Bending SxS barrels(

I purchased a nice set of Damascus LC Smith 12 gauge barrels with perfect bores from a fellow online. Long story short, they are slightly bent (which was not disclosed in the sale of course). They ring like a bell so the ribs are still solidly attached. They aren't bent much, I had to look several times down the sides of the barrels to discern any deflection, but it is there. A look down the bores confirms this with the light rings being distorted at the bend. I think they could be straightened but I'm concerned about the integrity of the Damascus being compromised by the process. I intend (intended) to shoot these barrels with BP bird loads. Oh, heck...who am I fooling? Of course I'm going to try to straighten them! What say ye?

The question is whether the bend you have now is better than the bend in the other direction you might have after trying to "straighten" them.

Take a piece of steel plumbing pipe, bend it, and then try to straighten it back again and see how well it comes out. And then decide whether you want to try that on a barrel. :)

Have you shot it yet? It may pattern just fine as is, depending on the severity and direction of the bend.

Brownells has a devise that bends shotgun barrels to change the point of impact. I had it done to my brand new BT99 by a gunsmith in LA.; my new trap gun now shoots where I'm looking...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gnostic

Brownells has a devise that bends shotgun barrels to change the point of impact. I had it done to my brand new BT99 by a gunsmith in LA.; my new trap gun now shoots where I'm looking...

---

Bending a single barrel is worlds different than trying to bend two barrels soldered together.....................


Since the proof's in the pudding, I would suggest first shooting the gun to determine if there's an issue with the new barrel's POI. (IOW, if it isn't broken, don't "fix" it)


.

Another issue is the damascas of the barrels and what bending will do to it with the forces applied. I'm with the others and would try shooting first then go from there. Navey Vet recommends testing on a piece of plumbers pipe and after the plumbers pipe in one piece weld 2 together and see how much the force to move it increases and how the bends change from being straight forward to the added stresses and forms.

I'd shoot it first. Maybe it's bent in the right direction.

Yes, you should shoot it first. I think the sort of bend that could move a shot pattern a foot or two would be much more noticeable. It may do no harm to the point of impact, and if the whole assembly still ring well, it very likely isn't weakening. While screw devices were used for straightening (or bending) barrels, and wooden blocks and wedges would do it cheaper for the one-time operator, an older technique was to whack them against a sandbag.

It may that the bend was done by raising large dents in one or both barrels. Damascus isn't a bad barrel material, but you shouldn't raise dents quite as deep as you can with plain steel. I would examine it very carefully from dents on the outside, and have a shotgun gunsmith check for any thinned spots caused by excessive hammering or removal of scarring. Bore diameter subtracted from outside diameter isn't good enough for this. You can make your own gauge, similar to the one on www.mansonreamers.com, with two steel bars fixed parallel and an engineer's plunger dial gauge, which you can use for other things afterwards.

This CAN be done, but it is a very delicate and exacting proceedure. I don't recommend this, but a friend has some steps on his home with a gap, and he has long practiced putting shotgun barrels in and bending them by hand and by feel and instinct, and he's darn good at it, too. He's done so many that he sometimes gets it right on the first attempt, though he generally goes slower, and does it by degrees. He's long bent barrels for himself and others who were having trouble hitting with their shotguns.

Many don't know it, but shotgun barrels are really pretty soft, and easily bent. In the days when many were carried in pickups in "gun racks" on the back window, bumpy rides would almost guarantee a bent barrel. He bent many a gun to restore POI for the owner. And it always worked.

But this is NOT a task for those who don't have a VERY delicate sense of feel and the amount of force being applied. It has to be enough, but not too much. As I said, it's very delicate.

If I were going to try it, and was determined to get it right, I think I'd build a "vise/rack" for the gun, with an arm to either side, and then I'd get some 7/8 or 1" dia. pipe and split it down the middle. About 12" length ought to do. Then I'd construct an L-shaped bracket on the arms, and thread for a screw or bolt. I'd attach some good strong wire to that bolt, and rig it to the half round pipe, place the pipe on the other side of the barrel, and bring it tight enough that turning the screw would bend it slightly. This would probably be the best way for someone to try bending a barrel who doesn't have full faith and trust in their sense of touch and force.

My friend "sighted in" several shotguns for me using his steps. It's easier and cheaper than getting a custom fitted stock! And it really worked, which was all I cared about. I've always had a hard time shooting a shotgun well. Bending the barrels helped more than anything else I've ever found for me. Most 'smiths gasp at things like this, and I guess rightfully so, but many of us like doing things ourselves, and find the "learning experiences" very satisfying .... usually. I can't recommend it because I don't know what your sensitivity is when doing this, but .... with the right guy, it can work wonders, even if it's probably not in any gunsmithing text books. Another old 'smith from way back, would even step up to a big pine, and it the barrel with it to bend it. This guy had done gunsmithing all his life, except for serving in the infantry in WWII, and had a precision in his hands that most of us could only envy.

But done wrong, of course, it CAN ALSO ruin a good gun. Be your own critic, and decide if you want to try something like these things. There's really no "right" way and "wrong" way to do many things in gunsmithing, and most other similar endeavors, but .... it's really easy to mess things up unless you've got a lot of experience under your belt, and much of that experience comes from messing up some guns. The key to being a GOOD 'smith is to NOT make any mistakes you can't correct. And that comes from judgment, and judgment comes from experience, and not all of that experience will be "pleasantly memorable." We learn from our mistakes.

As Damascus, there's always at least some chance that bending them might separate one of the barrels' welds, but I don't thik that would be a very likely thing to happen. But it COULD, possibly.

If it were me, I'd try bending them slowly and by degrees, so you can let the barrels "rest" a while between efforts. And doing it progressively will also tend strongly to keep you from overbending - something you do NOT want to do! FWIW?

I would not attempt to bend those barrels knowing how the barrels are formed you risk catastrophic failure if you do.

SXS barrels are bent so they shoot together don't mess with them if you do bet you mess them up.

Many Smith S x S barrel sets were of european manufacture and of best quality !!!

Mine has english proofs----------------my barrrels are not "straight" they regulate perfectly at 40 yards--------------------shootem and see betcha you'll find they are fine "as is"

Stay safe

Dave