where can I purchase tubing for a smooth bore?

[tat]

Can someone tell me where I can purchase tubing for a smooth bore. I would likefor it to be a .50 and I do not know what size tubing I need or what wall thickness. I do not know what grade of steel I need either.

I want to use a quality steel so this gun will last. I have never built a gun before so I could use alot of advise.

I am open to other caliber suggestions as well I just want to be able to get a mold for balls and it must be a smooth bore.

Tommy :thanks:

 

[Dave K]

I really don't think you want to do that IMHO. There are too many good barrel makers that make barrels that will be exacly what you are looking for and are also safely designed for you to use black powder or black powder substitutes in. Go to places like Track of the Wolf http://www.trackofthewolf.com/ and many others and look for barrels and other parts to build your gun from.

 

I agree with Dave. Also Tennessee Vally Manufacturing is making some very nice smoothies in .50 Octagon to round. Bill

 

[Zonie]

IMO, a piece of seamless tubing isn't really suitable for a barrel unless you have done the engineering required to select the right wall thickness and type of material.
Even if you know what the material should be, it is sometimes very difficult to get that material in the wall thickness you would need.
Also, to know you have the right material, you need to deal with a large company who can supply the material certification papers with it. To do less is asking for trouble.

Even if you get the right wall thickness and proper material, most guns have thick walls at the breech to handle the high pressure there, and are then made thinner as they approach the muzzle to get the excess weight out of them.
Without a good lathe, tapering the barrel is more work than it's worth.

Like the other posters, I would suggest that you buy a ready made barrel from one of the barrel suppliers.
They have engineered the design, done the difficult machining, sized and smoothed the bore for you.
Yes, it cost more, but you can feel safe firing it.
:imo:

 

[CrackStock]

Tat,

What is your intended use for this barrel and gun? Time period, lock type and stock would be somewhat helpful here. Different answers might change some of our answers.

A couple of thoughts:

.50 is pretty narrow for a smoothbore. Does not give account of itself for most uses at any distance, but has the advantage of using a readily available source of balls. It is more commonly available in rifled form. Yes, the .410 exists in modern guns, but for different reasons and was not a common bore in that time period. Annie was a long way off and this size evolved from cartridge sizes and for very specialized purposes.

While you could find .50 inner diameter tubing from someone, it may be difficult to find this inner diameter material from a gun barrel supplier. 28 gauge (.54) or 20 gauge (.62) are both more common and have smoothbore shooting components readily available for them. You might find something to use, but it would not be a known situation with gun barrels as nobody else is doing this with that size that I have seen.

On the other hand, it might make for a really nice pistol barrel. One could do a plain round barrel and make a pair of...

As to molds, almost all common sizes are readily available and custom sizes can be purchased at reasonable cost. I have a Lee .600 (which is commonly available now) for my 20 gauge and also got a custom Dixie (hair curler) mold for my .747 bore Bess. I also got a hair curler mold for my .50 that was a tad undesized as my Pedersoli .50 pistol is a bit tight. I have 3 molds for a .54/28 gauge from various sources and only have about $60 total in these .54s. The short answer is that you can get what you want from a mold. Shop around or order custom.

Making a smoothbore barrel can be simple or very difficult.
The general practice in most is to mill the flats to form the octagonal portion and then turn the round section and wedding bands on a large metal lathe. Are you really up to that work? Can you do these without thinning too much in a critical area? I would just let a pro with the right equipment do this correctly with the right material from a known supplier/manufacturer.

Jackie Brown could make a barrel for you from the same stock that he uses. Either of the TVMs could do the same. I am sure that there are others out there who can also answer this need as well. (They may sell you some of their stock, but I doubt it since they would be on the hook if you thinned it too much or made some other error which caused a failure. But they might sell you one that they turned and attached the barrel tabs, plug and front sight.)

Doing it yourself is great, but barrels may not be the place to start without a lot of study and experience.

CS

 

[Boer]

tat
Everybody will give you the safe option, if you are still interested in the other option and not unhandy with tools, I can think of no one better to advise you on this topic than the late Robert Bastow, also known as Teenut on the rec.crafts.metalworking newsgroup. You may agree or not agree with him. Personally I have a lot of respect for his views. Anybody interested in lathes, milling, shapers gunbuilding, armour, and a lot else as well can do no better than to read his posts on the rec.crafts.metalworking newsgroup, easily searchable by google. Wish this guy was still with us.

From: Robert Bastow <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.metalworking
Subject: Re: DELURK: matchlock gun barrels
Date: Sat, 16 Oct 1999 05:39:10 GMT

richgoth, sydney wrote:

> Black powder develops pressures of up to 25,00psi...

Whoaa!

Where did you get THAT idea!!

It is a MYTH that can KILL you!

BP can develop pressures WAY over 25000psi !

If you want to make your own barrels, use mechanical DOM (Drawn over mandrel)
hollow bar. Use MILD STEEL not 4140..it is easier to cut and has better
elongation. No need for fancy stuff unless you are using jacketed bullets. With
lead bullets you are likely to wear it out from cleaning LONG befor you shoot it
out.

It is spec'ed by O/d and wall thickness, thus 1 1/4" - 3/8" wall will give you a
half inch bore. Unless you are fussy about a particular bore diameter..which
the old time gunmakers never were..you are ready to rifle and lap.

Then take a LARGE (14") mill bastard file to the outside, and remove all the
bits that don't look like a rifle barrel. Hard work, but it goes surprisingly
quickly! If I had to do one today, I would do it by hand (might cheat a bit on
the big belt grinder)..but it is how it was done, and it IS faster than setting
up on the mill!! Especially if you want a nice, elegant, swamped muzzle.

The old gunsmiths made beautiful barrels with what appears, to the modern
layman, to be crude tools. But the principles are sound and they work as well
today as they did then. I HAVE made rifle barrels (very accurate ones too) by
the same methods...and, because I was in the UK at the time, for the same
reasons and under the same restrictions.

You certainly don't need a lathe, but neither do you need to go welding up your
tubes from reclaimed horseshoe nails.(Though I do know a guy that welds his own
four wire Damascus Twist barrels, and they are works of art!!)

The old gunsmiths would have died to have hollow bar available from the local
Metal Supermarket!! ;^)

Indeed, one of the first, widely distributed iron/steel mill products was
octagonal hollow bar for rifle makers!! Octagonal because it was easier to roll
it thus, and it stayed octagonal because it is quicker and easier to file and
finish it thus! (..and you always thought..!!) ;^)

You sound like someone who enjoys the research aspect of this too. I can
suggest no better beginning than books like Ned Robert's "The Muzzle Loading
Caplock Rifle" It is out of print..but not rare or expensive. Start your
search in OZ with Michael Treloar Antiquarian Books in Adelaide (+61 8 8223
1111 <[email protected]> )

Say Hi to Sue for me!! I just ordered an OOP, two volume, Slip Covered, Limited
Ist Edition of "The Bolt Action - A Design Analysis" by Prescott, from them.
Now that IS rare and expensive..so they might be taking a vacation when you
call!! 8^(

teenut

 

[Boer]

Look at this page to work out the inside diameters

web page

 

[benvenuto]

wow...
had no idea that Teenut was no longer with us...
Nor did I get to see that reply he wrote me - sound advice!

 

[Boer]

benvenuto
Your comment prompted me to look at your website and it was very interesting. Did enjoy it!

 

[benvenuto]

Thanks...
Have been thinking of updating but my laptop which had all my website stuff on it just died...
::
may be a while coming!
Maybe I should just start on filing down that barrel from hollow bar instead :hmm:

 

[Slash]

Riley Smith at LongHammack Barrel Co. makes a smooth 50 caliber. He also always stands behind his product. No matter who you decide to call, ask what material is used making the barrel. Safety should always be the barrel makers #1 concern.
Slash

 

[tat]

Thanks everyone for the replies! :thanks:

I have been w/o a computer for almost a month. I am wanting to build something to shoot. I am not worried about time periods or anything like that. I would like to build from "scratch" but I want to be safe! The reason I mentioned .50cal is because it is fairly common. I still plan on building something from scratch. I have plenty of tools for the task.

My Wife just bought me a CVA buckhorn magnum from wal-mart Tuesday of last week :thumbsup:. I just have the rifle and I need to purchase powder,balls,caps and a measure so I can shoot it. I am really excited about this store bought model but I think shooting something built with my own two hands will be even better.