firelapping a .45

[jonk]

My RIA 1911 shoots cast ok... for the first few rounds. Then goes to pot. I've slugged the bore and the results were ok- .452. Casting them unsized leaves me at .453-4 and they chamber just fine. Not using the final taper crimp either so they shouldn't be squeezed too much. Have tried both ACWW and 1/2 WW with 1/2 pure, lubed with LLA, and some with 50/50 lube. They both lead horribly. I've tried various charges, mainly with bullseye- starting with 3 grains going up to 4.5. Doesn't seem to matter. All of it leads.

Now here's the rub. Looking down the bore I can see a few rough spots and chatter marks from the rifling cut. Hey, what do you expect for phillipine stuff? Shoots jacketed fine.

I've scrubbed the lead out with ooo steel wool and I'm thinking, I might try firelapping this thing and then trying cast again. What say you?

[docone31]

Jonk, I wouldn't fire lap it.
I might fire a bunch of jacketeds through it, or hand lap the bore. Either way.
With semi's there are too many variables with firelapping.
I have firelapped my bolt guns. I paper patch, undersize slightly, smear Clover, and fire a few. Semi's are different. I have tried to firelap my 10/22. The Bentz chamber was just a tad too tight. I wanted a Bentz, but with the capability to fire Stingers.
Jam, jam, jam, stovepipe, jam, on and on and on.
Hand lap, go slowly, use steady strokes of the same speed and pressure.

[jonk]

Wouldn't be too hard to handlap a short little pistol barrel of a reasonably large diameter... might do that. What weight grit do you recommend to start?

Oh and while I know generally how it is done, a link to the process would be nice too... :)

[docone31]

Jonk,
The finer the better. You lose nothing by haveing to do more strokes. With finer grit, more control.
I do not know of a link for that, however, hollow out some pieces of wood, to fit the barrel. Clamp in a vise. The wood protects the barrel and hopefully does not make it go out of round while lapping.
Get a casting to fit the bore. Smear some lapping compound on the casting. I like to wipe most off. Push it through from the chamber end, all the way out the barrel. Repeat, wipeing when needed. Once you get it in the barrel, it shouldn't be that difficult to push back and forth.

[jonk]

Doesn't sound that bad. "A casting to fit the bore"- any reason I can't plug the bore, pour about 1/4" of lead in the end, drive it out, and use that? Or would an egg sinker work size a little oversized?

[gasboffer]

I had a Glock 36, (45ACP) that would lead. Had an imperfection half-way down the barrel. Lapped it with Flitz, (took a lot of work) and got it to shooting lead like it was supposed to.
The bad spot wasn't easy to see, but it was there. I used Flitz to lap it and finally got it smooth and shiny. (Took a lot of lapping!) I wonder what a Glock barrel would look like with a Bore-Scope?
Clyde

[docone31]

The lead will shrink if poured into the bore.
You can take a lead sinker and drive it in. The main point is to completely fit the groove and bore so the lapping is consistant.

[Big Boomer]

Jonk: While I can't speak to the experiences of others, I've had good results with LBT's firelapping kit. I've lapped all my firearms, handguns in particular. You have to be careful in materials chosen in order to get the best results. I've used both wheelweight hardness (best) and swaged bullets (okay if you expand the base a little by driving a 1" brad in the base of the bullet to expand it a little - but brad must be pulled before shooting the lapped bullet). A lap works better early, less well later (in the bullet's ride down the bore), which produces a choke bore (ideal). Having considered both hand lapping and fire lapping, it appears much too easy to end up with an out-of-round result with the hand lapping due to inability to insure proper pressure all the time in the right direction (up, down, side to side, etc) ... just my take on it. Had a set of Redhawks (5 1/2" SS, .357,
.41 & .44 Mag.) some years back that leaded badly, though they shot jacketed stuff fine. As a last resort, I ordered LBT's kit and followed the instructions. Results were most gratifying. Another factor is bullet hardness. If bullets are too hard and aren't being pushed to high velocity, it has been my experience that they cause leading. With lower velocity, softer boolits are in order. Am having no problems with a DW Pointeman, a Charles Daly, and Ruger P90 (in .45 ACP of course)and some revolvers in .45 Colt (Dan Wesson, and a couple of Ruger Bisleys). 'Tuck