'51 Navy Barrel Wedge Tightness

[Professor Marvel]

Wa Wa What??      I think I've just been dismissed   

Oh my no, not at all.
I felt the need to perfomr a virtual "nod knowlingly to acknowledge that I am still listening"
whilst life gets in my way of actually doing something with it yet...

pray, all, please continue to expound

yhs
prof marvel

[Professor Marvel]

Nope ! youse not fired yet .
Just for fun do ya got any tricks fer gettin an old tired barrel shooting better
We rabarreled sons 73, now I gone an unearthed another 92 carcase minus barl - that 38/40 tube from the 73 was almost doinn ok - its rough inside - slugs out neat at .401 - crown is suspect and no rifling right at the muzzle - I will cut a half inch off and recrown it - and I have cleaned up several barrels using brasso and a tight steel wool brush - is there a better way??                                             its an easy fit to a 92 action (done that before wid a 44/40) an if I get it built nice can always get a new tube but there is a chance this one can be made work.
cheers  greyhawk

My Dear GreyHawk -

as our good Coffin said, you  are on the right track. I have found that, once the barrel has been really really cleaned (as you mentioned) then the "short cut" & recrown (that you propose ) will often bring it back to life, even if visually "rough", as long as there is still rifleing and a large enough lead bullet to engage it.

If that doesn;t work, Some folks like to polish the bore by using a tight patch, oil , and mild abrrasive like "bartender's friend".
but I have not  tried it myself.

yhs
prof marvel

[greyhawk]

My Dear GreyHawk -

as our good Coffin said, you  are on the right track. I have found that, once the barrel has been really really cleaned (as you mentioned) then the "short cut" & recrown (that you propose ) will often bring it back to life, even if visually "rough", as long as there is still rifleing and a large enough lead bullet to engage it.

If that doesn;t work, Some folks like to polish the bore by using a tight patch, oil , and mild abrrasive like "bartender's friend".
but I have not  tried it myself.

yhs
prof marvel

Thanks professor
yeah had a go at this last night / yesterday - couldnt find the brasso (empty can! - long way to town) so..... what do we have??  Found my rouge stick from years ago (leatherwork used it for shinin up the swivel knife) so took a used brass cleaning brush, wrap as much fine steel wool around that as I can get - do a couple passes, wrap again real tight, now wet the rouge stick and wipe all over the steel wool till its red - go for it - I guess I spent about ten minutes actually scrubbing away at the bore - could feel the brush run easier after a bit, washed it out, dried, oiled, mop out excess oil till its dry - hold im to the light ....still rough .... but its kinda shiney rough. I slugged it again - cant measure any difference - still .401 (spot on for a 38/40) - but the look of the slug !! its come out smooth and shiny compared to the previous one - and its lands and grooves shiny - has got to be a big improvment - also turned about a half inch off the muzzle and recut the crown - that looking much better too - I bet this is gonna work!.
 Now I got some serious work to do converting a small case 92 over --- 25/20 to 38/40--  boltface - ejector - extractor - cartridge guides - bore out frame for magazine - magazine tube - spring - end plugs - gotta make a front magazine band sos I can upgrade to full length mag - and a feller gave me a curved tang so there will be a new stock and curved lever way down the track .

For now - will proly do the bolt face and fit barrel / headspace - test fire it as a single shot - if that works good - will just poke along steady and build me a nice 92 - the incentive here is what I see as a politically motivated shortage of replacement barrels - already
Track o the Wolf is telling us no exports cuz we gotta pay licence fees and a stack o BS to homeland security - Green Mountain proly the same already - we got one maker in Aus that would do a 38/40 barrel - but - dont know if he will do the correct twist - hes an old guy (I think) - it gets too hard - he quits - we sunk!           

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[greyhawk]

ooooops
looks like I have derailed the train here - so I apologise for that
we were doing barrel wedge tightness
shoulda been a new thread with the last few posts ? salvaging a worn barrel or some such ?
ah well - nobodys complained yet - maybe i am forgiven.
Thanks all for the help