for appearances than anything. A new sight can be found, or you can make them, they aren't that difficult (especially ones that simple).
This is why I like to solder things on, not because I can't cut dovetails, but everyone makes an Oopsie every now and again (and most of the barrels I work with don't have much margin for oopsies). But dovetails don't need to be that deep, just enough that if you grabbed the item dovetailed in, and tried lifting the rifle with it, it wouldn't pull out.
Best of luck
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You can drill a hole nearly thru and not compromise integrity because the hole is of small surface area, and gets filled with a screw. Removing a large area to the same depth leaves little material over a large area. Think of it as ice on a pond- one hole, the ice won't break. Shave down a large area and stand on it, you're going to get wet.
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a tight fitting insert would mitigate the loss some, but not enough to my mind. best action is what he is doing. make pistol barrels out of the old one.
Coinneach
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Looks the Bee's knees to me, but doesnt seem to be listed on the website you referred to.
Coinneach
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With all respect, it seems like a rushed job to me my friend.
The webpage indicates they are out of stock.
DuncNZ
54 Cal.
Good idea talking to this forum , if you are going to test fire this barrel take it out of the stock and strap or wire it into an old car tire and set it off with a fuse , you don't want to break the stock if the dovetail gives way , also take the sight off the barrel , one less piece of shrapnel to worry about . Getting a new barrel is the best idea , use the old one to practice on .
