Gunsmithing Smith for cutting, crown, and thread

JTJACKSON

Online Training Member
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Minuteman
Mar 25, 2017
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SW Va
I have a 26” criterion 6.5 creedmoor that I want cut down to 18.5”. Want it handier for hunting. Can anyone recommend a good smith in southwest Va/northeast Tn to send it to? Thanks in advance.
 
Was Larry high when he thought this would be a good video?
I took a barrel that had a galled brake on it to a gunsmith. He took a reciprocating saw and chopped the barrel behind the brake. He put a tool similar to what was in the video in a hand drill and crowned it. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes and cost me $10. The rifle shot as good as it did before the job. I don’t think it’a rocket surgery.
 
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I don’t think it’a rocket surgery.

I agree depending on the application I don't have a problem chopping and recrowning a barrel myself. I've done a couple of shotgun barrels and a rifle barrel, which all came out pretty good using some hand tools from Brownells. Threading a barrel is a whole different ball of wax though, that's something I'd prefer to have a gunsmith do to make sure everything is concentric to the bore.

This is a .223 barrel I chopped and crowned myself before I cleaned it up and applied some oxpho blue.

Finished muzzle.jpg


This is part of the Brownells kit I use. I've also used to repair the crown on a Remington 700 AAC-SD that got dinged up.

Facing and Chamfer tools laid out.jpg
 
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I agree depending on the application I don't have a problem chopping and recrowning a barrel myself. I've done a couple of shotgun barrels and a rifle barrel, which all came out pretty good using some hand tools from Brownells. Threading a barrel is a whole different ball of wax though, that's something I'd prefer to have a gunsmith do to make sure everything is concentric to the bore.

This is a .223 barrel I chopped and crowned myself before I cleaned it up and applied some oxpho blue.

View attachment 8019291

This is part of the Brownells kit I use. I've also used to repair the crown on a Remington 700 AAC-SD that got dinged up.

View attachment 8019293
Nice job.
 
Should doing it myself be a consideration? I’m cutting the rifle down to make it easier to handle hunting. There’s not enough recoil to make a brake a necessity. Or would the cost of the tools rival the cost of having it done by a good gunsmith?
 
I got the tools because I wanted to learn how to do stuff like that on my own. A cut and crown job in and of itself isn't expensive and by the time you factor in shipping both ways, it'll probably be about the same as buying the tools and doing it yourself. Cutting just one barrel down? Probably not worth it. I've used mine to cut a few barrels and fix another one so it's already paid for itself IMO.
 
I took a barrel that had a galled brake on it to a gunsmith. He took a reciprocating saw and chopped the barrel behind the brake. He put a tool similar to what was in the video in a hand drill and crowned it. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes and cost me $10. The rifle shot as good as it did before the job. I don’t think it’a rocket surgery.
What I am referring to is the wobble he has in the video while he is cutting, which I will wager makes an uneven crown. I’m with trigger monkey, one job that is important, send it to a gunsmith.
 
I posted the vid for the laugh and the knowledge.

If the OP wants it threaded, I would only use my smith as I dont have a metal lathe or the knowledge. Yet.

For a little clean up?
I would get the tools and do myself.
Over a lifetime of shooting, they would be handy.

And yeah, I would probably chop and crown myself for a handier hunter if I wasnt planning to use a suppressor or brake.


There is an old, yet hilarious vid of a sawzall and a brass screw in a drill lapping the crown……
Gotta go do the Monday thing, maybe time to find it later.
 
Give Jim Pixley at JP Grips a try. He's fast, reasonable and good. Website focuses on Rugers/etc but he does just about anything. Cut/thread/crown bolt action barrel (off receiver) is $85 + $15 return shipping. He can also take barreled action but cost is higher.