Der Gebirgsjager
03-05-2016, 05:10 PM
The thread title comes from a guy named Tony Little. Via TV, he sold my wife an exercise machine that simulates cross country skiing. While she used it (note past tense "used") she'd watch him using it on a video, and about the time she was ready to pass out he'd shriek, "You can do it!" So, what has this to do with barrels?
Lots of years ago, mid-1950s to be semi-exact, I bought a side by side shotgun, 16 gauge, Ranger brand, which turned out to be made by Stevens and sold by Sears, probably in the late 1920s or '30s. No serial numbers back then, so hard to get an exact date. Like most folks I was born ignorant, although not necessarily stupid, and didn't realize that it used 2 1/2 inch shells. I'm not certain that they made 2 1/2 shells anymore, but the store keep that I bought it from happily sold me a box of 2 3/4 inchers. I went through a box and a half before I set the gun aside, never having hit a thing with it. I did a whole lot better with my dad's Win. Mod. 37 .410.
Some of those lots of years went by and I gradually became somewhat gun educated and learned that the 2 3/4 inch shells didn't fully open in the shorter chamber when fired, causing the shot to bounce off the walls of the barrels on the way to freedom and exiting the muzzles in shapes other than round, square not being conducive to good patterns. I did learn that the chambers can be lengthened to the desirable 2 3/4 inch length. However, one must also then lengthen the forcing cone as the new chamber has cut into it and it retains less of a tapered relationship to the chamber than it was originally produced with.
I've returned several of these older shotguns to usefulness over the years, and am going to post some photos of the last one I did. First, a couple of explanations: You will see a perfectly good metal lathe in the background and wonder, "Now why didn't he use that?"
Because I did this to show how it can be done without a lathe by anyone with access to a few necessary basic tools. Those would be a chambering reamer (a finisher is good enough), a forcing cone reamer, a large T-handle to turn them with, some cutting oil (I use Brownell's "Do Drill" for this job, but many will work), some kerosene, a couple of small cans to hold the oil and kerosene, a couple of brushes like acid brushes or old tooth brushes, a bench vise, a gauge for measuring chamber depth, and a device to show your progress. Here I used a very inexpensive woodworking square because it's black with white numbers and lines and shows up really well in the photos so you can gauge the progress. Yes, I do have some expensive mics, calipers, etc., but you couldn't see the readings in my photos as I'm using about a 2nd generation digital camera with low resolution. I've got a better camera also, but it's on the blink right now.
The subject barrel was sent to me by my brother. It is a Win. Mod. 12 16 gauge that had a 2 1/2 inch chamber, and wouldn't you know, he had the same trouble with it that I did with my Ranger.
162789Here's the subject barrel. 162790The chamber depth gauge. It measures 2 1/2 or 2 3/4 inch depths.
162791The barrel held vertically in the bench vise with appropriate non-marring jaws, and the chamber depth gauge inserted in the barrel. The 2 3/4 inch line is the top one above the breech, and illustrates that the chamber is well short of that depth.
162792162793Here's some of the tools I use, and an explanation of how and why to use them. First, you'll need a chambering reamer. This Clymer model has a nice pilot on the business end to ride in the bore and help center the reamer as it cuts.
The photo on the left shows two shotgun cleaning rods with patches and two cat food-size cans, one containing kerosene (left) and the one on the right "Do Drill". Two tooth brushes, one dedicated to each can. The Spam cans, lying on their sides, are for putting the tips of the rods into when the patches are dripping wet with whatever fluid is on them in the hope of limiting the mess. Then, standing vertically on the right is the reamer in the T-Handle.
Lots of years ago, mid-1950s to be semi-exact, I bought a side by side shotgun, 16 gauge, Ranger brand, which turned out to be made by Stevens and sold by Sears, probably in the late 1920s or '30s. No serial numbers back then, so hard to get an exact date. Like most folks I was born ignorant, although not necessarily stupid, and didn't realize that it used 2 1/2 inch shells. I'm not certain that they made 2 1/2 shells anymore, but the store keep that I bought it from happily sold me a box of 2 3/4 inchers. I went through a box and a half before I set the gun aside, never having hit a thing with it. I did a whole lot better with my dad's Win. Mod. 37 .410.
Some of those lots of years went by and I gradually became somewhat gun educated and learned that the 2 3/4 inch shells didn't fully open in the shorter chamber when fired, causing the shot to bounce off the walls of the barrels on the way to freedom and exiting the muzzles in shapes other than round, square not being conducive to good patterns. I did learn that the chambers can be lengthened to the desirable 2 3/4 inch length. However, one must also then lengthen the forcing cone as the new chamber has cut into it and it retains less of a tapered relationship to the chamber than it was originally produced with.
I've returned several of these older shotguns to usefulness over the years, and am going to post some photos of the last one I did. First, a couple of explanations: You will see a perfectly good metal lathe in the background and wonder, "Now why didn't he use that?"
Because I did this to show how it can be done without a lathe by anyone with access to a few necessary basic tools. Those would be a chambering reamer (a finisher is good enough), a forcing cone reamer, a large T-handle to turn them with, some cutting oil (I use Brownell's "Do Drill" for this job, but many will work), some kerosene, a couple of small cans to hold the oil and kerosene, a couple of brushes like acid brushes or old tooth brushes, a bench vise, a gauge for measuring chamber depth, and a device to show your progress. Here I used a very inexpensive woodworking square because it's black with white numbers and lines and shows up really well in the photos so you can gauge the progress. Yes, I do have some expensive mics, calipers, etc., but you couldn't see the readings in my photos as I'm using about a 2nd generation digital camera with low resolution. I've got a better camera also, but it's on the blink right now.
The subject barrel was sent to me by my brother. It is a Win. Mod. 12 16 gauge that had a 2 1/2 inch chamber, and wouldn't you know, he had the same trouble with it that I did with my Ranger.
162789Here's the subject barrel. 162790The chamber depth gauge. It measures 2 1/2 or 2 3/4 inch depths.
162791The barrel held vertically in the bench vise with appropriate non-marring jaws, and the chamber depth gauge inserted in the barrel. The 2 3/4 inch line is the top one above the breech, and illustrates that the chamber is well short of that depth.
162792162793Here's some of the tools I use, and an explanation of how and why to use them. First, you'll need a chambering reamer. This Clymer model has a nice pilot on the business end to ride in the bore and help center the reamer as it cuts.
The photo on the left shows two shotgun cleaning rods with patches and two cat food-size cans, one containing kerosene (left) and the one on the right "Do Drill". Two tooth brushes, one dedicated to each can. The Spam cans, lying on their sides, are for putting the tips of the rods into when the patches are dripping wet with whatever fluid is on them in the hope of limiting the mess. Then, standing vertically on the right is the reamer in the T-Handle.