Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Rifling Machine Help

I picked up a rifling machine at a recent auction and I just noticed that it did not have an indexing assembly, nor could I find where one was ever attached. Rather strange. Anyway, has anyone ran across something like this and does anyone know where a guy could get a spiral square rod made for a specific twist. It currently has a 48 twist rod and a 36 cal. barrel still installed in it, so the smith was rotating the rod using some type of process. Thanks for any help, LBjr.
photobucket [url=][/url]

http://i722.photobucket.com/albums/ww222/4065shooter/riflingmachinefull.jpg

That is a sweet find.

Don't know if it applies to your machine but I read a book about gunsmithing written in the days of black powder. They mentioned marking the floor to guide the twist rate. Shimmed the cutter with rice paper.. I have no idea what happened to that book but it was old...

most likely indexed off the barrel blank flats or a block that attached to turn it, take a picture of the exit end of the barrel. By the way in the early hand carved guide and rods the cutter was like a piece of a file or a hook that set in a slot and rice paper was used to shim under the cutter after so many strokes until the groove depth desired was reached

I have a good book on this type of machine written by Wagner from Iowa. From it I'm making an indexing assembly. Your likely right, some type of hand held indexing tool may have been used. Thanks

One thing I did notice as far as indexing. Each groove(cutter location) is centered on the corners of the octagon barrel. I guess this would be one way to "eye ball" it.