"SWAMPED" BARRELS??? Intended or poor workmanship?

[jd945043]

Okay I have a question about something that I see on almost every original rifle and that's the swamped barrel. If this is just poor workmanship then why do we see it almost across the board from every Rifle Smith in the Colonies

 

[Ames]

Who said it was poor workmanship?

 

[jd945043]

Last week in a thread about octagon to round barrel rifles one person said that it was totally unintentionally done because draw fiiling an true Octagon barrel was messed up and that's why we see swamped barrels

 

[BillKilgore]

Both swamping and octagon to round are for weight reduction. Remember, the narrowest part of a swamped barrel is suspended ~3 feet in front of the shooter.

 

[jd945043]

I agree but in the thread last week about octagon rifles and round barrel rifles I was told that the swamped barrel was failure of the gunsmith to draw file the barrel properly. In fact the person replying to me said that swamped barrels were no more than poor workmanship but sense the rifles exist with swamped barrels we are only following their imperfections

 

[Rancocas]

I agree but in the thread last week about octagon rifles and round barrel rifles I was told that the swamped barrel was failure of the gunsmith to draw file the barrel properly. In fact the person replying to me said that swamped barrels were no more than poor workmanship but sense the rifles exist with swamped barrels we are only following their imperfections

B.S.
A properly swamped barrel takes a lot of hard work. It is done to lighten the barrel and improve the "swing".

 

[rich pierce]

Forget the other thread. It was speculation and very wrong.

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

It takes a higher level of workmanship to build a rifle with a swamped barrel than it does to build one with no taper. Whoever told you that was yanking your chain, or had no idea what they were talking about.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
As Rich wrote, whoever wrote swamping was about poor workmanship was completely wrong.

dave

 

[French Colonial]

After you have handled a few rifles you will have enlightenment.

Two rifles virtually identical, one with a straight barrel and the other swamped and you will know the truth grasshopper.

 

[jd945043]

Thanks Men I felt he was wrong but I am not an expert so I needed some enlightenment

 

[user 49399]

Whoever said that was completely wrong.

 

[rchas]

As others have said, your source was wrong. Swamping a barrel was very intentional--the taper removes weight and improves balance and the flare at the muzzle allows the sights to be the same height above the bore.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Both swamping and octagon to round are for weight reduction. Remember, the narrowest part of a swamped barrel is suspended ~3 feet in front of the shooter.

Another reason/theory for swamped barrels (as told to me, I can't prove it) was that with the soft iron used for barrels back in the day, the swamping absorbed much of the harmonic vibration caused by the exploding powder and gave much better accuracy than a straight barrel. Any expert input that can explain or refute this would be appreciated.

 

[springfield art]

Okay I have a question about something that I see on almost every original rifle and that's the swamped barrel. If this is just poor workmanship then why do we see it almost across the board from every Rifle Smith in the Colonies

It's still used; keeps weight down.

 

[stikshooter]

I agree but in the thread last week about octagon rifles and round barrel rifles I was told that the swamped barrel was failure of the gunsmith to draw file the barrel properly. In fact the person replying to me said that swamped barrels were no more than poor workmanship but sense the rifles exist with swamped barrels we are only following their imperfections

Find a better source ,like someone who has one other than a rank ***** who probably does not own or has the money to buy one !/Ed

 

[stikshooter]

Another reason/theory for swamped barrels (as told to me, I can't prove it) was that with the soft iron used for barrels back in the day, the swamping absorbed much of the harmonic vibration caused by the exploding powder and gave much better accuracy than a straight barrel. Any expert input that can explain or refute this would be appreciated.

Not according to Davy Crocket /Ed

 

[Johnny Tremain]

Id say the swamped barrel I use is for balance before weight reduction.

 

[Grenadier1758]

The swamped barrel is certainly not poor workmanship. The swamping was intentional. Making straight barrels from a flat skelp and forge welded is not a simple operation, in fact nearly impossible. The draw filing to smooth the weld and forging marks made may have increased the swamping effect or not, but the smith certainly wanted a smooth surfaced barrel.

Originally barrels were made from a flat skelp of soft iron that was forge welded around a mandrel. The welding started at about the middle of the barrel. As the soft iron was heated to welding temperature and forged around the barrel, the soft iron moved towards the breech or muzzle. As a result, the barrel was smaller in over diameter where the welding started and greater at the muzzle and breech. The smith used swaging blocks with several sizes of half octagon sections to accommodate the barrel as the size changed as the barrel was formed around the mandrel. The benefit of having more metal at the breech to contain the ignition pressures and a larger muzzle to raise the front sight were not lost on the gunsmith. Neither was the good handling characteristics of a swamped barrel lost to the smith.

Was swamping a barrel intentional? Yes, but it was also a function of the manufacturing process. That's one reason that the historical dimensions of the swamped barrels vary so much from gun builder to gun builder. Once the deep drilling process and large-scale mills that would produce straight sided barrels or tapered barrels, swamping of barrels from a barrel manufacturer faded away. There are very few swamped barrels made after about 1850.

 

[hanshi]

Your source is not only wrong but totally ignorant as well. Swamped barrels had lighter weight and caused the rifle to handle better than a straight barreled one. It was and is done on purpose. That's why they were so common and so popular.