Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Who flutes revolver cylinders???

John Boy.... Are rifle barrels fluted including the chamber or just the exterior of the bore ?
Dillon Buck,. I believe the metal bridging between cylinders does increase strength. Like the back strap on a revolver vs the open top of say a Navy 51.
It doesn't need to be a gunsmith to flute the cylinders. A good machinest with a mill and a ball end mill could do it..
Jmho......

Rifle flutes aren’t over the chamber, that is true. However, the pressure in the barrel until bullet exit is a wee bit more than a 44 special. I’m not talking about a 454 Caull, or 500 S&W. Just a lowly 44 Special.
Cylinder and Slide said they won’t do it. It takes special machinery. Their words, not mine…….

All it would take is a 4-axis cnc mill and a ball endmill or a 3-axis mill with a way to manually index the cylinder. Problem is that it would be cost prohibitive though your looking at less than an hour run time.

So in other words it’s more work for them than it’s worth. I can see than. I had planned to chamfer the cylinder black powder style.

It's not a lot of work, it's the rate a machine shop charges between programming and time on a machine.

You might try contacting Chad and see if he might be able to accommodate you. Chad Dixon

I have seen Alan Harton flute a cylinder on his Bridgeport in very little time using the fixture he made.

I’ll be contacting both of these gentlemen today.
If I only hadn’t sold my triple lock years ago….

leemar28,
A chain is no stronger than the weakest link.
A cylinder is going to blow where it's thinnest. (Barring a metal problem)

The exact reason for doing 5 shot conversions on Blackhawks intended
for very high pressure 45 colt loads. And the reason for Freedom Arms
guns being 5 shot. The bolt cut lines up with the thinner part of the cylinder
on a 6 shot. Creating a weak spot.

As before, if fluting does not create a thinner spot than the outer edge of the
cylinder the weak spot will still be the outer edge. Especially on a 6 shot.


Inclination is to think more material equates to strength.
But this is where enginerds shine.
With the right materials in the right places, you build good strength.
Beyond that, you just waste material, adding bulk and weight.

Exactly…..

Just shipped the GP100 cylinder to Alan Horton: Singlr Action Service in Houston Texas……

Great choice and I am glad to read that he is still accepting work. I have a number of revolvers he has built for me. The man is a Master and as nice a gentleman that you could ever meet. Here's an example of his bevel on my OM 44 Mag Bisley.



And another on my OM 44 Special.

That's a long search - hope it comes out nice for you.

It’s done thanks to Alan Harton in Houston….
I’ll post pictures when she’s reassembled….

Looks good. I am glad Alan was able to help.

Great job at a fair price…..
Dying to get it back.