I have cut hundreds if not thousands of threads by hand using hand taps. It is not impossible or a requirement to use a machine to do it, they are called hand taps for a reason and have a square machined on them to fit a wrench. I appreciate many want to elevate every task to the highest skill set level, but a 5/8-18 unf or 3/4-16unf internal thread is easily produced, in steel, by hand.
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How to tap the breech for a plug?
- Thread starter Janissary
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Agree. Don't see where it is a big deal. Use a starting, taper, and bottoming tap. Use a "T" handle on the tap. Use some oil, make sure you follow the hole, half turn forward, quarter turn back. Done!
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Buy a taper tap and a bottoming tap and a bit that is tap size diameter . If you have to make a bottoming tap , grind off the tampered part , slow and keep it wet when grinding ....any who . Of course its better , easier if you happen to have a lathe laying around , LOL , but no ....you dont need to have a lathe to do the job . I've done dozens of them in a vice and Ken Netting hundreds of them that way . A standard they started years ago is ..625 bore , make the threads for the breech .625 deep . Its slight over kill but nothing wrong with TOO strong in the breech of a barrel . Good luck .
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I breeched barrel by hand, with hardware store tools too. I was young and enthusiastic. The result was poor. The tap drill will chatter in the bore. The hole will not be straight with the bore. The tap will start crooked to some extent. It may end up really crooked, threads may be missing. The tap has a center hole in the drive square for a reason, to guide the tap. The end of the tapped hole will be crude and not smooth. Now you make your plug. The threads will be crooked. You have no material to guide the tap wrench, the plug is to short. When fitting the plug to the barrel it will be cockeyed unless you to an especially sloppy thread fit. The rough chattered internal shoulder and will will not make a good seal with the plug.
I am not saying you can not do it. I am not saying it will be dangerous to shoot. For my sensibilities it will be a makeshift job and that is not how I do things today.
OP, heads up, if you plan on hiring a machinist to make parts for you, forget it. The cost will be huge. An ordinary machinist will not have gun making experience anyway. Save yourself some grief (and money), get a kit. Build it, maybe a few more. Learn the process, then strike out on your own.
If possible do as I did, find a mentor.
I am not saying you can not do it. I am not saying it will be dangerous to shoot. For my sensibilities it will be a makeshift job and that is not how I do things today.
OP, heads up, if you plan on hiring a machinist to make parts for you, forget it. The cost will be huge. An ordinary machinist will not have gun making experience anyway. Save yourself some grief (and money), get a kit. Build it, maybe a few more. Learn the process, then strike out on your own.
If possible do as I did, find a mentor.
Anybody can do a job with all the best tools. It takes a skilled mechanic to get good results with minimal tools. Before doing any important work on a gun it helps to have a good understanding of the job and your skill level. Back when I was young, dumb, poor, and could do "anything" I went down several rabbit holes. Lessons learned.
awesome thread
I am a poor cake decorator, so I buy store bought cakes when I want a pretty one, that is a valid arguement. But along with that, if you don't know how to do something, it is not the tools fault it didn't get used properly.
As they say in archery, it's not the arrow that will miss but rather the indian. I won't defend every machinist I've ever met, but to bore and thread a thru hole in steel hex or round is pretty basic. I'm new to this site, but I have been making metal chips a long time, and there are many more critical parts made by hand than breech plug threads.
As they say in archery, it's not the arrow that will miss but rather the indian. I won't defend every machinist I've ever met, but to bore and thread a thru hole in steel hex or round is pretty basic. I'm new to this site, but I have been making metal chips a long time, and there are many more critical parts made by hand than breech plug threads.
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Anybody can do a job with all the best tools. It takes a skilled mechanic to get good results with minimal tools.
I disagree, a lot of people can break an anvil with a rubber mallet. It take years to learn to do a near perfect job with "the best tools". No skilled gunsmith would breech a barrel with a drill bit and hand tap. It is not possible to properly breech a barrel with hardware store tools. It will always be a little, or a lot, screwed up. I explained why in the previous post.
You can do a good job breeching a barrel by hand. You will need a piloted tool to cut the seat for the nose of the plug. You will need a pilot on the tap. You will need some way to pilot the die on the plug. I would make a long snout on in in the lathe. The piloted tools will be need to be made. That would be done on a lathe or the mill (possibly a shaper).
I do not remember if it was this thread or another.... Many of the old timers got away with crude tools because the were working with plain old iron. IT cuts and swages like cold peanut butter compared to modern steel. They also had very low standards of precision. A lot of old guns only have a few loose threads holding the breech plug in. That work is not worth holding up as desireable today.
Yes, there were some fantastic gunsmiths doing great work. They probably were not working with homemade hand tools in the backwoods though.
I disagree, a lot of people can break an anvil with a rubber mallet. It take years to learn to do a near perfect job with "the best tools". No skilled gunsmith would breech a barrel with a drill bit and hand tap. It is not possible to properly breech a barrel with hardware store tools. It will always be a little, or a lot, screwed up. I explained why in the previous post.
You can do a good job breeching a barrel by hand. You will need a piloted tool to cut the seat for the nose of the plug. You will need a pilot on the tap. You will need some way to pilot the die on the plug. I would make a long snout on in in the lathe. The piloted tools will be need to be made. That would be done on a lathe or the mill (possibly a shaper).
I do not remember if it was this thread or another.... Many of the old timers got away with crude tools because the were working with plain old iron. IT cuts and swages like cold peanut butter compared to modern steel. They also had very low standards of precision. A lot of old guns only have a few loose threads holding the breech plug in. That work is not worth holding up as desireable today.
Yes, there were some fantastic gunsmiths doing great work. They probably were not working with homemade hand tools in the backwoods though.
The point I was making is that a skilled craftsman does not need the most elaborate and modern tools to do a good job. The skill and care needed to tap a hole and run a die straight and true are well within human capabilities using hand tools.
If you have loose sloppy threads when you are done you did it wrong.
Please explain further or show a photo of a pilot on a tap, I have never seen such a tool. How does that work? Drills and taps follow the existing hole anyway, a pilot will not change the quality or location of a poorly drilled hole. The threads used are standard sized over multiple calibers, you would need several pilots per tap size to account for every caliber.
Most quality steel is still free machining, the difference today is in the consistent quality that can be had due to technology and production methods available in present day.
Please explain further or show a photo of a pilot on a tap, I have never seen such a tool. How does that work? Drills and taps follow the existing hole anyway, a pilot will not change the quality or location of a poorly drilled hole. The threads used are standard sized over multiple calibers, you would need several pilots per tap size to account for every caliber.
Most quality steel is still free machining, the difference today is in the consistent quality that can be had due to technology and production methods available in present day.
OP, Get you a few 3-4 inch pieces of your DOM tubing and get to practicing all the methods mentioned would be my advice. On a first time project, if I can "practice" a few of the critical operations on some junk pieces, I most definitely would.
After a few tries on junk, your "actual" attempt would surely be better than your first. The best teacher is a mistake and experience.
If your "practice" attempts aren't up to snuff, then you are armed with more information to make additional decisions for "the real deal"
After a few tries on junk, your "actual" attempt would surely be better than your first. The best teacher is a mistake and experience.
If your "practice" attempts aren't up to snuff, then you are armed with more information to make additional decisions for "the real deal"
