Tooling up for a rebarrel

[pontiac428]

You've got some nice equipment to work with, BBB!

One other think that I've found helpful is a copy of John L. Hinnant's Complete Illustrated Guide to Rifle Barrel Fitting. He goes over the step-by-step, and offers multiple solutions for fixtures and tools to suit any level of shop. Lots of blueprints are provided for fixtures and cuts, plus commentary from years of experience. It is money well spent if you want to do barrel work at any level.

 

[Big Bore Builder]

You've got some nice equipment to work with, BBB!

One other think that I've found helpful is a copy of John L. Hinnant's Complete Illustrated Guide to Rifle Barrel Fitting. He goes over the step-by-step, and offers multiple solutions for fixtures and tools to suit any level of shop. Lots of blueprints are provided for fixtures and cuts, plus commentary from years of experience. It is money well spent if you want to do barrel work at any level.

Mark Stratton's book and CD is another good source. Might be hard to find, I bought mine about 5 years ago.

I am an old school machinist, started in my Dad's heavy truck repair shop with the little South Bend pictured here in the 1960's.. I hauled it from the Georgia Coast all the way up here in 1994. My gun work started when I was 16 on M98's and P-14 & P-17 Enfields. So I learned brute force and ugliness at an early age!! Mausers and Enfields were $19.95 each at the surplus store in Jacksonville, Florida, barrels full of them. Ah, the good old days!

More tooling:



M70, 458 Lott, grinding muzzle to fit a barrel band front sight.

 

[mickri]

On my project list once I get better at this is to re-barrel two 95 mauser actions that I have. I looked at your mandrels and didn't see any threads to screw the mandrel into the action. How do you hold the action to the mandrel? Before I work on the mausers I have a carcano barreled action to practice on. I know that the carcano is not well thought of and not really worth the time but you have to practice on something. I didn't pay diddly squat for the carcano and if I make a mell of a hess out of it learning to do this no big loss. The carcano will get a 35 remington barrel. One of the mausers will be a 257 roberts. I have always wanted a 257 roberts. Haven't decided on the other mauser yet. After looking at the SAAMI tables calibers being considered for the other mauser are 222 remington, 250 savage, 7x57, 300 savage or 8x57. I already have a 6.5x55 96 mauser.

Getting back to mandrels what should they be made out of? Is 1018 CRS ok?

 

[Big Bore Builder]

They are threaded identical to the barrel. You cannot see the threads inside he receiver ring. I will take a photo of just a mandrel later today and post.

C1018 if OK. Just put accurate centers in the end of each piece of stock prior to machining. I rough out the mandrels using a 3 jaw chuck to about 0.030" oversize, then go to between centers and using a dog and dog plate to machine the final dimensions and threads. This way everything is concentric.

 

[Big Bore Builder]

Here you go. Note the shoulder that butts against the locking lugs. I make the big end 1.200" diameter to fit a barrel vise bushing, clamp the mandrel in the barrel vise, screw on the receiver, the put an action wrench on the receiver and snug it up to the mandrel shoulder. Note the undersize area between the threads and the 1.200" diameter to give room for the facing tool. The long shank is turned for a snug fit inside the bolt body bore of the receiver.

 

[Big Bore Builder]

Project for this winter: Ruger M77 Tang Safety. 338 Win Mag for Elk hunting in the Snake River Country of Eastern Oregon. Will be shooting 210 grain Nosler Partitions, our favorite Elk bullet.


Receiver trued. The barrel is a new old stock Ruger chambered in 338 Win Mag. Barrel shoulder set back 0.030". Rechambered and headspaced properly for the belted case. The barrel outside diameter has been ground to remove the bluing, remove the lettering, and to clean up factory tooling marks. Final rifle will be rust blued. Goes in a fiberglass stock.


Grinding the barrel:

 

[Big Bore Builder]

On my project list once I get better at this is to re-barrel two 95 mauser actions that I have. I looked at your mandrels and didn't see any threads to screw the mandrel into the action. How do you hold the action to the mandrel? Before I work on the mausers I have a carcano barreled action to practice on. I know that the carcano is not well thought of and not really worth the time but you have to practice on something. I didn't pay diddly squat for the carcano and if I make a mell of a hess out of it learning to do this no big loss. The carcano will get a 35 remington barrel. One of the mausers will be a 257 roberts. I have always wanted a 257 roberts. Haven't decided on the other mauser yet. After looking at the SAAMI tables calibers being considered for the other mauser are 222 remington, 250 savage, 7x57, 300 savage or 8x57. I already have a 6.5x55 96 mauser.

Getting back to mandrels what should they be made out of? Is 1018 CRS ok?

My first rifle build was a 257 Roberts on a M98 action. Chambered and installed the barrel when I was 16 years old using the little 9x24 South Bend shown in the above photos. 26 inch Douglas XX barrel. Bishop Walnut stock. 10X Weaver scope. This was my Whitetail rifle back when I lived in Coastal Georgia. Mainly hunted from tree stands near the Oak Tree thickets when the acorns were falling. Whitetail candy. The rifle accounted for many a Whitetail and was a very good shooter using 87 grain Speer bullets, a deadly killer.

 

[mickri]

BBB
Thanks for the detailed info on the mandrel. When I get to where I think that I am ready to do the re-barrels I'll start a thread.