.25 Group Buy Project

Attached are photos of barrel #1 being turned down. This one belongs to Ren. I had to disassemble my gun to measure up my existing barrel.

Here is my existing barrel next to the barrel blank. The blank has been measured up to make sure the machining is done to the proper end. The choke on this barrel is about 1 1/2 thousandths of an inch.

The bore was quite a bit off center, not exactly dead center of the blank. That’s why I have it chucked with some space between the chuck and the working end, so the barrel flexes slightly as the live center to the right holds the bore dead center and ensures the breech cut will be more or less well centered. All cuts have to be very light so as not to flex the barrel away from the cutting bit.

I hate machining stainless, no matter how sharp your cutting tools or how light you cut it, it always galls a bit. I left the final cut a couple thousands too thick to allow for some sanding and polishing to get the galling out. I’ll have to make up some HS steel finishing bits which should give a better final cut. I do have better bits, but the holders won’t fit next to the live center as the breech is so skinny that most wide bits will not fit in the small space left to work in.

Now just have to recrown this one and I’m done.