short swing Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 (edited) I can get undrilled barrel "trimmins". What is the quality of these peices of metal? Also can get stainless, is it worth something? Edited June 25, 2009 by mod07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Its all worth something. I'd love to have some for my possibles pile. Depends on what you want to do with it. What do you want to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Quality is strictly associated to what you want to make from it. Gun barrels usually do not make very good knives; but are Excellent for making gun barrels. So can you tell us what you want to try to make from them? Or is your question "I can get undrilled barrel "trimmins". What would be good things to make from them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Rifle barrels are usually 4140 or one of the leaded steels like 12L14. It's hard to say what you can use them for but probably won't work for chisels or punches and they typically don't have higher carbon content than a car spring. It would help if you knew the exact makeup of the drops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hammer Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 How about making gun barrels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Gun barrrels are generally NOT high carbon something about increased brittleness and explosions inside not being a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
short swing Posted June 26, 2009 Author Share Posted June 26, 2009 How about making gun barrels? Let me borrow your lathe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 How about candle holders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
short swing Posted June 28, 2009 Author Share Posted June 28, 2009 Gun barrrels are generally NOT high carbon So a barrel is mild steel? Why can one shoot accuratly w/ mild? really interested???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt87 Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 So a barrel is mild steel? Why can one shoot accuratly w/ mild? really interested???? Accuracy with a gun is dependent on four main factors (in roughly ascending order of importance): the mechanical accuracy of the gun, the makeup and consistency of the ammunition, the environmental conditions (wind etc.) and the abilities of the shooter. In a rifled gun the rifling on the bore of the barrel should wear so slowly that it doesn't affect accuracy for at least several thousand rounds (shots). The useful lifetime of a rifled barrel is largely affected by two factors: the rate at which it is worn away and the acceptable tolerances for accuracy. In the case of a ridiculously accurate bench-rest rifle chambered in 6PPC that could be a life of just a few thousand rounds. A .30-06 deer rifle many tens if not a couple hundreds of thousands of rounds. A .22LR hunting/plinking rifle somewhere in the low millions of rounds. A national or international-level target competitor may require a fraction-minute-of-angle accuracy from their gun in order to even get anywhere near qualifying. On the other hand your typical medium-to-large deer will have an optimal kill zone centred about the heart about 4 inches square. From 100 yards, that's a whole 4 minutes of angle. (Note here I used the defacto civilian standard interpretation of MOA of 1 inch at 100 yards.) Wear in a gun barrel is largely due to the enormous pressure and heat from the powder burning. When we changed the propellant of the .303 British round from a compressed black powder charge to (smokeless) cordite in the late 19th century we found that the rifling of our Magazine Lee-Metford and Martini-Metford rifles were wearing far too quickly because cordite burns so hot and so changed to the Magazine Lee-Enfield (and Martini-Enfields as reserve arms), which was basically the same but with a different barrel. Today a decent rifle barrel will probably be made from 4140 or similar (EN19 or whatever we're supposed to call it nowadays is popular in Europe and the UK; it's 4130). It's tough, has some abrasion resistance and doesn't get brittle. However mild steel will of course still work, though it may be more limited in terms of what you can do in regard to pencil-thin barrels, fluting etc. Of course, I am not a gunsmith, neither do I portray one on TV or the internet. Any idea on what sorts of guns these barrels are intended for? A .22LR Lorcin pistol is a very different proposition to a .30-30 rifle, which is very different to a flintlock shotgun, which is different to a 40mm autocannon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitewatchman Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Barrel wear seems directly proportional to velocity. I found that when pushing a .220 Swift over 4100fps (measured not guessed) the chamber throat eroded to the point that accuracy was affected in less than 800 rounds. If depending upon the barrel contour I could set it back an 3/4" or so, it was usually good for another 500 or so rounds. For a Remington 700 receiver this is quick work. So a barrel might start at 24" or 25" an be retired at 20". Usually it was easier to just sell it to someone less demanding. BTW - these were 4140 Air-Gauged .224" Douglas Cromoly Barrels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quenchcrack Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Many years ago I went to visit a company in NW Texas that made gun barrels. Not rifle barrels, gun barrels. For artillary pieces, large navel vessels, tanks, etc. They made their own steel: 4330 Vanadium modified, vacuum degassed, electroslag refined. Each barrel forged, heat treated and machined in that plant. You never think that guns that big will shoot through the rifling in so few rounds. Every time the army ordered a tank, they had to order hundreds of gun barrels to serve the expected life of the tank. Your tax dollars at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
short swing Posted July 18, 2009 Author Share Posted July 18, 2009 WOW, thanks matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Many years ago I went to visit a company in NW Texas that made gun barrels. Not rifle barrels, gun barrels. For artillary pieces, large navel vessels, tanks, etc. They made their own steel: 4330 Vanadium modified, vacuum degassed, electroslag refined. Each barrel forged, heat treated and machined in that plant. You never think that guns that big will shoot through the rifling in so few rounds. Every time the army ordered a tank, they had to order hundreds of gun barrels to serve the expected life of the tank. Your tax dollars at work. The ones you saw were probably for the old M60. My son is serving in the military and was attached to an armored regiment for a while. IIRC, he said the M1A1 has a smooth bore barrel these days. Apparently, the shells are sabot style with stabilizers that spring out after firing. I have no idea of the barrel life but knowing the Army, they probably replace them after so many shots as part of their PM schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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