Gunsmithing Polishing a stainless barrel

[LC 6.5 Shooter]

Just getting into barrel work and did my first barrel. How do you guys polish the outside of the barrel after chambering.

I watched gordys video a long time ago and it seemed like he sand blasted it, then used sort sort of electric sanding wheel then washed in some solution.

 

[AirGunShawn]

Are you blasting to remove a finish? They make different grades and sizes of blasting media.... get some very fine stuff.
What type of surface finish are you looking for? I use 9 and then 3 micron aluminum oxide psa backed lapping film to
do my trigger work.

The tube below was attached to my drill and I hung it vertically with my left hand. I held the scotch-brite in my right hand and
went down the tube at a constant rate to create a uniform circular pattern. It could easily pass for machine produced. A higher
polish would just be more time and finer grits.

In the early 80s I worked with a lot of 302 SS. If you want a very pretty satin sheen, after you get close to what you
want, try some Comet cleanser on a damp rag while you spin your item. The satin finish goes from an 8 to a 10.
With metal, If you don't like it you can always change it..... That aluminum tube is from 2007 and could pass for two weeks old
because I erase the marks that are inherent on this particular rifle.

I have polished a few long items like the lower air tube on my FWB air rifle. I find a way spin it in my drill and spin it. In
it's case i used Scotch bright because I wanted something other than a mirror finish. On one end I was able to grab onto the Parker
quick disconnect. On other objects that don't have ready made piece to hold onto, I have used a socket about the same size as the threads and used Duct tape to connect them.

In the case of a barrel, I would likely protect one end with duct tape and get a socket that has about the same diameter and then
use a couple of reducers to get to 1/4" drive. A 1/4" drive will fit in a half inch drill. ( Photo #2 ) I would hold it vertically and spin it
at a uniform speed until I got to the duct tape. Then I would hold the other end the same way to finish the end that was covered by
the Duct tape. By the time you got that far you would have learned how to start / stop and blend the finish. To blend, you start
higher than you need to with your hand slowly closing on the barrel.
If you can hold the chamber end and run it's entire length, that would be best.

Is it the right way to do it.... Hell no !! I no longer have a shop at my disposal. :-( You just need to use the tools you have on hand.
I may have even used the brass filling adapter to grab the tube, protect the threads and then used a socket on it in my drill.

For every problem, I see what I have and formulate a solution and go for it.

The lapping film can be bought on evil bay. I use it for all sorts of projects. Honing my wood working irons.

Figure a way to hold it and spin away.... If it doesn't turn out you have lost nothing but a little time.
You can go on the internet and look at surface roughness standards to get an idea of what finish you want.
You may want your finish to be AA 63 or AA 2. AA 2 is at the top of the chart below.

If you go mirror finish, you may want to finish with FLITZ. It's a light blue polishing compound. GREAT stuff btw.

Shawn

 

[Mike Casselton]

Go on craigslist and buy a cheap wood lathe. Make a couple of pilots to hold the barrel and polish away. You can get all the sand, silica and polishing media on it and not have any worries about ruining the ways.

 

[Davester]

Go on craigslist and buy a cheap wood lathe. Make a couple of pilots to hold the barrel and polish away. You can get all the sand, silica and polishing media on it and not have any worries about ruining the ways.

That's what I did too, but ended up with a beast of wood lathe 1.5m in the z axis

 

[iceng]

I just chrome plate things. Easier.

 

[Supersubes]

I use a knife sander, and hold the barrel in a fixture that allows it to free spin. LRI actually sells the fixture.

Knife Grinder, Sander, and Buffer - Grizzly Industrial

<h1>G1015 Knife Grinder, Belt Sander, and Buffer</h1> <h2>Perfect for grinding metal and freehand shaping.</h2> <p>The long belt arm on the G1015 Knife Belt Grinder, Belt Sander, and Buffer is exactly what you need for grinding metal and freehand shaping. Perfect for knife makers, the 2" x 72"...

www.grizzly.com

LRI "SuperDurty" Series Professional Gunsmith Barrel Polishing Cassettes

A variety of methods are used to bring up the finish of a rifle barrel. The method we've relied on for over 15 years is the barrel spinner. A mirror finish is easily obtainable with a vertical belt sander/grinder. The primary advantage of our system is residue from abrasive belts is kept far...

www.longriflesinc.com

 

[Easy_E]

I use a knife sander, and hold the barrel in a fixture that allows it to free spin. LRI actually sells the fixture.

Knife Grinder, Sander, and Buffer - Grizzly Industrial

<h1>G1015 Knife Grinder, Belt Sander, and Buffer</h1> <h2>Perfect for grinding metal and freehand shaping.</h2> <p>The long belt arm on the G1015 Knife Belt Grinder, Belt Sander, and Buffer is exactly what you need for grinding metal and freehand shaping. Perfect for knife makers, the 2" x 72"...

www.grizzly.com

LRI "SuperDurty" Series Professional Gunsmith Barrel Polishing Cassettes

A variety of methods are used to bring up the finish of a rifle barrel. The method we've relied on for over 15 years is the barrel spinner. A mirror finish is easily obtainable with a vertical belt sander/grinder. The primary advantage of our system is residue from abrasive belts is kept far...

www.longriflesinc.com

This is what I use to polish being a cheap skate I made everything but it would have been cheaper to buy time wise . You can correct some bad chatter marks with eighty grit and work your way finer all the way to chrome. Gordy uses a wire wheel to get that dull finish Shilen and Douglas barrels have .

 

[LRI]

The easy way:

LRI "SuperDurty" Series Professional Gunsmith Barrel Polishing Cassettes

A variety of methods are used to bring up the finish of a rifle barrel. The method we've relied on for over 15 years is the barrel spinner. A mirror finish is easily obtainable with a vertical belt sander/grinder. The primary advantage of our system is residue from abrasive belts is kept far...

www.longriflesinc.com

Knife Grinder, Sander, and Buffer - Grizzly Industrial

<h1>G1015 Knife Grinder, Belt Sander, and Buffer</h1> <h2>Perfect for grinding metal and freehand shaping.</h2> <p>The long belt arm on the G1015 Knife Belt Grinder, Belt Sander, and Buffer is exactly what you need for grinding metal and freehand shaping. Perfect for knife makers, the 2" x 72"...

www.grizzly.com

Now, on the sander from Grizzly... When/if you buy one, step one is chopping some of the vertical mast off. Set it up to use a 48" belt instead. This will save you hundreds of dollars per year on belt costs. If all your doing is fluffing/buffing a barrel contour, this will set you up for life. It would be "better" if this grinder had a 3rd idler wheel on the back to help with belt tracking when using. It's not the end of the world, though. With a little practice, it's pretty easy to keep the belt tracking on center of the lower driver wheel. You'll be "freehanding" this and keeping the barrel away from the steel backer plate down towards the bottom. I just removed the work surface/backer completely because the added room is nice and not having it there eliminates the backside of the belt trying to catch itself on fire when you are leaning on it.

Buy your belts in bulk. 120/180/220/320/400 grits. If your going to mirror polish, that is a whole other rabbit hole. You'll want a Baldor buffer and a healthy assortment of grinding compounds, various wheels, and polishing rouge.

I bought my Grizzly almost 15 years ago. Runs like a raped ape and we hang north of 100 barrels per month.