Draw file fixture experiment

[Archie Otto]

I saw something similar but much better constructed on one of the traditional forums.  It is for allowing the barrel to rotate with the file as it is drawn down the flat to aid in keeping flat contact between file and barrel.  Not my idea and I have not put it through the paces yet.  I am pretty sure there will be some bugs to work out.  The dowels are oak and I'm thinking about a thin layer of leather on the end to give the wood more grab in the barrel.

Pillow blocks...... $17.00
Holy square tube.... $25.00
Oak dowel........ $4.00
I had the aluminum and bolts

All this for under $50

[David Rase]

Ah yes, tools are almost as much fun to build as rifles.  Sometimes I think I actually like building tools more than rifles.   
David

[PPatch]

I don't know. Draw filing is tedious but not that hard once you get the feel for it and a rhythm going.

dp

[skillman]

And you do well at both!

Steve

[Archie Otto]

Draw filing is tedious but not that hard once you get the feel for it and a rhythm going.

I agree, I am looking for a better way to hold the barrel instead of a bench vise.   

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Your jig is interesting, but would not work for me.  I use a big 6" machinist's vise on a swivel base.  I clamp the barrel in leather at the mid point, swivel the vise to allow one end of the barrel to swing out over the floor, and once I've filed that end, I swivel the vise the other way to do the other end.  Then I rotate the barrel to the next flat.  I do all eight flats.  I would not want the barrel to rotate while I was drawfiling.  There are times when I need to put more pressure on one side or the other.
Each to his own....

[T*O*F]

Ditto what Taylor said.  BS is Best (being simple is best).  There isn't enough room in a shop as it is, let alone having to store a bunch of large fixtures that will probably be seldom used.  A guy just getting started doesn't realize how much "stuff" he will accumulate in a very short time.

[kaintuck]

Nice rig.....I just use a vise with padded jaws....
And Dave, I haven't seen Jacob to see if he has gotten the 90degree attachment made yet for the hole clamp/pilot jig you sell.....hoping  soon!...I will show pictures!
Marc

[Acer Saccharum]

Uh, why not buy a barrel already swamped?

[Archie Otto]

Acer,
Because I don't want a swamped barrel.......

Again I have built something that has no use to anyone but me. 
One day, at my "he's dead" (estate) sale, no one will have any idea what the heck it was for.
Along with the 200 other well used undefined devices leaning against the walls.
My kids will just shrug and say.... "He was a bit strange"

[Mark Elliott]

I have been looking the fixture and i think it may just be extra work, at least for me.   I have never had a problem clamping any barrel in my 4.5" bench vise with lead jaw liners.   It takes me all of an hour to draw file a barrel for finish just clamped in the vise.   Of course,  I only file five flats as the original barrels weren't finished on all sides. 

[Artificer]

Acer,
Because I don't want a swamped barrel.......

Again I have built something that has no use to anyone but me. 
One day, at my "he's dead" (estate) sale, no one will have any idea what the heck it was for.
Along with the 200 other well used undefined devices leaning against the walls.
My kids will just shrug and say.... "He was a bit strange"

This reminds me of my WWI Veteran Grandfather who had all sorts of fixtures - though for metal work and furniture work.  Some of them were later identified and some not, which I always felt was such a shame.  The fixtures that could not be identified were just trashed. 

Ever think taking photo's of the fixtures and stapling the picture to a description of the fixture?  I'm doing some of that right now with fixtures and gages and other stuff I have accumulated over the years.

Gus