Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Finish reaming a chamber by hand

I have watched a number of videos showing finish reaming of a chamber. Is it possible for a duffer with some good tools and a fair amount of patience to final out a short chambered barrel and not screw it up?

I hope so. I have a reamer on the way. Not sure if I want to practice on the savage barrel or Handi rifle. But i wouldnt want to start on something i cared about incase it turns out being your next tomato stake. Mine happens to be 6mmAI

Yes, it is. Just go really slow in terms of checking for correct headspace very often. Tap Magic and (something like) Gun Scrubber (for removing chips before checking headspace) are your friends.

Note: my experience is with Mausers.

This. Instead of Gun Scrubber, good old compressed air is all you need to blow out chips. Remember to remove the extractor (and ejector if the bolt is fitted with one) before inserting the headspace gauge. They interfere with the "feel".

Hold the barrel in a vice vertically, straight up and down, plumb, etc., and use a T handle applying equal downward pressure all the way around. Use lots of cutting oil and rinse / blow off the reamer and bore often.

Key word there is "often".

Thanks folks, I think I can do this.

I got confirmation on my Rental reamer and gauges today. I might puss out on the hand reaming. I have a metal lathe without a motor in the garage. Might set it up on there and turn the chuck by hand. People at work think its odd that I come up with money to buy a lathe, guns, reloading tools... but I haven't bought the motor yet and it's been a year. I should probably look into that. Anyways, It's happening 1 way or another. I figure worst case it, I get tool marks and have to rent a bigger reamer and try again.

Depending upon how well set up the lathe is it may possibly be advantageous to finish reaming it by hand.

You have to know what you are doing to chamber in a lathe. How to hold the reamer? What to hold the reamer with? How are you going to advance it? It is far easier to thread and fit a barrel than to chamber one!

I leave the barrel on the action and have a bushing for the reamer handle that just fits the action and have rechamberred a 223 to 22-204 and a 6x47 Rem to 6mm-204, both work just fine. Cut a little measure a lot and clean the chips off the reamer often, lots of cutting/threading oil.

What are you guys using for cutting fluid?

I use Rapid Tap generously.

I finish all my barrels by hand. I chamber in a lathe then screw my action on and use my reamer with extended T handle then turn a couple and pull out and clean blow out chamber and check head space. I coat my reamer with dark sulfur and lard thread cutting oil. Go slow and check often. You will get a feel when you get close the bolt will start break over then it is one turn at a time.
On Savage barrels I chamber on a lathe then finish with the T handle until I have .125 of the go gauge sticking out. Then screw the barrel nut on then screw the barrel on the action with the go gauge in the chamber and bolt in the action until bolt comes against gauge. Now I just snug the barrel nut. Remove bolt and go gauge the run the bolt back in and make sure it closes without interference. That way I know I have enough clearance between the bolt and the barrel end. Then put the gauge back in close the bolt and make sure the bolt is snug against the gauge then I loosen it just a tiny bit and I mean only maybe a thousandth. Then tighten the barrel nut and check it with a no go gauge. It shouldn’t even attemp to close. I use my gauges mics and calipers and I believe them. But I do a lot by feel. I want to feel the bolt face just kiss against the cartridge on closing.