Reaming hand forged barrels

[Mark Elliott]

For those of you who have made forge welded barrels,  do you use a reaming machine to ream them?   Could a brace be used, or do you need the momentum of the flywheel to do a good job?   The reason I ask is that the standard reaming machine takes up more space than I want to allocate to it.   By contrast,  a rifling machine can be quite small and hung or leaned in a corner when not in use.   I am not sure how to make a reaming bench that can be stored out of the way when not needed.  Any suggestions or advise would be appreciAted.   

Thanks ,

Mark

[IKE]

Mark

I don’t think that you want to use a reaming machine or any powered machine on a hand forged bbl. You need to feel the cutting and the only way to do this is by hand. So you will need to build
something that you can turn by hand and it will need a flywheel.

[Mark Elliott]

When I said reaming machine,  I meant an 18trh century type machine with a large flywheel.  The one described in JHAT III is about 12'x6'.    I just don't have the space to leave something like that up permanently.  I can't imagine that most 18th or 19th century gun shops had the space for that either.   So,  what did they do/use?   How big/heavy a flywheel do you need?   

I have a 8' joiners bench that I would like to use as a base for a rifling and/or reaming machine.  That means that I would like to build something that clamps to the top and can either be hung from the ceiling or stood in a corner.

[James Wilson Everett]

Mark,

A great question!  I do not use a reaming machine/bench.  This is not to say that it is correct, I really wish that I had one, but the shop space is too small.  I am currently reaming an original barrel.  This barrel is a nice one, 15/16 straight, 0.38 caliber, 38 long (one of those later percussion barrels that give a perfect definition of "nose heavy".  I plan to rifle the bore at about 0.43 caliber and shape the outside to a swamp then put it into a G. Schroyer gun.

1.  For the rough boring of either the hand forged bore or one already rifles, but corroded badly.  I use a twisted square reamer, 18th c style.  I usually drive it with an electric hand drill variable speed on slow, or, if doing a show-n-tell, with a hand brace.  Do not use a lathe or other rigid setup as this may force the cutter off bore center.  Doing the job holding the tool by hand gives the needed flexibility.  If you use a modern twist drill, you will be sorry!  The modern twist drill will cause a lot of trouble and very often go drilling off center into a big mess - modern reamers are even worse (don't ask how I know).

2.  For final smooth reaming always use an 18th c armory reamer.  Usually the first few passes with the reamer I do with a hand brace.  Later passes I often use the variable speed electric hand drill (if the crowd is not watching).  Photos of the armory reamer can be seen on this topic:  http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=19962.0 (Barrel Freshening - HDTDT)

3.  One modern tool that really does work well for this type of bore reaming are the piloted drill bits sold by Midway USA.  These tools are specifically designed to ream gun barrels prior to the installation of barrel liners.  They are in various sizes from 3/8" - 5/8" diameters.  They have a replaceable pilot section with which the tool is guided on bore center and will not wander off center.  One drawback is their expense, about $80 per drill bit, but I think they are worth the cost.

Jim

[Mark Elliott]

Jim,

That is what I suspected, but I needed someone who had done it to confirm the fact.   I do plan to make my twisted square reamers in the original manner.     I will just make the reamers with a square end to fit a brace (and short enough for an electric hand drill when no one is looking  ).    I really don't expect to ever make more than one or two hand forged barrels,  so I don't want to have to make production equipment or jigs unless it is necessary.   

I really appreciate your response.

Thanks,

Mark

[wmaser]

My setup is a long, narrow work bench, onto which I screw the reaming track or the rifling apparatus,as needed. It takes about a half hour to change from one to the other. When not in use, they are hung from the rafters. My reaming bench is powered by my "apprentice", an electric washing machine motor mounted under the flywheel, with a large V belt and a kill switch mounted on top by the drill chuck. There is little danger of continuously breaking bits , as the loosely tensioned belt simply slips on the pulleys when excessive resistance occurs. The flywheel also has a handle for hand turning if I could ever find someone to turn it. I use traditional hand forged bits and have never had a problem with a bit wandering off center.

[Dphariss]

Make sure you have a plan to knock out the broken pieces of the twisted bit, see "The Gunsmith of Williamsburg".
I would also try to chemically remove any rust.
If the barrel will clean in this manner and its not a gain twist then it might be possible to fresh it if is has enough rifling to guide casting. This will leave about the original rifling form and might be simpler than reaming.
Be sure to proof the barrel before shooting it.
Dan

[Curt Larsen]

Mark:  I suggest that you contact Steve Bookout on the list for advice on this.  I know he has done several and rifles his own.  You could also check with Al Neubauer (sp?) on his Hoot Al site.
Curt

[shortbarrel]

Lots of good info here. You can fresh out a gaining twist barrel. Two cutting teeth and NO lead guides, if you have a old wrought iron barrel  that is suitable and cleans up good enough before you start the fresh. Grooves will not widen but a .001 or two if the cutter is right.

[Mark Elliott]

You guys are a great resource.    I sure hope there are some young guys (other than young Eric)  reading all this and tucking it away.     I also hope Dennis has got lots of backups of this database salted away for posterity.

[blaksmth]

Question,

 wouldn't the bore cut straighter if the powered cutter was pulled through the barrel , instead of pushing it?

 kind of similar to a certain type of chamber reamer that is used on modern match rifles.

[James Wilson Everett]

blaksmth,

A great question, and one I have been pursuing off-n-on for a while.  It is likely that very many original barrels were bored by a powered cutter on the pull.  The tool was called a boring nut and was definitely used on the military musket barrels at the American armories, and very likely on many or most of the longrifle barrels.  It looks like a short drill bit on the end of a long rod and was pulled through the rotating barrel most often with the barrel in the vertical orientation and the boring nut pulled upwards.  We have illustrations of the overall machines that performed the boring of the gun barrels in gangs of 4 or 5 at a time.  The only detail of the actual cutter is contained in the patent application, 2,064, D. Pettibone, 1814.  This invention was in a heated argument as to who actually came up with the idea, but it was originally put into use in the very late 18th c.  A drawing of the boring nut can be seen in the topic "A Good Resource" - HDTDT".    http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=23704.msg227298#msg227298




I have been searching for any original example of a boring nut, but without success.  If anyone out there ha ever seen anything like this boring nut, let us know.

Jim

[Dphariss]

This makes perfect sense if the barrel mill was water powered.
You are a wealth of information.
Modern barrels are often reamed by pull with pressure oil feed to push out the chips.

Dan

[Dphariss]

Looking at my first post  about breaking twisted bits I thought this was in a thread for someone reaming an old 38 caliber barrel to a larger hole. How is arrived here has my curiosity aroused. Can't even find the post I was reading. Too many widows open in the browser maybe. Sorry.

Dan

[Acer Saccharum]

Jim, I imagine that the pull rod would go thru the boring nut, and a cross pin would retain it. The boring nut would have a slot or cross-hole so it would be driven by the pin. This allows the drive rod to be soft iron, and the nut itself to be hardened steel.