Barrel re-lining ?

[mazo kid]

I've got some H&A boy's rifles with bad bores. I have a couple drilled out and will be ordering the liners tomorrow. My question is this: Do I have to use AcraGlas for bonding the liner, or will any good epoxy work as well? Maybe JB Weld? TIA. Emery

[fishhawk]

well Em that 45-90 i shot up at the farm has a liner and its just plain old epoxy holding it in. steve k

[mazo kid]

Hey Steve, that was quick! I have been told the reason to use AcraGlas was that it is thinner than other epoxies and would flow better into nooks and crannies. I don't see the need for that as the epoxy SHOULD squeeze into said places in the process of pushing the liner in place...No?.

[waksupi]

I would stick with Acraglas for the purpose. I believe JB weld would get you into a real jackpot.

[enfield]

a thin coat of locktite works great, sticks like ....

[elk hunter]

I've used Acraglas, solder, tig welding and am now going to try red locktite on a 25-20 liner.

For better accuracy with the 22 rim fire I now short chamber so the rifling engraves the bullet and then finish the rim recess with a separate reamer. This made a big difference in accuracy. The difference is great enough that I'm considering drilling out the liner I put in my Stevens #44 years ago and redoing it. My old rim fire reamer is for repeaters, so the chamber is bigger and longer than the match reamers available today.

[geargnasher]

John Taylor, who does probably more liners than anyone, uses red Loctite. I just did my first one two days ago and decided to use Acraglas due to the longer work time. The next one I do will also be done with Acraglas, it really worked well for me. Red Loctite sets up very quickly as soon as air is removed, so I was a little afraid of it my first try, having visions of it setting up before I got the liner all the way in. JB Weld is pretty thick, I'd stick with Acraglas because it's a sure thing.

Go to Brownell's website, search barrel liners, and click on the link from the barrel liner page in their catalog to a downloadable PDF file that gives an outstanding description of step-by-step relining and all associated operations, they show how to do it with either Acraglas or solder, I HIGHLY recommend reading it even if you choose the Loctite method, there is a wealth of knowledge in that article that applies to relining in general, and there are a few pictures as well.

Gear

[John Taylor]

The red loctite would probably not be as good if a piloted drill is used because of the clearance being more. I try for a close fit and epoxy type glues need a little more room. The Loctite does not set up as fast as you think. A little heat will cause it to set up faster like when I cut the excess off with the band saw. The speed of the loctite over the epoxy lets me get a job done quicker, time is money as they say.

[kokomokid]

I agree with elk hunter on the chamber . My Crossno insert is so crooked that it could shoot around a corner but has a match grade chamber that seats a 22 into the rifling. It is a tack driver at 100 yds in my BPCR gun.

[mazo kid]

....JB Weld is pretty thick, I'd stick with Acraglas because it's a sure thing.
Go to Brownell's website, search barrel liners, and click on the link from the barrel liner page in their catalog to a downloadable PDF file that gives an outstanding description of step-by-step relining and all associated operations, they show how to do it with either Acraglas or solder, I HIGHLY recommend reading it even if you choose the Loctite method, there is a wealth of knowledge in that article that applies to relining in general, and there are a few pictures as well.
Gear

Thanks all, I have decided to go the AcraGlas route and ordered my liners and other stuff today. I did download the PDF from Brownell's but it never did finish downloading, stopped at about 3/4 of the way through. Tried several times. However, I am getting a copy of the free instruction book from Brownell's. I've got several ideas from all of you for my first re-lining try.