Reply With QuoteA barrel can be set back and rechambered. But a Tool and Die guy, is not a gunsmith.
I've got an older 243. Barrel seems to be good, but I've got a pit or gouge in the chamber about 1/4" from the bolt face. When I got the rifle home at first, the burrs wouldn't let me chamber a round. I polished the burrs out by hand with emery cloth being careful not to overdo it. The brass is swelling just enough to make extraction difficult.
How tough is it to cut and add threads to the barrel? I've got access to a well equipped machine shop and pretty good Tool and Die guy. If he can pick up the existing threads in the lathe, we should be good to go correct?
From there I just need to finish ream and set headspace when re-installing the barrel, correct?
Just get a new barrel? I kind of like the old barrel with "J-Series" stamped in it.
A barrel can be set back and rechambered. But a Tool and Die guy, is not a gunsmith.
It’s not tough at all. Your machinist obviously is several notches above the average gun plumber in terms of skill and knowledge or he wouldn’t be a tool and die maker. There are many resources online and in print. Study up and go for it.
I agree. A good machinist can take care of the threading and chambering. The 'touchy' part is headspace, which Savage makes real easy.
"I've got an older 243. Barrel seems to be good"??
First question. How does it shoot? Will it group with a little reload work?
What I'am saying is, "don't fix it if it ain't broke.
Now if you want another barrel or caliber switch, that's a different story.
My "J" has been a BUNCH of different calibers. From 17 VHA on up to .308 with a BUNCH in between.
Bolt head and barrels will get you just about anywhere.
Oz never gave nothing to the Tin Man, that he didn't already have.
Are you "leaping over dollar bills to save small change"?
With his extraction difficulty I think he needs to do something.
An alternative to the machine work might be a replacement barrel. NSS has a .243 sporter barrel for sale, $85.
Originally Posted by charlie b
http://northlandshooterssupply.com/clearance/
+1
Vietnam Vet, Jun 66 - Dec 67
Any machinist worth his salt could accomplish this. The stance that it takes an 11th degree, super Don Gun “Smiff” to do anything is yester-year’s way of thinking.
I was wondering this also though, is this to save a buck? Something special about the barrel? Used 243 barrels should be easy to find. Hell, I have the original barrel away free, right here. And it was a 243. I’m sure you can find one if you look.
Current barrel shoots pretty good. Minute of prairie dog, anyway. I'd like to save a buck. I realize any way I go, I'm going to sink a couple hundred bucks. I don't currently own an action wrench or any other tooling required.
I want a varmint count our to match the original. Twist rate for 55-80 grainers.
The cheap and easy route would be a ER Shaw kit. I seldom do cheap and easy for some reason.
I'm not in a hurry either.
Well it is still pretty much a free country.
Nothing to stop anybody from say giving up beer for a couple years and invest the money in a lathe instead.
Buy the necessary tooling for the lathe and of coarse the required reamers, then practice on some old barrels.
You can also purchase a short chambered new barrel and finish it up by hand without a lathe.
Ultimately you should get pretty good at it, even without any machine training.
I mean even brain surgery can be learned.
Or you could just take it to someone and give them a couple hundred bucks to do it for you and enjoy having a beer.
For a few beers the right guy might do it for free. lol
The Dunning-Kruger effect is alive and well.
I have a 243 factory barrel taken from a model 11 i would give to somebody.
Problem is it sits 1200 miles from where im sitting right now.
I paid a gunsmith to remove it and fit and chamber a new Brux years ago.
Today burger flippers are being paid about 15 bucks an hour, and yet we still buy the burgers.
Yet the cost of other things like having a barrel chambered for example havent changed much at all.
We need to remember that there is a big difference between actually making something as compared to just assembling something from ready made parts.
And those that can do that should be paid more than burger flippers.
Just to add another level of difficulty, this is the older intermediate action that had the barrel drilled/tapped from the factory for target blocks, which I'm using for my scope.
So, if I face the chamber end of the barrel, I've got to get one full revolution and not fractions of revolutions to get the blocks to align and mount my scope when complete. So, I'm looking at sinking the chamber 0.050". 20 TPI, correct?
I'm thinking maybe, I need to re-chamber similar to a non-savage rifle with the barrel installed in the action to get the blocks aligned. Or, face a little shy of 0.05", short chamber, and proceed slow, adjust as needed.
Anyone know how much clearance is permissible between the bolt face and barrel?
My FIL is the tool/die guy. Usually if he can't help me with these types of projects, it's because I can't sufficiently describe the need. We usually have a good time either way.
This $300 rifle is getting more expensive all the time.
Trust me, i do feel your pain as for using that fine old scope.
As you know i used one like it for many years.
But there does come a time when its just best to move on.
Are you complicating what might not be simply because of the scope?
And the scope blocks on the barrel were never a good idea anyway.
The good guns used a sleeved action or a barrel block for mounting those type scopes.
Amen
The Dunning-Kruger effect is alive and well.
Scope isn't going anywhere. Thinking about sending another off to be serviced right now. If I get a new barrel, I'll drill/tap.
No shortage of minty take off barrels on Ebay. I have used many w/no issues.
Measure the depth of the bolt head and add .010" for clearance to get your case protrusion. Normally .125" If I remember correctly.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is alive and well.
^^^ All of mine are right at .125”
What is considered MAXIMUM ?
I afree, your friends time setting the barrel back & threading it most likely will far outweigh the price of a quality prefit. Keep in mind the chamber reamer alone will cost more than a replacement barrel.
There is a lot of variations in the case web dimensions so I am betting there is a small amount of safety built in. I don't think +.005" would cause any problems but it is so easy to maintain that dimension within .001" or .002" why deviate. Plus, headspacing becomes more problematic if you alter that dimension by much.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is alive and well.
The .125 number matches what most headspace go gauges protrude from a properly cut chamber.
I have measured numerous savage barrels@and the number has ranged from .115 to .135.
Keep in mind in production settings that the ability to stop and check is often defined by their process.
The bolt face to breech face measurement can be calculated by The bolt head dimensions and adding .010 for the clearance of the veryfront ofthebolthead to reechface.the depth of the bolt face cut may vary from .115 to .125 + that .010 puts you back at the .125 mentioned.
Ioftenhaefacedoff 1/2 inchoffthe breech and added 10 threads to accomadate the nutwhile headspacing. As yobuck said earlier it is possible to increase chambervdepth by hand. Also I've added threads many times with a threading die.
Brownells sell these. They are 2-1/2" or 3" round dies and require a die wrench as such. The highspeedsteel die serves as a perfectguide for cleaning up the faced offered with a flat file, as the filewont hurtorsratch the die. Facingoffthe breech with a hacksawhas becomeroutine in my shop.
Sounds crude but iwasntmade out of money and can't afford a lathe or money to pay wages at a custom shop. Your predicament is doable for a diy kind of guy. Many have scoffed & laughed but often results tell the whole tale.
Thanks Robin and mn....GG
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