turn barrel and thread without removing from rifle?

ericthered

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Obligitory ramble first:
So I have a ruger m77 mkII chambered in .270. Has been my hunting rifle since i started hunting (bought it when i was 13). So i have done some improvements on it, had it floated and pillar bedded, and installed a timney trigger (absolutely a must for these firearms, and totally awesome). My latest addition to it is a Witt machine clamp on muzzle brake. Between those three modifications it is a total joy to shoot.

While I really like my Witt muzzle brake, it is quite heavy. The firearm has a slimmer (and 2" shorter) barrel than most other mkIIs, it was like a wand. Now its more like a... gun... had considered rebarreling with a schilling (local gunsmith does a good job and is super reasonably priced). But i have a hard time dropping that much on a hunting rifle to get target rifle accuracy (gun shoots about a MOA right now).

To run a screw on muzzle brake (lets face it, if i had a thread on it my next form 1 for a suppressor would be getting filled out pretty quick) the barrel would need to go on a lathe. Had a zaney thought though. Does anybody know of a tool to turn the end of a barrel while it is on the firearm? Thinking that a piloted hand reamer, or a contraption that would pilot off of the bore, mount to the upper barrel, and run off of a drill or something. Do any of these exist?
For the curious, i had to measure the barrel for my Witt brake, at the muzzle it is exactly .5" exactly a inch from the muzzle it is exactly .51". So it wouldnt take much to take it to say .4990 or so.
Seems a die like a crowning die (sorta) would be the most cost effective method.
 

chili17

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using a lathe, you do not have to remove the barrel. It is a little more time consuming though. Removing the barrel is no big deal. Just spend the money and have someone thread the barrel that knows what they are doing. Dont go half ass now.
 

ericthered

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Was not aware that a barrel could be threaded on a lathe while still attached to the action. Will have to give the gunsmith a ring and talk to him about it
 

SAndrus

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arch stanton

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Maybe you could go this route and DIY first cut barrel to correct outside Diameter with https://www.carolinashooterssupply.com/category_s/2213.htm then thread your barrel with https://www.carolinashooterssupply.com/category_s/2208.htm. I have heard really good things about going this route. Not sure what your gunsmith will charge compared to buying these tools for yourself. Just my .02

I highly recommend not doing any of this. Send if off to get threaded the correct way on a lathe you will for sure have a baffle strike gong this route
 

ericthered

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Interestig, that was kinda what i had been thinking. Havent gotten around to calling the gunsmith yet. Think i will go with him for it. I kinda like this gun and dont want to screw it up lol
 

arch stanton

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Interestig, that was kinda what i had been thinking. Havent gotten around to calling the gunsmith yet. Think i will go with him for it. I kinda like this gun and dont want to screw it up lol


For sure there is no way to guarantee the threads will be running with the bore. Hand threading shouldn't even be an option with any gun
 

sniperdoc

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Whatever you have to pay to have the barrel removed, threaded, and reinstalled, it will be a lot cheaper than replacing a can especially with the stamp.
FWIW, the threads must be aligned with the bore, not the outside of the barrel (bores aren't perfectly centered in the barrel).
 

xtal_01

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Threads can definitely be cut while the barrel is on the action.

I worked for a gun smith in SC some years back who did this all the time. He built and sold silencers. He had a set of centers cut that would fit the chamber and had a center cut in them so they would fit onto a live center. He would then use a steady rest on the barrel ... indicate to the bore (think he had brass rods the correct size to just fit the bore ... and cut the thread. I can't remember but he may have even had an adapter made that went on the barrel so the steady rest road on it rather than the barrel.

It was about 15 or 20 years ago but I watch him cut several this way (almost every time he sold a silencer).

Mike
 
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