You Can Do It!

[Der Gebirgsjager]

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.

Here's the subject barrel. The chamber depth gauge. It measures 2 1/2 or 2 3/4 inch depths.

The 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.

Here'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.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

O.K. then, so far so good. Now here's a photo that shows the reamer and T-handle inserted in the barrel.
and now a repeat of some of the basic tools: And an explanation of how to use them. First, the reamer, you'll note that reamers have cutting flutes that twist slightly to the left (counter-clockwise) and that they are only sharp (very sharp--you can cut your fingers handling them) on the right side of the flute. They are meant to be turned one way, and one way only, which is clockwise to the right. As they cut they make chips, which you can see on the next photo.
These chips must periodically be cleaned from the reamer. This is one way, and a good way, to proceed. First, take the cleaning rod on the right and dip the patch in the cutting oil. (Yeah--you can have it on the left if you'd rather!) Swab the chamber area of the barrel generously with the oil, and using the toothbrush coat the reamer's flutes with the oil. Now insert the reamer into the chamber as shown and turn it with the T-handle in a clockwise direction. Five to eight turns will be enough. Now you have to remove the reamer to clean off the chips, and you can ONLY do that by continuing to turn it to the right while gently pulling upward. If you turn to the left you will probably trap some of the chips between the side walls of the chamber and the flutes and they will act like little cutters and score the walls of the chamber. Turn and remove to the right only ALWAYS. Now that you have the reamer with it's chips out of the chamber clean it off using the kerosene and the other toothbrush, and then swab out the chamber with the other cleaning rod dipped in kerosene. Then recoat the reamer and chamber with oil, back in for a few more turns, back out and clean with the kerosene, etc., etc. The first few times you perform this cycle it may seem like you aren't making much progress, but after a while you'll feel the reamer starting to bite. As the reamer cuts deeper you'll fell more and more resistance and it will be necessary to turn proportionately harder, as more of the reamer's flute surface is engaging the chamber walls. It's important to just do a few turns each time before cleaning the chips off the reamer, don't try to do the whole job at once because the reamer needs lubrication to make a smooth cut, and you can score the walls of the chamber even turning in the correct direction if you allow the chips to build up excessively. Every now and then, when the chamber is cleaned out with the kerosene, you can drop the chamber depth gauge in to see the progress you are making toward your goal.


You can also measure and judge progress by the depth to which the reamer enters.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Once you reach the desired chamber depth as verified by your depth gauge you'll need to increase the depth of the forcing cone. You'll need one of these:
A forcing cone reamer. The technique for using this is exactly the same as the chamber reamer, oil, cut, clean, oil, cut, clean, etc . using the same T-handle. The forcing cone reamer will also collect chips, and all of the technique and precautions concerning the chambering reamer apply here as well.
Now here's a statement that is bound to generate some interesting responses, and I'm sure I'll learn something also, but I do not know of any formula to determine just how deep you should cut the forcing cone. I'd say until it looks right to you and you're happy with it. If the gun doesn't pattern well because the cone's taper isn't long enough you can always revisit the problem and cut it some more.

Two operations remaining, one I didn't photograph and you'll have to go with my description. The new chamber may or may not need some polishing. If you were conscientious about the oiling and cleaning as you cut it there's a good chance it won't. Perhaps you'll want to do it anyway. I rotate the barrel in the vise so that it's now horizontal. I use a portable electric hand drill and chuck in a length of wooden dowel about a foot long. The dowel has a slot cut into the end and I fold over a small piece of 320 grit w/d sandpaper like putting a cleaning patch in a cleaning rod's slot, folded double. Then I dip the sandpaper into the kerosene and swab the chamber with kerosene and run the drill on low medium speed, insert the paper into the chamber and gently move it back and forth a few times for about 30 seconds. That's all it takes to burnish it a bit for easier extraction of fired shells.

Last job is to stamp the new chamber length on the side of the barrel near the breech. This one now says 2 3/4", maybe have to look hard because of the lighting.


And, I guess that about does it. So if you've got an old shotgun lying around that belonged to Grampa and it never did shoot right you might want to measure the chamber and restore it to usefulness. You can probably rent all of the necessary tools to do the job--just don't send your barrels to me, 'cause I'm retired. Wonderful way to spend a rainy Oregon afternoon.

YOU CAN DO IT!

[merlin101]

--just don't send your barrels to me, 'cause I'm retired. Wonderful way to spend a rainy Oregon afternoon.

YOU CAN DO IT!

But that would be so much easier! (for me) Thanks for the info, I really had no idea that could even be done. It's now on my 'to do list'

[rtracy2001]

Excuse my ignorance, I have never attempted such a job. If you placed the forcing cone reamer into the cone before cutting the chamber, marked a reference line on the T-handle, and then placed another line 1/4" deeper, wouldn't that give you a reference line for cutting the cone once the chamber is 1/4" longer?

[Der Gebirgsjager]

That sounds like it would work, if you want to duplicate what you had originally. Doing so may or may not be desirable, as a longer shell holds more shot. Very often shotgunners take their factory barrel to a gunsmith to have the forcing cone lengthened to improve patterning, so the factory cone isn't necessarily always the best possible. Like I said, as far as I know, forcing cones are an inexact science and they're done on past experience, what seems right, what others have done, and "cut and try". I'll repeat what I said in the original post, I've never heard of any hard and fast, set in concrete formula for this. You can try your idea out, and if the gun doesn't pattern to your satisfaction, then make it a bit longer.

[sparky45]

EXCELLENT POST!! Thanks for taking the time to school us part-timers.
S45

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Thank you for the kind words, S45!