Finish Reaming

[warrenator]

I called a highly reccomended local gunsmith about rebarreling my 10, the truth is, he can do it cheaper than I can buy the wrenches and no/go gauges and all that. However, he told me that most aftermarket pre-threaded savage barrels come 10 thousandths short and he might have to finish ream the chamber. I'm using a criterion barrel if that helps answer my question if this is true.

[barrel-nut]

I'd have to call B.S. on that one. I've never had to finish ream a chamber on a barrel that was sold as a "Savage replacement Pre-chambered" barrel. Which is, every single one I've bought, including Criterions.

Now, if your 'smith buys a short-chambered blank, and does the threading and turning and crowning and finish reaming himself, then, yes. But then he would have just created an "aftermarket Pre-threaded/chambered Savage barrel". Sounds like you're dealing with a Remington smith. I'd look elsewhere. Or just do it yourself. No finish reaming required with a Criterion Savage replacement barrel. Guaranteed. If finish reaming were required, they'd gladly (and sheepishly, due to their embarrassment), take it back and perform said reaming, free of charge.

[warrenator]

He told he would do it without reaming and check the headspace and if it was fine (which I assured him it would be) he wouldn't ream it. He wants to charge 75 bucks to do a swap. Which is cheaper than I can do it

[sinman]

Your gunsmith has no idea what he is talking about and after him saying that I would find a different smith.

[barrel-nut]

He is in complete control of the headspace due to the nature of the Savage installation system. The barrel nut makes this possible. Sounds like he is really not very familiar with this system, if he is even hinting about reaming it. I'd be very wary. For your $75, you could buy a go- gauge, and most of an action wrench and barrel-nut wrench, and be in complete control of your own installation, and not have to deal with the smith's timeline or unexpected charges or goofups. There's no way I'd let him near my new Criterion with a reamer. It would void your warranty and probably mess up your barrel.
If you go ahead and make the modest investment in tools to do this yourself, you'll only be spending once. If you later decide to change things up, you'll be able to do it on your timeline, and for no additional charge. With Mr. Smith, you'll be paying and waiting (and hoping he did it right) every time.
Just sayin.

[J.Baker]

Your gunsmith has no idea what he is talking about and after him saying that I would find a different smith.

I think that's a little harsh. Until just the last few years, before everyone and their brother was offering pre-fit barrels, there were one or two outfits offering short-chambered barrels for Savages that you could get through Brownells or Midway (can't recall which). Why they short-chambered them I have no clue, but they did and most likely this gunsmith ran into just such a barrel back in the day.

[barrel-nut]

Deleted

[barrel-nut]

Well that could be true. But strictly speaking for myself here, if i were a (gunsmith) and some guy brought me a gun and a prefit barrel,
to just screw on maybe while he waited, he would also know he's dealing with the wrong mechanic. Making people happy isnt why (most)
people go into business and it wont be all it takes to stay in business either. The general public wont mind at all if you are a very busy fool.

This is really starting to get off into the weeds.
I don't think the OP expects the gunsmith to perform the swap while he waits, nor would I. And I think they agreed on a fair price, $75, which means this is a business transaction, not a favor done just to make a customer happy. The OP's question was concerning the smith's claim that the chamber may need to be reamed. I think that has been addressed from all reasonable angles. It's really now just up to the OP to decide if he's comfortable with the smith.

[warrenator]

The gunsmith is a good guy. He does very good work. And maybe he used some E.R shaw barrels or some older pre-fits that did need to be reamed. He said it's my decision so $75 is a fair price, I was almost hoping it would be more so I can do it myself.

[barrel-nut]

It'll total $150 when you catch the bug and decide you want a different caliber. Lol. Just messing with ya man, hope it works out well for you.

[warrenator]

I'll post something up on the my build section in a few weeks. I'm doing all the other work on the gun. I don't want to sound like a wimp lol

[barrel-nut]

No worries man. If you're not 100% comfortable with the job, you're probably better off using the smith. Hope it goes well.

[CriterionBarrels]

If you purchase a Criterion Savage or Rem/Age pre-fit, it will come with a finished chamber. No finish reaming should be necessary. If you are looking to have the barrel chambered in a configuration that we do not offer (not listed on our website), then we can send you an unchambered Savage barrel for your gunsmith to chamber. If you have the reamer on hand we can also offer that service for a nominal fee. If you or your gunsmith have any questions about your barrel, please feel free to shoot me an email at contact@criterionbarrels.com or give us a call at (262) 628-8749.

[warrenator]

Thank you Criterion this made me laugh in a good way. I will show this to my smith.

[3darcher2]

Did I miss something? The OP's "problem" was with Criterion barrels and they answered with some specifics and I thought just said to contact them directly for any help. I came back to read their response again and its gone?

Dang, I thought I was learning something. I did not remember a solicitation - the thread was about them.

[earl39]

Yep looks like modarater error.

[J.Baker]

Yep, I missed that in the first post. Thanks for catching it guys. Even us Admin's are only human and prone to screwing the pooch from time to time. lol