Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Chambering by hand???

I admit that I am not a gunsmith or machinist but have watched 90% of my custom barrel's be chambered.
Last night on "American Guns" they showed the gunsmith taking the barrel out of the lathe and with reamer in hand he cut the last few thou. of the chamber with barrel in one hand and reamer in the other. I cant remember laughing so hard in a long time.
Could this EVER be a good idea ?????????????

I had a M1 grande rebarreled and the GS who was an expert on the M1s as he built compition M1s etc did the last .010 with a pull through reamer he had made just for that purpose.so yes it is common. I was also standing there watching him.

So, dude gets a tv show.....and still can't afford a package from starrett? I suppose a very careful hand could be successful, but why spend all the effort to dial everything in just to have a finished product that doesn't take advantage of the efforts?

Plus one, if you are going to go the trouble of indicating the barrel and want to finish head space by hand why just not do this while the barrel is running true in the head stock or steady rest? You can still finish head-space by hand while barrel is in the lathe. Would be much more accurate. I'm still surprised that some rifle still shoot as well as they do, considering how they are chambered .

Ummm....

While I personally wouldn't finish a chamber by reaming by hand, the chamber is already established. The reamer WILL follow the existing hole and not wander off in directions unknown.

Pull through reamers are designed to be used without a lathe. Holding a barrel in one hand and a standard reamer in the other to remove a couple of thou AFTER removing the job from the lathe is done to add drama, or, depict someones inability to hit zero with a running machine. I wouldn't have much faith in someone who could not hit zero with a running machine. Is the program a sit com?

+1

......sounds pretty [bleep].

GTC

only if the pilot on the reamer has a good fit and you put direct pressure on the reamer and i don't see how that is really possible when you are holding a barrel in one hand and it wobbling around while you are trying to hold it steady and trying to keep the reamer straight while turning the reamer at the same time with the other hand. Piss poor way to chamber a barrel in my opinion.

Have any of you guys seen who is in charge of "barrels" or for that matter the rest of the basement there?? WTF?

Considering most people can't see a half thou when its spinning in a lathe, holding a reamer "straight" by hand seems a pretty relative term. I guess if having a hole that a case will fit in as opposed to an accurately chambered rifle is the criteria.....finishing by hand would be another way to waste time.

Reality shows are generally best at depicting how not to do something. That and over 90% of "gunsmiths" should not be allowed around tools, whether or not they are on TV.

I never watch that show on purpose. Sometimes it gets left on that channel and I will peek at every now and then while reading. They charged that guy like 4 grand to rebarrel his rifle and put it in a McMillan. Premium price for such crap work.

And before anyone asks, yes I could do better.

if some people believe cambering in a lathe is a waste of time, then save yourself some money and chuck up your barrel in a vice, buy a reamer and tap handle and go for it. happy shooting

Cheaper yet, hammer a torx bit into a sized and deprimed case and fill the barrel with sand.....spin that sumbitch with a drill till it fits.

Dude... we're talking about the last. 010" of depth.

We use a drill press to get to that point.

Tried that once. Only problem was it wore the brass away faster than the steel.

Otherwise, I was pretty satisfied with getting a 223 shell to finally fit in what started out to be a 22-250 project!

Isn't that the script for every "reality" show?

To hell with accuracy, we gotta make it look coooolll...

Shoulda used lapua brass

Naw, just use one of the Steel Case from the Russian Surplus stuff

You guys are killing me!!!!!!!! Spit my toothpick across the room laffin.....