October 22, 200817 yr I wish I knew more about this stuff, but I know nothing, however, there are some pretty cool things going in this thread. Lol.
October 22, 200817 yr I saw a guy on television forge weld the flat bar thing into a barrel, he started with a big 1/2 inch thick peice of flat bar that was a couple inches wide and a foot and a half long, and forge welded it with a bar inside in a swage block, it was awesome. He was replicating one of those old style early age staff/spear hand cannons. I saw that too..it was on a Modern Marvels episode... . . I know;) a trapper in Oregon who's main source of income is making custom muzzleloaders..Underhammers,flint locks,percussion you name it..His work is absolutly amazing..I can put anyone in contact with him if interested..
October 22, 200817 yr There is another type of rifling machine, where the cutter rod is attached to the centre of a pinion. The pinion and its rack ride on a carriage, which is slowly fed away from the barrel blank, which is fixed in place. The rack slides perpendicular to the bed, and is attached to a sine bar which is moved along a guide bar, at an angle to the bed (and thus the barrel). Therefore the cutter rotates as the carriage is advanced, at a rate proportionate to the angle of the guide bar. By altering the angle of the guide bar, the twist rate can be adjusted. By using a curved guide bar, a progressive twist can be cut. I understand that this is how the Pratt & Whitney machines worked. They produced the most advanced cut-rifling machines by powering these by hydraulics and attaching a second cutter (so two barrels are simultaneously cut). Such machines, built in the early 20th century, are still used by some of the smaller barrel manufacturers, and just as accurate today. Nowadays, most barrels are button-rifled or cold-forged around a mandrel. Edited October 22, 200817 yr by matt87
October 22, 200817 yr It can easily be found elsewhere, but i'll say it on this thread as well: Damascus shotgun barrels (like the one described in Bealer's "Art of..") are meant to ONLY be used with black powder, NO other composition. Try it, and all likelihood is that you will be all blow'd up. As a personal reference, my grandfather, a hobbyist gunsmith in his earlier years, would tell me about this happening. Note: this is my 100th post! Huzzah.
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