Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Which tool to get the best quality 11 deg. target crown?

I would like to put a 11 degree target crown on my .22 rimfire. The muzzle outside diameter is 0.800" and is stainless steel - I presume 416 SS. It is a Savage barrel and does not come out of the receiver very easily (pressed in and pinned). I recall a somewhat heated thread a while back about using brass screws, acorn nuts, dremel tools, etc., and am not interested in that. I would like to do it myself, but want a quality job, and have the tools to redo it again later.

I have found these tools available and would appreciate your comments on using them to get a truely concentric and chatter free finish.

Accumounts Kit for $139. Based on some comments made by others this one apparantly needs an extra pilot for .22 rimfire.

Pacific Tool & Guage Kit for $83 at Midway, but no handle.

Pacific Tool & Guage Kit direct from Pacific Tool for $66 and may be the same one as from Midway??

Brownells Cutter for $50, but seems to need a pilot and a special handle.

I have a tap and die set, so have a standard tap handle which would appear to work with the PTG tool, but the Brownells seems to need something threaded?

Best tool or suggestions on any others to consider? Suggestions on how to get a chatter free surface? I'm not keen on doing any grinding after cutting. What diameter of pilot is likely to work best for .22 rimfire?

Thanks for any suggestions you can offer,

Ron

Best quality crown, find someone who has a lathe with a short spindle or a spindle hole large enough for the action to fit into. Crown the barrel while it's still attached to the action.

Dave Manson Precision Reamers sell muzzle crowning toolkit in different configurations. Talk to them about your needs. One non-rotating expandable .22 pilot will fit any 0.22, rimfire or centerfire (5.45mm-5.7mm range). 11 deg. cutter with carbide blades can crown barrels up to 1.25" in diameter. No chatter, crown concentricity to the bore is less than 0.001". Takes 5-7 minutes to do the job. No need to disassemble firearm, just remove the bolt and clean barrel from chips after you're done.

Brownells sells the same toolkit, but Dave has wider selection of pilots and accesories and can get you exactly what you need.

Send it to a gunsmith who uses a lathe (like me..) .. It's usually around $40-45, tops.

I'll second Redneck's comment.

Your best tool to use would be the USPS or UPS to get it to the gunsmith.

Thanks for the info. I looked them up and saved the link. However, it is a bit too pricey to justify for doing one gun. Looks like it would be a great tool for a professional gunsmith. The tungsten carbide cutters should keep their edge for a long time.

I'm looking for a DIY tool that I can justify for one gun. Perhaps I should have been more clear on my original post title. While I'm sure a gunsmith would give the best quality job, I'm looking for a tool that does the best when I use it at home.

Ron

IF YOU DON'T MAKE IT PERFECT,IT WILL REALLY MAKE YOUR RIFLE SHOOT LIKE CRAP.

What it sounds like, is that you do not intend to have anyone save you work on the rifle.. That's ok.. But then you'll just have to pony up the bux and get the proper tools... Anything less and the result will show it..

Ron,

You said:

"I would like to do it myself, but want a quality job, and have the tools to redo it again later."

Which means you do not want to send it to gunsmith.

BTW, I have big doubts any professional gunsmith will do just a crown on the LATHE for $40-45. Too much time involved. At least
one hour to disassemble/assemble your rifle, another hour to set up. Also, consider shipping costs. If you have scope on your rifle, you got to zero you rifle after complete disassembly - time and ammo costs. I have complete Manson toolkit, and make $45-50 per crown in under 10 minutes with quality which is at least as good or better than if I do it on the lathe. You can pay this toolokit off pretty fast if you do crowns for your buddies.

MISHKA,REDNECK IS A GUNSMITH AND HE SAID HE WOULD DO IT FOR $40-$45,pay attention.

I did pay attention.
$45 for at least 2 hours of work is not a good business for gunsmith. However, it's not my business.If Redneck wants to do
Ron a huge favor, I respect that.

Redneck:

I'd like to send you a barreled action for a crown. I'll pull the scope off (it's in Talley QDs ... can I leave the bases on?), and keep the bolt here.

Can you post or PM me your address?

rb

If it were me wanting an 11 degree target crown, I'd buy Dave Manson's tools and do it myself. I don't need any crown work done now as all of my rifles are shooting well.
Dave's brother Andy is a gunsmith friend of mine and just built me a Martini Cadet actioned 218 Bee. Both those Manson guys are top drawer.

You're right if you have no idea what you're doing.. I do. And I do them all the time.. I can completely disassemble a M70 and put it back together in under 15 minutes. Setup in the lathe is another 5-10 minutes. Oh, and BTW, I don't use a 3-jaw chuck for setup; I use a 4-jaw and a centering bar indicated in to the bore. A very valid point.. Shipping both ways is going to add up in a hurry which is why I suggested he look for a smith close-by.. But sometimes that's just not going to be the case.. So, if shipping's included, the owner can figure about a C-note front to back..

You can leave the bases on.. PM on the way..

Redneck,

I have no doubts you do it right. 5-10 minutes for setup time is
very, very impressive. I wish I could do these things as fast as you. However, Ron metioned he wants to be able to re-crown in the future. If this is a case, it seems logical for him to have his own crowning tools.

Best to you.

Mishka

If it takes you more than one hour to do a re-crown job, you are obviously in the wrong business. You should be in a "parts replacement position" at Gander Mountain. C'mon, an hour to disassemble a rifle? Another hour to set it up in the lathe? What are you doing with your time? Taking coffee breaks on customer's money?

He did indeed... Which is why he'll have to open the wallet and get the right tools.. Manson stuff is as good as it comes..

Jkob,

"If it takes you more than one hour to do a re-crown job, you are obviously in the wrong business. "

What you're talking about?

I said it takes me under 10 minutes (in most cases, 5 to 7 minutes) to crown with Manson toolkit. $45 in 10 minutes is a right business. Took me less then a week to recover toolkit costs, and I estimate, less then 3 months to make $6,000 in pure profits just by doing muzzle crowns. As you can see, I can afford to take coffee breaks.

To all,

I have "broken the corner" on the crowns on more than a few of my rifles and it has made a dramatic improvement in accuracy.

A nice tool as discussed here is something that I desire. Not sure how many more rifles 'need' the treatment however.

Mishka, in your yesterday's 10;00 post, you inferred it takes and hour to disassemble and another hour to set the damn thing up in the lathe.

If you made $6000 bucks in the past using that tool I think you are ripping off a lot of customers by charging what you do for 10 minutes work.