Revolver confusion!

[dubber123]

Don't let firelapping scare you, it's not hard to do, and you can go as slow as you want if you are nervous. Firelapping doesn't take much at all off the throats using a correctly sized boolit. In my opinion, if you have thread choke, you are just band aiding the problem with the various methods mentioned. Fix the thread choke, and enjoy the numerous benefits.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

Don't let firelapping scare you, it's not hard to do, and you can go as slow as you want if you are nervous. Firelapping doesn't take much at all off the throats using a correctly sized boolit. In my opinion, if you have thread choke, you are just band aiding the problem with the various methods mentioned. Fix the thread choke, and enjoy the numerous benefits.

Thanks dubber123. Most folk are scared of fire lapping. Sounds like you have found the benefits vs risk. I bought into it a couple of decades ago after reading some of Veral Smith. What a pioneer.

[CHeatermk3]

The problem I have with using firelapping to try to fix thread choke is that you're not just "lapping" the tight portion at the origin of the lands/bore; you're sending an undersized "lap" down the bore which has to be degrading the lands as well as the tight part of the barrel.

Would it not be a better approach to attack the tight choked beginning of the barrel with some sort of hone or lap and leave those nice sharp lands alone? You can get a hone into the choked area by putting an extension thru the barrel from the muzzle end and threading your lap, hone or whatever onto the end of it at the cylinder end, no?

It just seems to me that firelapping is way overkill a method for dealing with a problem at one end of the barrel.

[dubber123]

[QUOTE=CHeatermk3;3974530]The problem I have with using firelapping to try to fix thread choke is that you're not just "lapping" the tight portion at the origin of the lands/bore; you're sending an undersized "lap" down the bore which has to be degrading the lands as well as the tight part of the barrel.

Would it not be a better approach to attack the tight choked beginning of the barrel with some sort of hone or lap and leave those nice sharp lands alone? You can get a hone into the choked area by putting an extension thru the barrel from the muzzle end and threading your lap, hone or whatever onto the end of it at the cylinder end, no?
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Actually, no. The abrasive used breaks down as it makes it's trip down the bore, cutting less and less as it goes. This very characteristic makes it work so well on thread choke in revolvers. I have lapped quite a few, and you can actually see it working it's way towards the muzzle. In fact it is best to pick out some visible tooling marks in the bore towards the muzzle, and stop lapping when you see them being affected. Firelapping makes a really nice gradual taper in a bore, it does not round off lands, they have always remained sharp in the guns I did.

It works so slowly it really is easy to pretty much just remove the thread choke without touching the rest of the bore if that is what is desired.

[CHeatermk3]

Well, that does sound better than what I had imagined.

Thanks for the lesson!

[dubber123]

Well, that does sound better than what I had imagined.

Thanks for the lesson!

I use 320 grit exclusively, and even this relatively coarse grit cuts pretty slowly, and makes a really nice bore finish, better than the factory bore finish in every one I have done. Firelapping won't fix every problem, but it sure has helped every one I have applied it to.