Shortening a barrel?

[vanstg]

I was given a used 24" .50 cal barrel. It seems to be in good shape, no rust. I want to shorten the barrel to 10" and build a pistol. Don't have access to a lathe though. I wonder if it is possible to cut the barrel and recrown the muzzle using just simple tools. Has anyone done it?
I was thinking of using a regular saw to cut the barrel, then filing it as square as possible, and smoothing it out with sand paper, followed by steel wool. Not sure how I would recrown the muzzle though... Suggestions are very welcome.
Thanks,
Vanstg

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

Vanstg,
Don't want to pop your bubble, but I was always taught (don't mean I'm right) that you cut the barrel off on the breech end. (Some barrels might have a choke I have been told) I would not cut the breech end in your case, cuz I am lazy. If you do not expect precision, just cut it with a hacksaw. (I would) Clean it up just like you suggested. I use a counter sink to curf the sharp edge inside the barrel, then I use a hand drill operated 3/4", or your choice of size, round stone. (buy em at Ace Hardware for couple of bucks) I just go easy and seems to work well for me.
Remember the old boys never had all the precision power tools and machines we have today. Patience and perseverance will get you a lot.
Flintlocks Forever
Lar : :imo: :front:

 

[rich pierce]

I've cut them with a hacksaw at the muzzle end. Scribe very carefully using a square to go around the barrel (if it's straight octagon). Cut outside the line then file down to the line. Then do final squaring up. The main thing is to have the muzzle be perpendicular to the bore. Generally the bore is parallel to the flats but not always. Put a tight fitting straight dowel into the bore, so tight it cannot move. Then use a small square to make sure all flats are filed perpendicular to the bore. Larry's got the countersinking covered.

 

[Zonie]

I agree. You can cut it off with a hack saw and then with careful filing and a small square (if it is a straight barrel) you can square up the end.
Re-crown with a spherical stone or, if your careful, with a tapered stone. I would suggest that you do not use a power drill to drive the stone. Do it slowly and carefully by hand.

You may be very disappointed with the results though.

Most roundball pistol barrels have rather fast twists like 1:18. Even the In-Line barrels are not that fast.

I've read other posts where people tried to convert a slow twist rifle barrel and had poor luck with accuracy. :shocking:

 

[Birddog6]

Zonie is correct........ You need a 1-12 to 1-18 twist to get any accuracy with the BP pistol, as you just don't have enough twist in that short barrel (& velocity) to stabilize the bullet. Building a pistol is allot of work to do & end up with disappointing results, even tho the barrel is free.

I suggest you buy a barrel made for a pistol & put your efforts towards something that will shoot well when you are finished so you will not be disappointed in the shooting results. I see specials on them all the time for $20 to $30 at most ML parts distributors. I saw some at Friendship for $20 with milling marks on one flat.... who cares.... put that flat down, it was a great price & evidently others thought so too as they were gone in a day.

:thumbsup:

 

[44-henry]

A fast twist is definitely desirable in a pistol, but don't let that stop you from having some fun, lot's of pistols have been built off of rifle barrel cutoffs and some turn out to be surprisingly accurate, certainly they should be good enough for plinking, if you want to make a target pistol you can buy pistol barrels for as little as $50.

I would consider the possibility of taking your barrel to a machine shop and having them cut it off square with a metal cutting bandsaw, it's likely to be more accurate, you can do the touchup yourself with files at home. If you know someone with a lathe you could also go this route and that would be the best, have them drill and tap it for the breechplug at the same time. I built a couple pistols from an old 58 caliber Cabela's hawken barrel once upon a time and they were fun projects and that's what this game should be about.

 

[merdean]

A faster twist is supposed to be better on a pistol. I used 10" from my .54cal, 1-70 twist. I get about 800fps with a (roughly) 230gr ball. That is about the same as a .45ACP. So power wise it is ok. Accuracy is not bad. I wish I still had targets as it shoots 3 to 4" groups at 25yards. That is good enough for what I want the pistol for. :results:
Now, cutting the barrel. You should leave the crown alone. Cut it, then drill and tap for a new breach plug. You have to go thru the same steps to install a new breach and make sure it is square as for making sure the muzzle is square. You crown one end and tap the other. I would rather leave the crown alone and tap the other end. :imo:
Either way, take your time and HAVE FUN!!! :RO:

 

[SAJones]

I've whacked a few barrels shorter w/ a hacksaw. First, I use a square to scribe lines on all flats. Then I cut each flat on the scribe about 1/3 through. Then the next third, & etc, until the barrel just falls in half. Next step is to smooth the cut surface, & I use a square to see if any side needs more "smoothing" than the others. I crowned w/ a tapered grindstone, made for drills (they do have a name, think they're call "bobs"). Do it by hand, don't use a drill. You can get an even crown by using the bevel made on the lands as a gauge; make sure they are all the same length. End up w/ fine emory paper on the bob. One barrel I coned, & it shoots very well.

 

[Wedge]

Speaking from experience as a retired gunsmith and armourer, there is no way I'd tackle shortening any barrel by cutting it off by hand and hand finishing the muzzle. The muzzle is the most important part of the barrel and must be finished accordingly. You can lop the end off by hand but a lathe must be used to complete the job. If you want the firearm to shoot straight you must finish it off with a lathe. I have turned many a rifle into tack drivers, simply by cutting off an inch from the front end and re-machining the muzzle. It's nice to work in a PC environment and produce something that reflects ones' skill and patience; but lathes have been around for many long years. Certainly do the job by hand but plan to finish it one day when a lathe becomes available thru a friend or via your wallet.
Joe /Wedge

 

[fatboy]

A round headed stove bolt chucked in one of the hand cranked drills and valve grinding compound is suppose to work to dress the crown maybe even a brass stove bolt if you can find it would be better . My one friend has a .45 flinter and the barrel is staight flush no bevel he whips my butt I always had the idea you wanted a nice bevel on the crown .

 

[AeroE]

Crowning the barrel gets the plane of the muzzle square to the bore centerline. This is important so gas expelled from the barrel just as the bullet exits is distributed uniformly around the bullet, not biased an angle from the bore centerline. This is why a lathe is preferred, but if you have no choice, a piloted crowning tool works okay; the longer the pilot, the better, as long as it fits tightly and is straight and stiff. A good square, files, and sanding boards is a poor third option, but if I needed a gun now for an emergency and had no other option, I would use this method.

The rest of the operations with grinding compound on brass screws, ball bearings, and so on is for deburring the crown where you just got finished cutting it square. This process will never achieve a proper crown, in fact it's impossible; a spherical shaped cutter can't move material around to square things up, it can only machine a dish shape.