Q:

Bushings won’t go onto barrel

I bought a new 18″ barrel without bushings from Lemak. I the called Airforce and bought a set of bushings for the 18″ barrel.

They are way too tight!! (they are the correct ones)

Any suggestions on getting them to fit. I am thinking I’ll have to buy a small rotary stone for a drill and gently enlarge them.

I already tried sanding the insides with 200 grit paper.

Thank in advance for any advice.

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I just bought a 12″ .22 barrel from LeMak. Thanks Lee, and I’m 100% sure you had absolutely nothing to do with any problems from AF.

It is .005″ larger than my .177 barrel I took out.
0.488 vs. 0.483 inches.

I wouldn’t have noticed, but my custom Delrin hammer is made to ride on the barrel OD, and it wouldn’t fit. I switched back to the stock hammer for now. My barrel came with bushings installed, so I didn’t have any issues with the bushings not fitting.
I did have issues with the setscrews not quite lining up with the holes in the frame though. 3 went in fine, but one wouldn’t line up very well, even when the other 3 were loose.

Thanks guys. I will try to lap the insides. I tried both ends of the barrel.

Is it possible it is an older (new) barrel and the specs are a little different?

So how close is it? If you’re a few thousandths small, you might try lapping the rings out. Chuck a dowel in your drill or drill press and tape a strip of emery paper on it that wraps a few times around and is a fairly snug fit in the bushing. Oil it up, turn it slow and run the bushing up and down. When the paper wears, cut a turn off and go again. Then you can just add a short strip by sticking part of it under the strip taped on (so it’s exposed for a turn or two on the outside).

Doug Owen

10-4, you’re right.

Nevertheless, there’s a lot of mis-fitting going on here.

Buz, the other thread was about the bushings not sliding into the frame. This gent cant get the bushings onto the barrel.

I would check the barrel for a raised edge. Did you try to put them on from both ends?

Deja Vu… wasn’t there another thread about this recently? Did AF change the spec somewhere along the line and not tell anyone?

Greg… grease ‘er up and twist ‘er in! 😉 😆

Maybe try putting them in a jug of boiling water and the barrel in the freezer.
It’s a long shot, but it just might work.

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