UH OH!!! ( maybe)

[ian45662]

Well I put the touch hole liner in and I may have messed it up. I drilled tapped and then I counter sank it. Well I went to put the liner in which is a white lightning and I realized I have stripped some of the threads what I did the countersink. There were some left however so I cranked it down really tight the sawed and filed the rest of it off. What do you guys think

 

[Zonie]

What did you use to countersink the hole?
Usually this just removes the threads at the mouth of the hole without touching the remaining threads.

 

[Bubba45]

After countersinking you should have cleaned up the threaded hole with your tap before putting the liner in. :wink:

 

[ian45662]

The countrsink was the one that track sells for the white lightning. I tried running the tap through it but there was nothing there for it to grab. When I went to put in the touch hole it just fell in until it hit the threads that were still there

 

[ian45662]

What if almost half if not a little more that half of the threads were not there. The liner is in tight. Would the gun still be safe to shoot do you think? Of course first couple times I shoot it I will make sure no one is on my right side. You think I should maybe try a "proof load" with it?

 

[Roy]

what size liner did you use?

 

[J.D.]

How thick is the barrel wall, and how deep is the countersink? More importantly, how many threads are left in the barrel wall?

Next time, drill and countersink, then tap. Just countersink enough to form a shoulder for the liner. A 1/16" deep countersink is plenty.

 

[ian45662]

The barrel is a 13/16 45 cal the liner is a 1/4x32. The liner had to be put in such a manner that it was right up against one of the angles of the barrel. I am affraid if I put a bigger liner in then one side of it would stick out of the barrel. There are enough threads for about 3 turns I think

 

[Vaino]

It's puzzling how some threads disappeared....possibly they were stripped when you ran the tap in and cross threaded? 32 TPI is mighty fine and it wouldn't take much to wipe out the threads. Ctsking shouldn't have any affect on the threads. From what you said, there's at the most less than 3 threads retaining the liner and hopefully the remaining threads are good. Don't know if the remaining threads are sufficient. Personally, I'd try for the next larger size WL or have the hole welded up. A rifle that I built in 1980 has a welded liner hole and it's never been a problem. I inserted a dia. of copper that was very close to bore size opposite the hole and welded from the bore out. Worked like a champ..Good luck.....Fred

 

[Ian Pratt]

Ian, without seeing it, this one is tricky to diagnose, I will say that from the sound of it though I wouldn't shoot it until it is changed.
Don't worry, there are ways to fix problems like this. if your liner is properly centered on your lock pan, going up to the next size liner may be your best bet. With the slight countersink you need, only a small part of the shoulder will tighten down into the countersink and the rest is filed off, so you may not have a problem crossing the corner to the next flat.
There are other options but this is the easiest fix for sure. If it was me I'd not shoot it, I'd get an easy out and pull the liner and start figuring out what to do.
If you can stand to wait a while and are planning to go to that trade fair in January, bring it along and we can look at it there. If going to a bigger size liner won't work we can give you other ideas, but I would check into that first

 

[MikeC]

I wouldn't shoot it. Would always be on mind each and everytime I shouldered it and God forbid it goes when someone is next to you.

 

[ian45662]

Well I am affraid going up to the next size drill bit will cross into the next flat. The touch hole is just above the top of the pan but it is not in the center of the barrel.

 

[Ian Pratt]

The next size up would be a 5/16 liner, that would move your drilled hole up by 1/32 of an inch, plus a little for the chamfer. Will that work or is that going to go too far?

Here is what may have happened - i think you said you got the countersink from Track, was it one of those single flute 1/4" type? I think you know by now you ran it too deep - man don't think I'm giving you a hard time, just trying to help you figure this out,all of us here have made mistakes and know what it's like. Even if you ran the countersink in clear past the cutter, the shaft on one of their 1/4" size is only .250 wide, the hole you'd drill for a 5/16 liner would measure .272 and should clean out the old threads and open up the previous hole. Check your countersink and see if it's like what I'm talking about.
If you absolutely can't move the top edge of the liner up that much - you mentioned that your vent was a bit higher than the top edge of the pan, this may end up helping you. If you know of somebody with a milling machine and they know how to use it, they ought to be able to open the hole up to the next size while moving the center of it down toward the pan.
Welding it up and re- drilling was mentioned and would work.
However you do it, make sure when you countersink for the new liner, all you need to do is break the edge, real shallow, all this is for is to make a place for the shoulder to seat against when you tighten the liner down.

 

[Bubba45]

I made a little oops many years ago and had to get a hardened flathead screw with the allen type countersunk head.I screwed that in as tight as I could,reached in through the breech and carefully ground it flush with the bore using a dremel.I then filed the outside flush with the barrel . To make sure it stayed ,I welded it with a wirefeed welder , cleaned it up purty with files and sandpaper , repositioned the vent and all is well.Its still fine ,and you wouldnt even know if I hadnt just ratted on myself :grin: