John Spartan
40 Cal
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2021
- Messages
- 385
- Reaction score
- 288
New guy question:
What is meant by the barrel was “lined?”
What is meant by the barrel was “lined?”
So the fired patch tells the story. In breaking in a new barrel is there a benefit in using a harder cast ball to smooth it out? I have a rifle that was made in 1980. It was shot a lot. I only come to that conclusion because the lock had worn out. There were a couple of things wrong with it when I purchased it I discovered immediately. I ordered a new small chambers lock and the rebuild kit for it. A bushing, fly and other. Had a smith fix the lock that was beautifully scribed. Man some of you guys have talent! Anyway the rifle is a great shooter. I forget the name of the barrel next time I have the stock off I’m going to right it down it was a good barrel at the timeI Wouldn’t lap any barrel with out a cause. Lapping compound on a patch isn’t lapping by my definition. I have considerable experience in this and a few things that tell you when a lap may help a bore. Torn patches, tight spots and machine marks can be clues. Lapping will not fix pitting or a significantly rough bore! A lap is cast into the bore to conform to the bore while forming onto a rod for moving it the length of the bore. In this case the bore is rough and has a number of tight spots. All this work can shine up a bore and reduce tight spots. Five ten thousands of an inche is a lot in a bore that a lead bullet is moving threw at the speeds we deal with.
Lined means a tube is installed into a barrel. It maybe rifled or not.
Thanks for that!In this barrel a cleaning patch on a jag tells the story, after a few passes a hole is torn in the patch. A harder ball would be less effective as it won’t expand in the bore as well as a pure lead ball.
Today I stopped lapping and took the rifle out to try some shooting. The bore still isn’t smooth or even but I wanted to check how the rifle is working anyway. The Sharps action is quite interresting with its moving gas plate. This old Shiloh demonstrated why they are highly thought of. It works perfectly and to my casual test the bore shot well. At 50 yards the sights are right on and the first two groups are about two inches each. After that I just plinked. On cleaning I found the expected leading in the bore. I look forward to some 100 yard bench bench shooting.
The barrel was sent at end of February and returned on July 22. That’s how long I was told it would take so I had no problem waiting.
Agree completely.Before jumping to any conclusions, I'd shoot it for a while. Even modern rifles with new barrels have a "break in" period. Why should ours be any different?
I have a Bobby Hoyt rebored barrel and it is about the nicest barrel I own. IMHO his work is impeccable but errors can occur, no, will occur from time to time regardless who the craftsman may be. I'll gladly contact him first if I ever have a barrel that needs a little TLC.
Most accurate statement posted as of yet.Before jumping to any conclusions, I'd shoot it for a while. Even modern rifles with new barrels have a "break in" period. Why should ours be any different?
The bore is good this time around he’s pissed that the barrel is now marred something no one wants. From the sound of it this marring is going to affect the overall value. Maybe it can be restored but restoration is not what he was looking for as it too takes away from the esthetic and period correct value.If you run a tight patch and can feel the roughness then I would do something. That something would be just what you stated. Call the guy and show the pic. He may have you send it back. It could be the liner wasn't as good as it should be.
If the patch runs smoothly then I would still consult with him for verification then shoot it.
I would never work on anything newly done without consulting. Then I would follow their recommendations.
The marks that look rough could just be discoloration from the machining process, who knows.
Lapping with patches or hard leather will only get roughness from small burrs and sharpe edges that shooting it will eventually do. To really lap polish you really need a hard metal jag that fits the grooves so the compound works more effectively. But that's in a perfect world.
I have put a bit made from a file in a dowel rod and with some oil smoothed grooves. Run 300-500 strokes per groove the flip the bit over to the smooth side and polish with fine compound. Even after that it has to be shot a bunch and possibly hot lapped before accuracy consistency is achieved.
I've seen some pretty rough looking bores be nail drivers.
I think they will suggest you shoot it then report back if it doesn't perform.
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