Gunsmithing Cutting an 11 degree target crown?

R

rookie7

Outdoorsman
Full Member
Minuteman
Supporter
Jan 26, 2009
1,044
269
Georgia
#1
Hello,

I have a factory Remington barrel in a varmint contour that I would like to cut the muzzle to a 11 degree target crown. Presently it has a flat crown.

If I have the skill set, is the tool that Brownell's sells worth it for this project? They sell the cutter, handle, and pilots. The pilots come in brass or steel.

Plus cutting oil I am assuming. The other alternative is to find a local smith or send it off. Since it is a factory tube, I'd like to keep cost low.

Is this kind of project something you all put into a lathe? Or you do it by hand?

Thanks.
 
#2
rookie7 said:
Hello,

I have a factory Remington barrel in a varmint contour that I would like to cut the muzzle to a 11 degree target crown. Presently it has a flat crown.

If I have the skill set, is the tool that Brownell's sells worth it for this project? They sell the cutter, handle, and pilots. The pilots come in brass or steel.

Plus cutting oil I am assuming. The other alternative is to find a local smith or send it off. Since it is a factory tube, I'd like to keep cost low.

Is this kind of project something you all put into a lathe? Or you do it by hand?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Call Dave Manson Precision Reamers, 810-953-0732

 
Last edited:
#3
Just recently had my barrel crowned by a friend using the Manson tool. Did a beautiful job. The beauty of this tool is that the pilot does not rotate inside the barrel.
The pilot ( or arbor) is inserted into the barrel and then expanded. Nothing moving or rotating inside the barrel. The 3 cutters are carbide and cut a very smooth surface. You can use it by hand or power tool. It is a excellent tool.
 
Last edited:
#5
You would be better off and spend less by sending it to a reliable smith. If the rifle shoots now I wouldn't do anything to it. You will NEVER see any difference between a flat and 11 degree crown if they were both done properly in a lathe.
 
#6
While I agree with your statement that he wont see any difference accuracy wise, provided the flat crown is undamaged, the cost issue is another story.
The cut and crown would likely only cost 50-75 dollars.
However, there is the time spent at the shop, does he have to ship it, or does he have someone local?
Maybe, he wants to do it himself.
The tool is 90 bucks.
Don't know, but your points are absolutely valid.
 
#7
In agreement with the above, with a couple of caveats...
DM's crowning system is more than just the cutter, its the driver as well. The Military System would work ($135) with the correct pilot, but I'd recommend not just chucking up an 11 degree cutter in a cordless drill and going at it. Then, there's the issue of the correct pilot, a smith will have the correct one to a tenth- the OP will need to go with the "standard" bore pilot.

Does need to be mentioned that the recessed (11 degree) crown has the advantage of protection over the flat crown, which I believe is why it was first developed and its main "raison d'etre".
 
#8
Wannashootit said:
In agreement with the above, with a couple of caveats...
DM's crowning system is more than just the cutter, its the driver as well. The Military System would work ($135) with the correct pilot, but I'd recommend not just chucking up an 11 degree cutter in a cordless drill and going at it. Then, there's the issue of the correct pilot, a smith will have the correct one to a tenth- the OP will need to go with the "standard" bore pilot.
Click to expand...

You are obviously not familiar with DM crowning tool.

1. Cutter is NOT chucked into the cordless drill. Cutter is mounted onto the pilot and is driven by ball-end hex bit, mounted into the power driver, be it cordless electric screwdriver, electric drill or whatever else can rotate something at recommended RPM.

2. Pilot is EXPANDABLE, it is LOCKED inside the bore, and for this simple reason, it will always be "correct", with no gap of even 0.000000000000000001" between the pilot and the bore, within certain range of bore diameters in was designed to work with. Pilot is also not rotating inside the bore, which is a big deal.

Watching the video may be helpful to understand how this tool works before posting about it...
 
Last edited:
#9
Don't care what anyone says... The Mason tool is for the shade tree gun plumber that doesn't have the ability to do anything other than a shade tree job. Just because Brownell's sells it doesn't mean it is the right thing to use. Brownell's is the gunsmith's equivalent to what JC Whitney is for wannabe car guys. If it was soo good no one would bother with a lathe to cut crowns. Why don't you poll the handful of reputable smiths that contribute to this forum.
 
#10
Kortik,

I mentioned the driver. Apparently, that flew over your head....It was the OP that mentioned that Brownell's cutter.

Was not aware of the expandable pilot.

Now you can take a Xanax and calm down...
 
#11
Wannashootit said:
Kortik,

I mentioned the driver. Apparently, that flew over your head....It was the OP that mentioned that Brownell's cutter.

Was not aware of the expandable pilot.

Now you can take a Xanax and calm down...
Click to expand...

You mentioned a lot of things which were totally wrong about "DM crowning system".

OP did mention Brownells cutter, but your post #7 was all about "DM crowning system".

Not sure what flew over your head, but while you have no idea about "DM crowning system", you still post about it...
 
Last edited:
#15
As Walt said above, the tool works well if you aren't putting the barrel in the lathe for some other work. Setting a barrel up in the lathe correctly can take quite a while, depending on your setup. So this tool would definitely save time if you're not doing any other lathe work to the muzzle end. In my experience, however, of the last 50 barrels I've chambered I can remember only 1 that had a simple 11 degree crown on it. Most are threaded for muzzle brakes. If they aren't threaded, on a heavy barrel I usually put a recess so there is a raised rim on the outside providing additional protection to the muzzle.

I don't do many hunting barrels so that might be a good application.

If I were an AK smith, I would have one. I do have a similar, but not as good, crown cutter that I used on an AK once. AKs are not easy to get the barrel out of the receiver to set up in a lathe.

--Jerry
 
#16
Manson crowning tool also works great for revolvers with fixed sights. I was able to bring POA to POI a lot closer to each other just by crowing the muzzle, which take less than 4-5 minutes with a power driver. Very often, fixed revolver sights are lined up with the bore all right, but if barrel crown is even a tiny bit not square to the bore, it may cause an issue with revolver POI being quite a bit away from POA. This tool fixes it as much as possible.

Dave Manson also has a version of this tool for shotguns in common calibers. BTW, it works particularly well for double barrel shotguns using 90 degrees cutter.

AK as shown in video is my own rifle. I took NHM-91 and replaced furniture, also designed and built an adjustable, very heavy duty folding peep sight mounted on the tang, so I got myself kind of a "target AK" with more than 30" sight radius. Manson crowning tool easily cuts chrome lined barrels, which is a big deal.

Anyway, if barrel does not have a profile, most suitable for chucking in a lathe, or it is difficult or time consuming to remove barrel from the action, using Manson tool is the way to crown the barrel, and it takes just a few minutes.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
Gunsmithing Cutting/polishing crown and polishing the chamber
Replies
9
Views
1K
iceng
iceng
Dildobaggins
Service rifle barrel questions
Replies
11
Views
618
Dildobaggins
Dildobaggins
vicroll91
Accessories PTG Barrel Crown Tool, 11 degree (Lathe or t-handle compatible)
Replies
1
Views
445
vicroll91
vicroll91
B
SOLD Savage Long Range rifle and equipment
Replies
2
Views
445
Dtcmcoach
Dtcmcoach
XP1K
Gunsmithing My first rifle,
Replies
18
Views
931
lariat
L
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Merch
Alerts