ASSRA Forum › General › Gunsmithing Single Shot Rifles › Polishing a barrel
(Moderator Group: Moderator)
‹ Previous Topic | Next Topic ›
Page Index Toggle Pages: 1 Send TopicPrint
Normal Topic Polishing a barrel (Read 3225 times)
leadball
Ex Member


Polishing a barrel
Aug 10th, 2009 at 3:32pm
Print Post  
       I need some info "tricks" to polishing a barrel for blueing, I eventually get the barrel polished but it takes forever,  there certainly has to be a better method than holding a piece of abrasive paper against the spinning barrel.  thanks for any and all "tricks"    leadball
  
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
westerner
Frequent Elocutionist
*****
Offline


deleted posts and threads
record holder.

Posts: 11329
Location: Why, out West of course
Joined: May 29th, 2006
Re: Polishing a barrel
Reply #1 - Aug 10th, 2009 at 3:45pm
Print Post  
Leadball, the fastest way that I know of to finish a round barrel is with a  barrel spinner and a belt sander.  

A barrel spinner is sorta like a checkering cradle but has ball bearing mounted centers. You mount the barrel between the centers. The sanding belt is situated vertically. You press the barrel against the belt at about a 45 degree angle. The barrel spins as it's being sanded. It's extremely fast and makes a perfect finish. 
Yes, sanding a barrel on a lathe is a pain. 

If you have access to a belt sander that will mount on your compound rest you could do it that way too. I think the hand held spinner is faster and you can vary the angle to get the best possible finish.



                                  Joe.  Smiley
  
A blind squirrel runs into a tree every once in a while.
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
westerner
Frequent Elocutionist
*****
Offline


deleted posts and threads
record holder.

Posts: 11329
Location: Why, out West of course
Joined: May 29th, 2006
Re: Polishing a barrel
Reply #2 - Aug 10th, 2009 at 4:34pm
Print Post  
I forgot to mention that the centers are made of Nylon or some other plastic that wont harm the crown or chamber. Hardwood will work also, maybe even brass.  Wink


                                  Joe.   Smiley
  
A blind squirrel runs into a tree every once in a while.
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
singleshot
Senior Forum Member
****
Offline


I love singleshots!

Posts: 330
Location: Fort Mill, SC
Joined: Apr 17th, 2004
Re: Polishing a barrel
Reply #3 - Aug 10th, 2009 at 9:00pm
Print Post  
Paul- Get a hand held belt sander and use it to polish in the lathe. Fine belts are available, a 320 will get you a near mirror finish with a light touch and a worn belt! Make sure you cover everything good and then wash it down good after you are finished- the dust can play the devil with your ways!

Willis
  
Willis Gregory, aka singleshot
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
marlinguy
Frequent Elocutionist
*****
Offline


Ballards may be weaker,
but they sure are neater!

Posts: 15769
Location: Oregon
Joined: Feb 2nd, 2009
Re: Polishing a barrel
Reply #4 - Aug 10th, 2009 at 10:49pm
Print Post  
I do it a bit different, as I don't like the finish gotten by spinning the barrel and applying pressure to a small area. 
I use a piece of PVC schedule 40 the correct size to be slightly larger than the barrel diameter. Then I cut strips of sandpaper wide enough to lay inside the PVC pipe. 
Spray glue the inside the pipe and apply the sandpaper. Then start the barrel turning and hold the pipe against the barrel. It will polish a barrel to a nice even finish.
When I'm done I use the same PVC and new sandpapaer to polish the barrels lengthwise, as that is the correct direction for old gun barrels. All the early makers polished their barrels lengthwise on the final finish.
  
(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
Page Index Toggle Pages: 1
Send TopicPrint
‹ Previous Topic | Next Topic ›
 
  « Board Index ‹ Board Top  

ASSRA Forum » Powered by YaBB 2.6.12!
YaBB Forum Software © 2000-2024. All Rights Reserved.

Valid RSS Valid XHTML Valid CSS Powered by Perl Source Forge

Page completed in 0.9094 seconds.