Honing Rifled Bore Smooth

[RAEDWALD]

I know that honing has been mentioned in the past but I have a specific request for advice.

I have a flintlock pistol with wide very shallow grooves. I want to have a pistol I can use in smooth bore flintlock competitions. Oh, and I don't have much money to spend.

Could I invest in a brake cylinder hone and smooth out my .44" to .45" by simply running it up and down the bore on a hand held drill?

If so (or in a drill press) what size should I get? I can find 11mm (.433") and 12mm (.472") or thereabouts. Would the larger one fit inside .44 so that it can be used until the bore is smoothed?

All constructive advice welcomed.

 

[hawkeye2]

You won't find a brake cylinder hone that will go into your barrel and the rifling will eat up a bottle brush style hone. A 2 or 3 stone brake cylinder hone won't produce an accurate finished bore and a bottle brush hone will be even worse. These type hones follow an existing bore and won't correct for roundness or variations in diameter though the stone type is a little better in these respects. There is a lot of leeway in brake cylinder bores so these things aren't issues. Your best bet would be to have a machinist ream the bore to the finished size. Pull the breach plug to see how large you can go with the bore.

 

[FishDFly]

Why not send it off to Bobby Hoyt and have him drill the rifling out and have it done correct since you have the pistol?

Double check the minimum inside barrel diameter, I believe, .433 is the minimum. From my listening's, larger is better for SB pistols and winning.

Check the MNLRA guidelines for minimum bore diameter.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Might be a major hassle shipping a barrel from France to the US and back for such work.

however a pistol barrel should be an easy thing for a machine shop to drill and ream. probebly don't even have to remove the breach plug which is not advisable on later Ardessa products

 

[FishDFly]

I did not look to see where the OP was.

 

[RAEDWALD]

Thank you for the advice. As I said I don't have much money to spend on it and it only cost 100€.

I will have to save up for a replacement next year. Bizzarely smooth bores are more expensive than rifled ones so I am looking at @600€.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Ironically, it is the same here. Almost cheaper to buy a rifled pistol and pay to have the rifling reamed out, than to buy a smooth bore pistol new. 600 Euros is a pretty steep price.

I recently had a rifle barrel drilled and reamed smooth and the cost was quite reasonable. ($50)

Since then I visited a junk shop that sells military surplus hardware and tools. I purchased three ten to 12 inch long reamers for $10.00. One is adjustable. The largest is 5/8 inch. Now I have to read up on how to best use them without breaking or chipping them. I have several pieces of barrel cut offs that would make suitable pistol barrels

 

[RAEDWALD]

Speaking hypothetically you understand, a rifled barrel that is 'worn' smooth would not attract attention.

One that has been bored out would merit reproofing and that alone was at least 50€ plus getting it to St. Ettiene and back ie as much as the gun cost. A reputable gun smith or engineering firm would expect a reamed out bore to be re proofed.

A good second hand pistol here seems to cost as much as a new one so I might as well bite on the bullet and save up for a new one with a guarantee.

An Indian 20 bore pistol could liven up the Cominazzo firing line I suppose at 350€!

Good luck with your reamers though.

 

[theoldredneck]

Do you know what the groove diameter of your barrel is? There are several companies in the states that sell cheap reamers that could remove the rifling. I would buy a reamer just large enough to remove the rifling.

 

[Dphar]

I know that honing has been mentioned in the past but I have a specific request for advice.

I have a flintlock pistol with wide very shallow grooves. I want to have a pistol I can use in smooth bore flintlock competitions. Oh, and I don't have much money to spend.

Could I invest in a brake cylinder hone and smooth out my .44" to .45" by simply running it up and down the bore on a hand held drill?

If so (or in a drill press) what size should I get? I can find 11mm (.433") and 12mm (.472") or thereabouts. Would the larger one fit inside .44 so that it can be used until the bore is smoothed?

All constructive advice welcomed.

A piloted reamer would work, then lap it smooth. Pulling a reamer thought the bore is the other option and how most barrels are reamed, or should be. Needs slow speed and lots of oil for a reamer.
Brake hone is useless for barrel work.

Dan