Making it smooth

[evildog]

My Pedersoli made Harpers Ferry pistol if just begging to become a smoothbore. What is the most practical way to take the rifling out of that 58 cal barrel?

 

[longfowler]

I can tell you how NOT to do it. don't use a hand drill , no matter how steady you think your hands are. Make friends with someone who has a lathe or a milling machine!

 

[No Deer]

My Pedersoli made Harpers Ferry pistol if just begging to become a smoothbore. What is the most practical way to take the rifling out of that 58 cal barrel?

Shoot it..... a lot!!!! :rotf:

 

[manyirons]

Sandpaper patches? :grin: Or send it off to my local barrelmaker for ream&polish. (Aint no drill job!

 

[John Taylor]

Just having a lathe will not be enough to do a good job. You also need reamers that are set up for doing this type of work. The reamers are a pull type with oil feed to flush out the chips. Then if you want a real smooth bore it will take lapping or a lot of shooting. There are 8 shops in the country that advertise rebores. Any one of them should be able to do a smooth bore if they have the right size reamer. I don't have a reamer for a 58 cal. smooth bore but I do make my own so it would not be to great a problem.

 

[manyirons]

Tell me! Watched local guy, Gundrill, LAP, Ream, Lap, Rifle, Lap and i'll NEVER complain about the price of a good barrel, with the work involved, wonder iffin he actually makes a living wage?

That; "Just drill/hone it out" sounds SO simple, cheap&wrong!

 

[John Taylor]

This is just a full time hobby that pays for the tool bits I use. I got the wife working to support me. :grin:

 

[manyirons]

Wish I could do that! I'm SO jealous of tha smith, guys got tha PRETTIEST wife about HALF his age ya ever hoped ta see, think he don't really mind shes not supportin them!

 

My Pedersoli made Harpers Ferry pistol if just begging to become a smoothbore. What is the most practical way to take the rifling out of that 58 cal barrel?

??WHY??

 

[evildog]

??WHY??

A logical question. I've always loaded my Brown Bess with paper cartridges rather than carrying separate powder, patch and ball. Use a small enough ball (.715) that I can just start them with my thumb even after a dozen shots.

I will often carry my Pedersoli-made Harpers Ferry pistol at the same time, 58 caliber with a rifled bore. It works quite well with a 500gr minie ball and 35gr FFFg. I've done some experimentation making up paper cartridges in that combination but they just haven't worked out all that well. Using a .562 round ball however they are just smaller versions of the same cartridge that I make up for the Brown Bess. 3 wraps of recycled news print does not make the most effective patch for a rifled bore though. Reaming out the rifling would pretty much solve that problem....

That's the why.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

If that's the barrel I'm thinking of, three shallow grooves in a slow twist, I doubt the rifling makes any difference, just pretend it's smooth. :haha:

 

[evildog]

Actually it is 5 grooves that are pretty shallow. You're right though, no sense reaming it out until I play with it a while longer.

 

[hawk]

Why not sell the Harper and buy a Tower of the same cal as Bess?

 

[evildog]

Actually, I no longer have the Bess.... I traded it for a 16ga fowler that I gave my wife for Mother's Day (told her that she had to share though).

Also, no longer have the Harper's Ferry.... received an offer to trade it for a very nice 62 cal smoothbore flint pistol. Both of us are happy so what more could be asked.