Jim Kibler - How is barrel rifling going?

[Marcruger]

Hey Jim,  I was just curious how the rifling process is coming along?  I watched the video a while back.  Do you have any in use yet?

Best wishes, and God Bless,   Marc

[Jim Kibler]

We have been able to get rifled blanks, so we haven't been doing much rifling lately.  It went okay for us when we were doing it, but there were some problems that I will have to work out if we go this direction again.  The primary issues we faced were cycle time and cutter wear.  Cycle times were around 45 minutes to an hour and a cutter wouldn't stay sharp for the entire cycle.  We used carbide cutters, but found that unless the edge was razor sharp, the finish was not ideal and cutter breakage could occur.  We were rifling green mountain blanks that are fairly hard (at least compared to 12L14).  I think if we were rifling 12L14 a cutter would have stayed sharp much longer and the entire process would have been much easier.  I can understand why most manufacturers use this material.

Jim

[Scota4570]

For the smaller bores button rifling may be a good way to go. 

[Frozen Run]

My favorite thing you do is swamp unleaded blanks. I hope you can keep them that way. Any plans to open up sales on them by themselves like you do the locks? Thank you.

[Marcruger]

The Colonial Rifle barrel is listed on Jim's website currently. 

[Jim Kibler]

Currently, barrel blanks in calibers .45 and up are provided by Green Mountain.  That .40 caliber and below are provided by Rice. 

We can hardly keep up with our own needs for barrels, so we don't have any ambition right now to offer a wider variety for sale for custom builds. 

Jim

[Jim Kibler]

For the smaller bores button rifling may be a good way to go.

Button rifling isn't able to produce very deep grooves.  With the right load it might work, but I think this would be a detriment to kit quality and sales.

Jim

[Scota4570]

For 32 especially, deep grooves are a hinderance, IMHO.  Lots of button barrels have been used for MLs in the past with excellent results. 

[Frank]

For the smaller bores button rifling may be a good way to go.

Button rifling isn't able to produce very deep grooves.  With the right load it might work, but I think this would be a detriment to kit quality and sales.

Jim

Absolutely Jim. No shortcuts please.

[Daryl]

For the smaller bores button rifling may be a good way to go.

Button rifling isn't able to produce very deep grooves.  With the right load it might work, but I think this would be a detriment to kit quality and sales.

Jim

Absolutely Jim. No shortcuts please.

Total agreement on this.  I can see where a .32 to .36 needs only about .006" to .007" in a 48" twist, though. A normal button depth is .004" & any more than that produces
a wavy surface with tight and loose spots. This was the problem experienced back in the mid 70's when deep buttoning was attempted and those were only .008" deep.

[Dphariss]

For the smaller bores button rifling may be a good way to go.

Unless there is an anneal, in a controlled atmosphere furnace, done after buttoning profiling will result in variations in bore dimensions. I.E. the bores will get larger at the muzzle. A swamped barrel would be bigger in the middle.
Buttoning does not work well in rifling more than what is used in PP or "naked" bullet guns or more modern stuff.
The stresses it sets up in the steel are extreme even at .004 deep rifling.
I used to work in place that button rifled barrels. Sure they still do.
IMO button rifling is not a good way to go for any serious barrel. And I have used quite a number of them over the years. There are many highly accurate brass suppository barrels that are buttoned. But they are stress relieved after buttoning.
Do you remember the problems with the shallow groove TC "Hawken" barrels that were button rifled?