Touch Hole Liners Revisited

[dannylj]

As I posted recently I'm having trouble with a touch hole liner in the 15/16 .50 GM barrel I am working on. I made a liner out of 5/16 stainless rod , threaded it (5/16X24), and installed. It turns easily all the way into the bore as does store bought ones. I had decided to place a White Lightnening liner but now I realize they are threaded in a 32 pitch. I don't think there is room to place a 3/8 liner without extending well across a barrel flat. Is there any way (soldering maybe) to anchor the liner I have and still be safe? I don't want to cut off and rebreech barrel if I can help it.  Thanks  Danny

[Ryan McNabb]

Confused.  Why not use the SS rod you already threaded for?  Why change to the White Lightning liner?  If you're still in the planning stages and haven't drilled/tapped, why use a liner at all?

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

if the barrel flat is more than 3/8 I would use the white Lighting...... You can get a steel one that yyou can blue or brown.. doesn't have to be stainless.

[Ky-Flinter]

Danny,

Let me make sure we're on the same page.  You've already drilled and tapped the barrel for a 5/16-24 liner and installed the liner you made but there's nothing for it to seat against, so it will thread on into the bore.  Also, not enough room to go up to a 3/8 Whitelightning.  Correct?

Can you make a new 5/16-24 liner with a little shoulder and countersink the hole in the barrel slightly to accommodate the shoulder?  Ala Whitelightning liners.

Or make a new 5/16-24 liner but don't thread it all the way.  The unfinished threads will act as a stop.  Screw it in tight and face it off on both ends.

Or, I had another thought but now hesitate to mention it...  aw what the $#*!.  Screw your liner in to where you want it, cut and file off on the outside, then center punch each side of the liner where it meets the barrel to lock it in place.  Face off any of the liner hanging into the bore.  I think this would be a last resort.

-Ron

[California Kid]

You can get a store bought ampco liner 5/16-24 with a shoulder from any of the suppliers, MBS, TOTW, etc.
That would solve your dilemma. Or as was said turn one with a shoulder.

[AndyThomas]

If I use a liner, I use the Ampco ones. The problem with stainless steel is that it sticks out like a sore thumb. Look at a SS liner on a neatly browned or blued barrel. My favorite is the "aged" barrel with a shiny new SS liner.

The Ampco liners will tarnish, you can still see them, but sunglasses arn't required. 

Andy

[dannylj]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Ron you understand correctly. The hole is drilled and tapped as this was originally going to be a caplock and the drum was 5/16X24. I don't have a lathe so cannot make anything other than a straight liner. TOW says the stainless shouldered liners in their catalog are no longer available. The idea of an Ampco liner may be the answer. I thought about not threading the liner all the way but was not sure if would work. I have thought about inserting the liner and soldering it. Am I correct in thinking that even if the liner will screw below the surface of the barrel if I can make a stop for it (peening it) it will be safe to shoot. I have not had this problem before in 4 rifles I have built.  Thanks for the input.  Danny

[Daryl]

I'm with Tim- if the flat is wider than 3/8", tha'ts the liner I'd use and it would be a Chambers liner or similar home made with 24" threads.

[Herb]

I have a friend who uses the 3/8" White Lightning liners even if they are wider than the flats, he just files off the parts that stick out.

[Daryl]

The top and bottom sides will protrude just a tich - filed off with those angled flats, they look just fine.  The bevel comes over the cornes just a smidgen - another of the more accurate measruements sitable for a family oriented web site.

[northmn]

I have made a lot of liners that work.  You use what you have and counter bore the hole to 5/16 very slightly and make a new liner and leave a little bit of a it unthreaded.  When installed you do not have the threads showing.  You can counterbore the interior similar to a white lightening.  Never had any problem with them.  I just buy stainless bolts with a shoulder.  To intall I use a hacksaw and score around the bolt about where I want it to cut off and turn it in and cut it off. I also drill the final touch hole after installation to guarantee placement.

DP

[dannylj]

I really appreciate the suggestions. It would seem I don't have as big a problem as I thought. That's the great thing about this site, it seems no matter what kind of problem you have someone has already come up with a solution.  Thanks  Danny

[Cody Tetachuk]

That's the great thing about this site, it seems no matter what kind of problem you have someone has already come up with a solution.  Thanks  Danny

The key is to not run off and apply the first "solution" posted. Often, a 'solution' posted is either incorrect or will work but is not the BEST solution. It's best to give  a thread time to develop and give members a chance to post alternate solutions as well as a chance to critique suggestions already given. These critiques can also add insight into the mechanics of the problem.

[Acer Saccharum]

Well said, Cody. I will often take all the replies to a question, and go over all the pros and cons, as they apply to my circumstance, and then make a decision. I find waiting works to my advantage, both in gathering ideas, and figuring out exactly how I will go about my fix.

Tom

[dannylj]

Not following Cody's suggestion is kinda why I am in the fix I'm in with this touch hole thing.  Danny

[Daryl]

My little Southern rifle is a case in point about having to replace a liner.  Originally the rifle was a cap lock. What we didn't know when converting it to flint, was that the drum it had was drilled and tapped too high for a whitelightening liner to be thread in. A compercial liner had to be used, but due to the high location,it was wel above the proeprly installed lock's pan. I shot it for a year like that - but just yesterday, Taylor and I built and installed a new liner made of mild steel.  Thus browned is virtually invisible.  Tomorrow will be the first time it's used.
The liner took about 3/4's hour - maybe a full hour to make and install. 5/16x24 thread.  It was the first one I've made - no big deal.  It was bored out to give a nice coned cavity, and the new vent location properly positioned and angled up to the cone's end. The 'web' is about .050".

[dannylj]

Daryl, did you make the liner with a shoulder to tighten up on or, incomplete threads to tighten against, or straight and just screwed it in? Getting it to stay tight in the hole is my whole problem.  Danny

[Daryl]

The outsdie of the barrel had a 3/8" diameter step (instead of a chamfer) before the threads started.  I merely duplicated this step in the liner, so it shoulders properly.