Barrel liners

[F.G. Ford]

What method are barrel liners attached to existing barrels?
Fred

 

[jdkerstetter]

Hey Fred, In the past 'smiths used to solder them in place but this method has been largely replaced with the use of modern adhesives like epoxy and locktite.

Soldering was labor intensive as it generally took two people as the liner had to be slowly fed into the barrel while applying flux, solder and heat. It was also problematic as there was a risk of bore scaling.

Modern epoxies have alleviated all of this trouble. Enjoy, J.D.

 

[F.G. Ford]

Hi JD
Thank you for your reply.
My suspicions were epoxy, like "JB Weld"
I also considered a thermal interferance fit.
Machining both barrels to a close tolerance, with the liner being about .003" oversized.
Then heating the parent barrel to abot 400 F , and cooling the liner. After wich the liner is pressed into the parent barrel.
I do much like the epoxy method.
I have used various epoxies while working with NASA many years ago, and am familiar with their holding strength.
I would like to build a muzzleloader with an original barrel, but with a liner, so may give this a try.
All the best!
Fred

 

[jerrywh]

Almost all barrel liners to day are installed with locktight sleeve locker. Soldering is the old school. If one wants to replace the liner he can just heat the barrel and push the liner out. Easier that solder, less messy and faster by far. I'm not guessing I do it.

 

[John Taylor]

I once installed the wrong caliber liner using Loctite. I tried heating it and pressing it out, didn't work.I Had to drill it out. I usually try for .002" clearance on the liner and use 262 loctite. If epoxy is used you will need more clearance to get it in. Problem with solder is the whole barrel needs to be heated evenly and the outside will be effected by the heat. Also solder flux will take blue or brown off.

 

[M. De Land]

I still sweat in liners with solder ( Hi-force 44) and although it is more work I prefer the ability to remove them and like the idea of the leaching action of sweat joints reducing or eliminating voids.
Heat ranges in sweating of soft solder or low temperature silver solder will not scale a barrel any more than it does when sweating on a banded sight or banded sling purchase.
I use a fixture in my bench vice and heat with two propane torches after tinning the bore interior. The liner is bumped in with a rawhide mallet as the barrel and liner have the torches played over them. When all the way in they are placed vertically in the vice, reheated and more solder added until all bubbling of trapped air is leached out and it will draw in no more solder.
I think the epoxy method is just as accurate but no more so and personally still prefer the sweat in liners.
I had to remove a liner one time in a .22 because the pitch was for .22 short instead of long rifle. It came right out and I reinstalled the 16 pitch new liner.
Also liners are never straight and I like the centering action that sweating provides with the leaching action.
In the old days rifles that were lined or re-bore were almost always more accurate then they were originally.
Norman Brockway and Horace Warner were two very fine and rather famous gunsmiths in that era of target quality muzzle loading cap lock rifles and both recommended relining or re-boring and rifling for top accuracy. I believe those were all sweat in liners from what I can learn. MD

 

[F.G. Ford]

Thank you MD!
Fred

 

[jerrywh]

Pressing them out doesn't work too good. Pulling them out works much better.
PS. Norman Brockway and Horace Warner never had lock tight but they always wished they did.

 

[M. De Land]

The problem as I see it with adhesive and trying to remove a liner is that it can be heated to loose it's purchase but the body of the glue is still in there and jamming the liner to the barrel.
Perhaps threading in a bolt and hooking up a hydraulic press would allow one to pull it out as stretching tension would tend to reduce the OD. Never done it so can't really say.
Jerry, that may be very true of Brockway and Warner had they had opportunity to try it. I just never cared for the idea of gluing them in. MD

 

[F.G. Ford]

Jerry!
Do you know that for sure? :v
Fred

 

[jerrywh]

If you can't press out a liner that has been installed with lock tight it sure as heck isn't going to come out shooting. If it holds sleeves in Diesel engines it's good enough for me. Some of the modern gunsmiths are even putting sight ramps on with some form of it. I just ordered some to try out.

 

[M. De Land]

So have you personally sleeve by either method and have you remove a sleeve by either method? MD

 

[jerrywh]

Yes.
I was a mechanic for 45 years and have built guns for over 50 years. I have a little experience.

And who is M.D. anyway. There's no mistery about who I am . Who are you?

 

[M. De Land]

MD is who I am. It's a mystery! :wink:

 

[F.G. Ford]

Thank you for the constructive information.
Fred