I have read of others cutting the barrels of an m44 behind the bayo lug and re-crowning it. How do you re-crown a barrel? Is it something a gunsmith should do or can a skilled dremel owner take care of the job?
That's the job I'm in the middle of right now to finish my truck/farm gun. I cut down my M44 right behind the lug and the barrel measures about 16 3/4 so it's short, but still legal. I have yet to recrown though (been sighting in my new 30-06, and fine tuning) but it is next on my list. I believe Rebel is right, from a GunSmith, it's going to cost me around $20-25, so it's not bad. However I do know an up and coming GunSmith that this might make a nice litte test for her, so I might go that route too.
Actually recrowning isn't the difficult part its actually cutting the barrel straight, To recrown yourself ya can use a variable speed drill at low speed but we usually use a good ol fachioned hand drill, go to the hardware store and buy a couple of brass 3/8" carriage bolts and some 400 grit valve lapping compound plug the barrel with a tight bore swab pushed up from the chamber to within a 1/4" of the muzzle to keep grit from getting into the bore, next chuck the carriage bolt into your drill coat the rounded head with lapping compound and work it into the muzzle always keeping the drill in motion in a circular pattern (the handle end of the drill) do not simpley hold it straight on as all ya will do is grind away the carriage bolt etc... the reason for the brass bolt is that it holds the grit from the lapping compound better.... ya can also use a large ball end diamond impregnated hone in a drill or dremel but go slow
I have seen various recrowning drill bits online. I will most likely go to a gunsmith. I tried pulling out a busted screw from the front sight on my Marlin 336 and made the situation worse by stripping the hole to big!. My only option now is to replace the barrel or try to tap it for a bigger screw size and put a different front sight on it. A lesson hard learned. I do not want to make the same mistake with the Nagant. I am pretty handy with tools, but gunsmithing is new area for me. Don't want to bite off more than I can chew.
Jackal, cutting the barrel is nothing to be scared of. The biggest concern is getting it square. I cut my 91/30 as square as I could using a hacksaw. I then turned down a "pilot" using a Lee 30/30 case trimmer to fit the bore using my drill press. I then filed the muzzle as square as I could get it using the pilot as a reference to square the muzzle. I used a black Magic Marker to mark the barrel and filed the high spots until it was clear that everything was totally square.
I have seen various recrowning drill bits online. I will most likely go to a gunsmith. I tried pulling out a busted screw from the front sight on my Marlin 336 and made the situation worse by stripping the hole to big!. My only option now is to replace the barrel or try to tap it for a bigger screw size and put a different front sight on it. A lesson hard learned. I do not want to make the same mistake with the Nagant. I am pretty handy with tools, but gunsmithing is new area for me. Don't want to bite off more than I can chew.
just put some good glue onder the front sight. that and the other screw thats in the front sight should be plenty to hold the sight in place.
I am having a Ruger Service Six being recrowned as we speak. Price...well, that's another story. I went in one time and asked what he would charge and he told me $25 or so. The next time I went in (he probably didn't recognize me) he said $40-45. When I finally decided to have it done I asked the price and he said $35. So there you have it. It would have been a little cheaper except that he had to pull the barrel from the frame...an extra process that needs to be exact when putting it back on. When in doubt, go with a gunsmith, that's what they are paid for and it probably saves time, money, and frustration in the long run. I have some nicks in the end of my barrel that make shooting my revolver a nightmare as far as accuracy--I rather have it done the right way and not screw it up.
The Crown Has to Be Cut FIRST with the proper tools before Using the Brass screws or Balls with Lapping Compound to Finish the job...It is done on a lathe or with a Piloted Cutter made for the Job, so the Crown remains TRUE to the Bore or else accuracy will be Poor...
(I love these wannabe Gunsmiths...)
Rich
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Moose is so right. My dad was a master machinist (among his multitude of talents), and I asked him once after reading about recrowning rifles in an old American Rifleman if he could do ti in his home shop. He read the article and said that if he took the barrel to work with him, maybe he could do it using an exotic lathe they had there. But as for doing it at home, he said he wouldn't even try. It required a cutter he didn't have; and without it, he would not guarantee it to be true. And Dad wasn't afraid of much when it came to machining. Things he worked on not only have gone to the Moon - they've gone to Mars. And they all worked when they go there. If he thought it was a job for a specialist, a gunsmith, I'd have to defer to his opinion.
Although I am a supporter of those that want to try doing it themselves, only way to learn is to try, I DO think that a gunsmith would be the best money ever spent!
But, it is your rifle! One thought is to see if you can find a gunsmith that will coach you through it! That way you get to learn from an expert and still have the pleasure of doing it yourself!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Jackal
I have seen various recrowning drill bits online. I will most likely go to a gunsmith. I tried pulling out a busted screw from the front sight on my Marlin 336 and made the situation worse by stripping the hole to big!. My only option now is to replace the barrel or try to tap it for a bigger screw size and put a different front sight on it. A lesson hard learned. I do not want to make the same mistake with the Nagant. I am pretty handy with tools, but gunsmithing is new area for me. Don't want to bite off more than I can chew.
have you priced those bits lately?
ouch!!!!!
$$$$$$$$$$
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When the Russians counterbored rifles, they did not go inside the muzzle with lapping compound. They left it squared off inside the barrel, the lands were left good and sharp at the end , not rounded off, the reason I assume you need to round it off if it exposed is to limit the ability of the muzzle end hitting somthing and getting damaged. If it is counterbored the protection is in place because the lands at are inside the barrel. Seems to me a squared off muzzle with good sharp lands should shoot straight even without curfing the muzzle to the inside a bit.
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All this brass screw stuff, file and dremel is a bad joke. As Moose said - use lathe or special muzzle crowning tools. Or give it to a gunsmith, assuming gunsmith is using either lathe or the tools. If somebody has more than 8-10 rifles to recrown, it may be actually more beneficial to buy this toolkit, which can also make good money if you do crowning jobs for the others. I got one, and it works way better for me than any other tools and even lathe, considering total time involved.
Actually recrowning isn't the difficult part its actually cutting the barrel straight, To recrown yourself ya can use a variable speed drill at low speed but we usually use a good ol fachioned hand drill, go to the hardware store and buy a couple of brass 3/8" carriage bolts and some 400 grit valve lapping compound plug the barrel with a tight bore swab pushed up from the chamber to within a 1/4" of the muzzle to keep grit from getting into the bore, next chuck the carriage bolt into your drill coat the rounded head with lapping compound and work it into the muzzle always keeping the drill in motion in a circular pattern (the handle end of the drill) do not simpley hold it straight on as all ya will do is grind away the carriage bolt etc... the reason for the brass bolt is that it holds the grit from the lapping compound better.... ya can also use a large ball end diamond impregnated hone in a drill or dremel but go slow
That's the way Larry Potterfield from/of Midway USA showed how to do it during one of the gun shows on the Outdoor Channel.
But I feel it should be mentioned that I believe he's a gunsmith, or at least working on and with guns for like 30-40 years and has all the tools or access to them.
He also cut the barrel on a lathe to get and make sure it was square.
Jackal, it's your gun to do with as you wish. But if and when you notice it's not accurate and your shots are all over the place, well, I guess you'll know why.
And in honesty, I have to and must say that if it were mine and me, and it was an inexpensive gun as the Mosins tend to be, I'd do it. It doesn't seem to be hard but having the right tools obviously makes doing it easier and helps in getting it done right. But like I said, if a cheap gun, I'd try it...
If you're unsure or hesitant, you could cut it off in front of where you really want to and do a practice run so to speak? Not sure how much barrel you have in front of the bayo lug but if there's enough to maybe do one practice cit and crown, you could do just that?
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Last edited by GlockMeister; 02-18-2010 at 03:49 PM.
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