# Cat's Head for Shortening Rifle Barrels



## epanzella (Dec 14, 2020)

People here in Ct like to build rifles that will kill a brontosaurus at 500 yards but are so awkward they won't kill a white tail at 50 yards. Unfortunately,  white tails at 50 yds are mostly what we have around these parts. As people figure this out I get requests to shorten barrels to 20 or even 18 inches.   The problem is that once a gun is finished I don't have a good way to shorten the barrel without an extensive tear down and marks on the blued finish. What I've been doing is making a split bushing that bolts on the barrel and then machining it concentric to the bore. This then goes in the steady. It works but it burns up time and materials. I decided to make a fixture that I could just build once and then dial it in for any barrel while in the steady rest. The action will be dialed in with the 4 jaw and the muzzle will go on a live center until the steady is dialed in.


----------



## Flyinfool (Dec 14, 2020)

On the most accurate gun I own I used a hack saw to shorten the barrel and then used the Brownells chamfering reamers to clean it up and apply the 11° crown. It shoots 1/4 MOA *IF* I am doing my part correctly and 1/2 MOA with factory hunting ammo *IF* I am doing my part. That is hard to argue with and it looks great too. If the cut and crown job takes an hour your milking it. It will take longer to refinish to match than it did to do the job.

The set comes with one brass pilot of your choice and you will need to get additional pilots for each caliber.






						BROWNELLS BRASS ONE CALIBER SET | Brownells
					

Set includes: one, 90° facing cutter to square a muzzle after shortening, or repair damage; one, 45° chamfering cutter to break the edges ...



					www.brownells.com
				



and





						1/2" 79° CROWN CUTTER  : BROWNELLS 79° MUZZLE CROWNING CUTTER | Brownells
					

1/2



					www.brownells.com


----------



## epanzella (Dec 14, 2020)

Flyinfool said:


> On the most accurate gun I own I used a hack saw to shorten the barrel and then used the Brownells chamfering reamers to clean it up and apply the 11° crown. It shoots 1/4 MOA *IF* I am doing my part correctly and 1/2 MOA with factory hunting ammo *IF* I am doing my part. That is hard to argue with and it looks great too. If the cut and crown job takes an hour your milking it. It will take longer to refinish to match than it did to do the job.
> 
> The set comes with one brass pilot of your choice and you will need to get additional pilots for each caliber.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I saw those. Look nice but over $200 for one caliber and one crown style.  My cat's head cost me $9 for brass tipped bolts. With it I can do any caliber, any crown style, and thread for suppressors, brakes, ect.


----------



## benmychree (Dec 14, 2020)

It ain't a CAT'S HEAD, it is a CAT HEAD, derived from the word Cap Head, and it is not either one, it is a SPIDER! (EIGHT LEGS), a cat head is a device that is cup shaped with radially disposed setscrews and a center drilled hole on the side opposite the cupped side and is used to clamp on a rough OD and supported by the lathe tailstock center, to machine a steady rest spot on a workpiece to be machined so that a center drilling can be preformed on the actual part.


----------



## epanzella (Dec 14, 2020)

Color me appropriately mortified! I was trying to sound more worldly than calling it a gizmo!


----------



## Jim F (Dec 14, 2020)

epanzella said:


> Color me appropriately mortified! I was trying to sound more worldly than calling it a gizmo!


He is on a roll tonight........


----------



## benmychree (Dec 14, 2020)

Jim F said:


> He is on a roll tonight........


I should hope so!!!


----------



## MikeWi (Dec 15, 2020)

Well I guess you're not the only one without a clue. I always understood that to be a cat head too, and a spider is the 4 screw fixture that goes on the tail end of the spindle.


----------



## Flyinfool (Dec 15, 2020)

From your OP I was assuming that you are doing this often. That $200 in tools would have a pretty short ROI vs the time and material to keep making and setting up all the hardware to do it on the lathe. 

I did buy that tooling 25 years ago back when it was $50 and before I got my lathe, but is is still my #1 choice for crowning jobs.


----------



## Tozguy (Dec 15, 2020)

Flyinfool said:


> I did buy that tooling 25 years ago back when it was $50 and before I got my lathe, but is is still my #1 choice for crowning jobs.


Same here for me.


----------



## epanzella (Dec 15, 2020)

Flyinfool said:


> From your OP I was assuming that you are doing this often. That $200 in tools would have a pretty short ROI vs the time and material to keep making and setting up all the hardware to do it on the lathe.
> 
> I did buy that tooling 25 years ago back when it was $50 and before I got my lathe, but is is still my #1 choice for crowning jobs.


I'm not in business as a gunsmith. I do jobs for family, friends, guys in the gun club, and my own guns. There were multiple capabilities that I didn't have but that I wanted. I could get 25% of those capabilities for $200 or 100% of those capabilities for 10 bucks. The decision wasn't too hard.


----------



## pontiac428 (Dec 15, 2020)

Why would anybody who owns a lathe buy a crowning tool?  Load RH facing tool, adjust compound to 11 degrees, deburr... done.


----------



## Tozguy (Dec 15, 2020)

pontiac428 said:


> Why would anybody who owns a lathe buy a crowning tool?  Load RH facing tool, adjust compound to 11 degrees, deburr... done.


Actually my crowning tools were purchased years before finally buying a lathe. These crown cutting tools from Brownells are hand tools but are a real timesaver when used on a lathe.


----------

