Crowning and Threading barrels the correct way 

I'll take that as a no?

Sorry for getting back to you late on this one Brother. RU-vid hid your comment and I just noticed it on a whim. This is a close design that a guy made a long time ago. He had a website called viper bench-rest.com. He made one like this and sold them for around $275-$300. I just made mine off of what that design looks like. Here are the approximate dimensions of the one I built. 6061 aluminum 6” long 4” in diameter. 1.5” diameter hole through the center. Cut 4 flats length wise at 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees at a width of .900”. Drill 3 holes in each flat and tap 1/2 x 13 thread. Spacing of 1.525” between holes. Start first hole .510 from front face “leading edge”. The through hole for bolt handles is .700”x 3.400” and starts .550” from front face. “Leading edge” This was as wide as I could go with out breaking through into a threaded hole. You can make yours thinner if you want to. The bolts I used are brass tipped. They came from Buckley/QC Fasteners, inc. They are 1/2 x 13 x 1” brass tip alloy steel hex socket head screws. There phone number is 1-800-344-3874. I hope this helps. No things I wanted to change to be honest. Thank you very much for your interest. If you have any other questions I would be more than happy to help. -Switchpod

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy Thanks man... Appreciate you sharing - great vids!

Machinists used to call these "cats heads". Traditional design usually only had 4 opposing screws at each end though, nothing in the middle, but the middle ones on this design should help hold it better...

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyyhow long dose it take from start to finish to thread a barrel

Thank you, unfortunately I’m older than I look. I really wish I was young.

Does gun smiths usually do these kind of machining works? I want to shorten my barrel and pin and weld my muzzle brake on for a true 16" overall length.

I know what you mean I've seen a lot of guys that treat guns like Legos anymore. Once you get outside the realm of swapping pins and springs people lose interest in the real technical fine detail. I prefer to try and improve anything I can and that means not just switching parts but changing thread pitches finding out why things are made the way they are and if there's a better way to do it And learning the old school way of gunsmithing. Just wish some of the tools didn't cost so damn much 😂

​@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy no you don't being young nowadays means you missed out on when America was a much better place and user happened to see and know what this country used to be most of us millennials only remember the 90s and the rest we've read about in books

@@Ipo_Ooped_Maself the tooling cost is real.

mike J Thanks Mike! I’m glad that you liked the video! There are people out there that don’t do it this way. They just get to close measuring the outside diameter of the barrel and start cutting. The most important part in my mind is getting everything lined up with the true center of the bore.

AlphaRomeo-OneFive Thank you AR15! It took years and years to get it.

HAHAHA! lets hope so. It's not a kitten video but hopefully it helps some people.

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy super interesting stuff man even for people who aren't quite machinists like you

Thank you Brother. I try to make the educational ones fun, sometimes I fail 😂

ninja scout Ha! I hate doing that soooo much. Remember blowing your nose after cutting that cast iron? Just black boogers everywhere.

Thank you. Yeah time to break out the scuba gear.

Thank you very much John!!!

Thank you for checking out the video!

Definitely not a professional.

Viper6 they really help when one cracks, you can just replace it in a minute. Regrinding HSS takes a longer time to replace.

Thanks Warsaw!

Thank you very much Keith!

The Poor Conservative One day you may. You never know what’s around the corner Brother.

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy True but I think a mini mill is going to be my machine for next year.....I really want to start making my own bridges for my basses..... lmfao.....I am actually in the process of a very drastic change in my life....I even shocked my wife 2 days ago on our Anniversary 😲😁😆.....but maybe a geared head will be in my 2022 plans..... besides, I may want to make Tungsten darts along with handgun barrels 😂🤣😂🤣

That’s awesome I remember those clocks. If you want it bad enough you will have it.

Thank you James for checking out the video. I will look up that channel you mentioned. Yes I agree experience and skills far out weight most other commodities in my eyes too.

That’s a great channel! His last video he made a huge fly cutter.

No problem! That sounds like an awesome idea.

Awesome

Thank you!

That trick (upside down but) works so well too! Mold making to tough for me. It took me 4 casts before I got one I could use the first time I tried it.

Yeah, I try to keep it concise and short.

8” if I remember correctly. You could definitely make one for that.

I would honestly use an adapter. If you have a long enough barrel then yeah, you could chop and re thread the barrel.

You can get gage pins almost anywhere, just remember the size approximately that you want to measure and purchase a kit that fits that need.

Mel64D Thank you Brother!! It’s good to hear from you again! I hope work has been fruitful for you Brother!

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy Work's slow but still going for now.

Mel64D Good to hear that Brother! Same here.

It all depends on the type of crown I’m cutting, but If you cut to the center then you will experience a burr issue, but using sharp cutting bit, the right speed and feed, and cutting from the center of the bore to the outside diameter greatly reduces the burr issue. I personally believe the key in all of this is to have the most consistent cut possible that you can achieve. If you look closely at the thumbnail picture you can clearly see each land and groove. I haven’t experienced an issue with accuracy or barrel longevity yet doing it this way, albeit unconventional it has treated my barrels pretty well.

You definitely want to deburr that edge. You can check for a burr using a Q-tip. Push the cotton swab in the bore and it should not catch on the way out (you’ll see little wispy cotton fibers if there is a burr). The best way I’ve found to remove this is with 1/2” round medium grit Cratex rod that has been ground to a point. Point goes in the muzzle with the barrel turning about 500 rpm which removes the burr and also polishes this edge.

Accuracy is a byproduct of consistency. In almost all cases shorting a barrel will most definitely increase the rigidity of the barrel and increasing consistency. The downside will be lower velocity of the projectile, so at longer distances you will notice more effects the wind will have on your shots along with bullet drop will also increase with shorting the barrel. With proper hand loads you will most likely notice improvements in your groups at short, and mid range distances, long distances “pending on the load” and how the crown machining goes when the barrel is shortened will most likely be affected. If you are having a conversation with the gunsmith you can ask him to also true the bolt, bolt lugs, bolt face, and action. The possibility on touching up the chamber to “tighten it up” ask what that would cost. All these things can help tremendously with accuracy.

Thank you Brother!

If the gauge is the correct size no, yet of the gauge is the incorrect size and forced into the barrel there will be damage.

I would check around your local area for a gunsmith, ask about their prices and others that they might recommend for the services you are looking to get done.

Last cut is from the center out, no burrs that way.

It’s in the pinned comment, but it goes like this. Sorry for getting back to you late on this one Brother. RU-vid hid your comment and I just noticed it on a whim. This is a close design that a guy made a long time ago. He had a website called viper bench-rest.com. He made one like this and sold them for around $275-$300. I just made mine off of what that design looks like. Here are the approximate dimensions of the one I built. 6061 aluminum 6” long 4” in diameter. 1.5” diameter hole through the center. Cut 4 flats length wise at 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees at a width of .900”. Drill 3 holes in each flat and tap 1/2 x 13 thread. Spacing of 1.525” between holes. Start first hole .510 from front face “leading edge”. The through hole for bolt handles is .700”x 3.400” and starts .550” from front face. “Leading edge” This was as wide as I could go with out breaking through into a threaded hole. You can make yours thinner if you want to. The bolts I used are brass tipped. They came from Buckley/QC Fasteners, inc. They are 1/2 x 13 x 1” brass tip alloy steel hex socket head screws. There phone number is 1-800-344-3874. I hope this helps. No things I wanted to change to be honest. Thank you very much for your interest. If you have any other questions I would be more than happy to help. -Switchpod.

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy Thanks I really appreciate it. I’ve been trying to find info on the viper jig and you gave me what I needed. I already have everything to make this but the screws, but I can get those from McMaster Carr. I’m planning to use this for working on barrels that are too short to run through the headstock and use the rear spider. I have a Colt M4 14.5 barrel I want to chop to 12.5” for a pistol build, and I have a Tikka 6.5CM 24” that’s going to become a 16”, both too short for a rear spider.

@@jimmypalmer5422 Dude!!! Both those builds sound awesome!!!

All the adjusting screws are brass tipped so all you have to do is wipe off any brass that runs off on the barrel. Great question.

I’m sure any local gunsmith in your area can complete the service you previously mentioned.

Technically it would work, but only if your setup was true to the bore and your crown was too. The problem come with mass production of barrels. If you just want threads and true concentricity isn’t at the top of the list you absolutely could do it that way. I would recommend brass tipped live center, or a brass adapter tip on your live center at the tail stock. They are cheap and help to not distort the existing crown.

Thank you. I appreciate your input and enjoy your videos. You bring a lot of knowledge to the shooting community.

Yeah, if it’s worth doing may as well be done right.

Orion Fixr Thanks you Brother. I thought you might like it.

First off I’m probably the worst person to ask due to my extremely unconventional mindset. Having said that nothing trumps experience, trial and error in this space, data that backs up your methodology and a effective, efficient way of communicating what your doing to your customers. If you need to learn the basics of this kind of stuff a school like SDI can help, you can also go to courses like what school of the American rifle offers. Best of luck to you Zak! I’m happy to hear that you’re interested in this space.

Cut the crown last. Some people will thread the barrel between centers so cutting the crown would be the last step on the muzzle end.

Ok.Thank you.I appreciate it.

Yeah, that’s the most typical reason. I’m sure some people argue other reasons like it changes the direction of the expanding gases or something like that but protecting the crown is why I do it.

I'm not sure, but just check with a local gunsmith to get a price on the work you want completed.

Thank you!

4150

Welder6131 If the barrel is I believe a 20” then I can use the rear spider, but in the case of these barrels being 16” they can’t reach the rear spider. I do have plans making a shorter modified fixture for this dedicated operation. This longer fixture is great because to can do bolt faces too.

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy great thank you for confirming this. I will be making one of these to give it a try!

It would depend on the Diameter of the action and the inner diameter of the spindle bore of the lathe they had. On the second question, I have no clue.

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy thank you for the response I'm trying to make a good hunting rifle out of a bubbafied arisaka chambered in 30-06 so that's why I'm asking if it were a as issued rifle I wouldn't be messing with I but it already has been messed with so I put a new stock on it I have polished everything to a nice shine in prep for bluing but I'm hoping I can get it crowned and threaded for a suppressor for under a couple hundred dollars if possible

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy if I had a lathe I would attempt doing it myself cause I have two uncles who were master tool and die guys and I enherited all of there machining gauges tooling ect pretty much everything but the lathe and the mill so I pretty much have to go to a gun smith

This one is a grizzly 14x40 g0824. (made in china) unfortunetly, but for the price it comes with a few good features that I was interested in.

Actually it’s almost easier to do it that way. The cutter/ reamer is guided by the bore and there’s a T- handle that you manually turn.

Good question. The through hole is 1.5” to accept actions as well as barrels and bolts. If I used a 2” piece of round stock there would only be 1/4” of material to thread for the adjustment screws, so by having a larger diameter fixture you have more area for thread support for the adjustment fasteners. The mass of the fixture also helps to absorb vibration that can in turn cause a uneven cut.

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy thank you

Why would you clean from the muzzle end and not the chamber?

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy who said I did?

@@ianh.7822 I’m asking the question due to the comment you wrote. In your comment There’s an emphasis on protecting the crown during a cleaning operation. I can only speculate that the concerns are derived from experience.

Yeah this on is a Grizzly. It has had a few issues, but nothing I couldn’t fix. The quality could be better, and if I ever replace it I would buy a Taiwan made lathe.

Honestly gunsmith pricing varies from one to another and from different areas in the world or country. I recommend talking with local gun stores and asking them who they recommend to take work to. After visiting a handful of stores you should have a list of names you can call and talk with the smith about the work you want done and the prices they offer.

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy ah ok that’s a good starting point. Thank you for the reply sir! 🇺🇸

Find a local gunsmith in your area. Try talking to people at local ranges or look for a reputable one that’s close to you on a search engine.

Well like I stated in the beginning of the video, I have seen a lot of different barrels that are not true. Minor or not at distance a un true barrel can lead to inaccuracies down range. Remember that manufactures are producing barrels at mass production. This will often lead to worn out cutting tools and jigs that hold the barrels. By doing it this way you will take that anomaly out of the equation. During a full build you true up the bolt “if it’s a bolt action” first and then the action, then the barrel and barrel bedding block. I describe the process in text in the video, this will shorten the video for the viewer. Yes you can see in the video that the parts are cut in the jig that is held by the 4 jaw chuck.

I cannot take any work at this time, but thank you for asking.

Unfortunately at this time I cannot offer any service’s at this time.

I cannot take any work at this time, but thank you very much.

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy that sucks. You seem like the real deal with the awesome equipment.

Thank you very much!

I’m unfortunately stacked with work but thank you.

No clue what you’re talking about, but thank you for your comment.

Thank you John

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy you're welcome. I have several barrels that need this.. do you accept customers?

@@johnconnor4594 I cannot accept any work at this time.

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy ok. Thank you for your quick response.

Both are 4150 crmv

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy what "crmv" mean?

@@Hammam-Alharith chromium-molybdenum-vanadium.

Titanium isn't a particularly good barrel material. It doesn't like heat.

Time is finite. Not even a trillionaire can buy time. Why not do anything, and everything to the best of your ability? Why not pay for the best? Anything less is a waste of your time, energy, and money. Good question, but the answer is not what people want to hear.

I’m in school to be a gunsmith! Hope you don’t mind me using your video for school!

You certainly could.

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy Haw much does a typical gunsmith charge for this job? Thanks.

@@hatmatrix4376 I really don’t know because the prices fluctuate from state to state, types of barrel material, even the time of the season it is will change the prices, for example in the fall; I know of a place that the price will go up seasonally.

Thank you very much. No but you can build your own.

Sweet!

Hey Matt! Good to see you again, I really dont do much on my channel, yeah most likely Zeke's channel. Thank you very much sir, I'm glad you liked it.

I generally use my best test on the granite plates. The setup with the two dial indicators have a bigger face for video, but yes they are very sensitive. Running tools upside down is a great way of doing work with tight tolerances, and cutting away from a step, or shoulder, as far as threading these I haven’t ran into any issues with the conventional right hand bit holder.

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy there's an old saying, if it works it isn't stupid, lol, as long as it gets the job done, you're golden. Just offering a different perspective, sometimes it helps sometimes it doesn't. I've been a journeyman machinist for 16 years(and gunsmith on the side since 2010), and I still catch new techniques all the time from other people. But like the work you're doing. I'm getting ready to thread my Sig MPX Copperhead since I got one of the "contract" guns that didn't come threaded, with the internal muzzle device on a 3.5" barrel

@@smnkm4ehfer I’m just a dude in a garage, but thank you. Those Sig copperheads are sweet. I’m glad you got one! I wish I had one. You should do a video on it seriously.

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy when my 9-5 calms down a little I'll have more free time to do some of my own jobs again, unfortunately we've been so busy throughout covid, I haven't had much free time lol. I had to take over for our lead machinist(he lost a leg in a motorcycle accident unfortunately) so I've been double duty for the last 9 months or so. Basically killed my free time unless I never want to leave the shop lol

@@smnkm4ehfer I’m sorry to hear about that. I hope you get some much needed down time.

King Pin Thank you Brother!

I cannot accept anything at this time, but thank you very much for asking.

😆 really?

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy really 🤣

Nope.

Ask for it back and find a smith that can do the work.

Yes

I’m sorry Vman, but I can not take any work at this time. I recommend checking with a gunsmith local to your area about any work that you would like to get done. Thank you for checking out the video and commenting.

I wish I could, but at this time I can’t accept any work. Thank you very much.

You do

Ha! Yeah, that will happen.

@@jeerrrrrrryyyyy No matter what you or anyone else thinks, I am not DK 😁👌🏻