Mack Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Does anyone know if it is possible to have a factory 'varmint' contour barrel fluted or does the expense involved make it a non-starter? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejg223 Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Might be the best thing to do as it might force you to get decent match barrel.... edi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danpd Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 It can be done, and has been done, but it is always a bit of a gamble as to whether it still shoots afterwards. Expense wise you should be able to have the job done with carriage each way for £200ish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mack Posted November 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Thanks, any idea's what gunsmith's might carry out the work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danpd Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Dolphin guns, Neil mckillop, Valkyrie rifles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradders Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Removing the material by fluting could warp the barrel, if you want a fluted barrel I think you would do better buying one in the first place are trying to swap this for a fluted one. All barrels start out unfluted and then someone flutes them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Most barrel makers I understand drill the bore, rifle it, profile, flute, then stress relieve. Lee may be able to advise on Borders process and give opinion on what effect fluting a factory barrel may have. I would guess that spending 200 on a barrel worth 20 isnt worth it personally..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbit fingers Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Thats quite surprising, the normal way of producing very precise steel items is to remove the bulk of the material (I would of thought in the case of rifle barrels drill, flute and profile) then stress relieve, and then do the fine tolerance work to complete (Rifling). That may be the case for a custom barrel. I don't know. but a factory barrel,my understanding is its cold hammer forged over a mandril forming rifling and chamber then profiled then fluted. fast and cheap yes but not the most precise, and certainly put a fair amount of stress into the steel. If you've got a factory barrel that shoots ok( and I assume it does as you are thinking of pimping it up) my advice would be leave well alone especially when you weigh the minimal gains against the risk of stuffing it up and the expense.jm2p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradders Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 How many barrel manufacturers actually have the facilities to heat treat, stress relieve or even the know how to even perform theirs procedures? What I'm saying is that there is far too much hoodoo espoused regarding all of this. A good barrel is a good barrel, no matter what. They all start from an oversized blank anyhow. If in doubt, ask a barrel mfr to post pics of their heat treating facilities.....I bet they don't Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John MH Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 I doubt any barrels are fulted before rifling, I might be wrong. Peter Sarony of Armalon does barrel fluting on Factory barrels, I have had two in the past: .308 and .223, both shot better than I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldie Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 The crux here is the type of barrel used. I,ve fluted several cut rifled barrels with no problems whatsoever. Cut rifling stresses the barrel a lot less than button rifling or hammer forging. You have more chance of ruining a button/hammer forged blank therefore. People do it however, and most seem ok. I would not do anything other than straight flutes however . Helical fluting is going to be the riskiest from an engineering point of view . £200 on a factory barrel is like rolling a turd in glitter for me though. The money would be better spent on a custom tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcampbellsmith Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Most barrel makers I understand drill the bore, rifle it, profile, flute, then stress relieve. Lee may be able to advise on Borders process..... Here is an interesting article - http://www.border-barrels.com/articles/bmart.htm Regards JCS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradders Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 I doubt any barrels are fulted before rifling, I might be wrong. I agree, No one has yet mastered the art of small hole, deep hole drilling yet, and no one can guarantee where the exit will be in a piece of bar stock (especially one that's 26-32" long or whatever). Bores are never straight and therefore no mfr who'll finish it until they can put it between centres. I've got a vid on YouTube where I clocked a barrel blank with twenty thou runout Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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