Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Can a carbide reamer cut a nitrided chamber???

Do any of you experts know whether a nitride chamber can be cut with a carbide reamer? I know regular tool steel won't cut it. Is there any reamer material that can cut a nitride chamber?

Thank you.


Jordan

Yes a carbide reamer will cut a nitride chamber. It is kinda scary at first as it will load up as you apply pressure and suddenly cut all at once. After the initial cut is made it's no different than normal chambering. Curious as to what caliber you are reaming and where you got the carbide reamer. I had one custom ground for doing 460 Rowland conversions on nitrided barrels. It wasn't cheap.

I don't have one yet. It would be 6.5 x 55 Ackley Improved. I had another gunsmith (who I respect greatly) say it wouldn't cut. Who did your reamer TheKid? Did it cost a small fortune?

Thanks,

Jordan

I'll have to look at it when I go back to work on Monday, can't remember who ground it but I want to say Manson. IIRC it cost right around $400 shipped so roughly 3.5 times a normal reamer.

Is the chamber currently 6.5 x 55 std.?

Carbide reamers can be had new for under $200. I don't like them though as they need to be run at much faster speeds than a high speed reamer to work right. They are better for CNC reaming or setups that have some jigs and such to allow faster work.

Where do you find carbide chamber reamers for those prices? I want to keep them in mind for the next time, hopefully never, that I have to have one for a special job.

My 338 Lapua reamer is from PTG and it has many chambers to it's credit. I don't remember the cost but it was under $400 by quite a ways.

Is it solid carbide? I've bought many HSS reamers from PT&G and elsewhere for the standard $125-175 price but the one and only solid carbide reamer I purchased was substantially more expensive. I ask because if I ever need another carbide reamer I would like to be able to save some $$.

Go to PT&G's website. It appears that their solid carbide reamers are $197. I think the only way that it might cut the Melonite QPQ is to ram the reamer in and get below the case hardening. A carbide reamer will not cut a 60-70 Rockwell finish. Why would you want to rechamber it?

I agree with Butch. I think you will ruin even a carbide reamer trying to cut melonite. That is $200 plus your setup time. If ferritic carbo-nitriding is done correctly, you can't even scratch it with a file. It is well over 65 pts on the rockwell scale. IF I were going to rechamber a nitrided barrel, I would probably try and grind through the surface. Not sure I want to make that kind of mess on the lathe though.

Seems like you could get a new barrel blank for the cost of a carbide reamer, something to keep in mind.

You are correct and we still haven't heard why he would want to try it.

Best case he re-chambers the barrel and perhaps it shoots reasonably well. Less best case he re-chambers the barrel and accuracy is mediocre. Worst case the re-chamber job goes South and he's out the $ for the reamer, the barrel is ruined, and he is back to needing a new barrel.

I've never been fond of cutting extremely hard metals if it can be avoided at all cost, and this seems pretty straight forward to avoid.

If this is a 6.5x54 in a drilling or combo rifle, Then a rechamber is the way to go. Otherwise I would rebarrel it. I have heard of some places that cut chambers with an EDM set up. This might be an option if you "need" to rechamber.

Yes.

Trying to lay hands on a Sauer 202 fluted lightweight barrel in 6.5 x 55. They are rarer than hen's teeth in the states in that caliber. Thought if I could find one I'd punch it out to 6.5 x 55 Imp., but based on what I've read here that's basically an impossible task with the nitrided bore the Sauer's come with.

Thanks anyway.

Jordan