Barrel Lapping
- Thread starter bored184
- Start date
D
Dennis Sorensen
Guest
Lapping a barrel is usually done by the barrel maker... it is not something a consumer normally would do... in fact not many gunsmiths would do it either...
It involves pouring a lead lap within the bore and with abrasive paste work from end to end finding "tight" spots and lapping to get a smooth barrel.
Done properly on a quality barrel and you end up with a very high quality barrel that will foul very little and shoot very well. (Most custom barrel makers do this)
Done poorly it can make a barrel worse.
It involves pouring a lead lap within the bore and with abrasive paste work from end to end finding "tight" spots and lapping to get a smooth barrel.
Done properly on a quality barrel and you end up with a very high quality barrel that will foul very little and shoot very well. (Most custom barrel makers do this)
Done poorly it can make a barrel worse.
J
Joe Pellegrene
Guest
If you try lapping by hand you will probably need to cut the ends of the barrel back when your done.
Instead you might want to try fire lapping the barrel. That's probably your best chance for success.
Several companies make bullets coated with different grades of abrasive that you just load and shoot through the barrel.
Instead you might want to try fire lapping the barrel. That's probably your best chance for success.
Several companies make bullets coated with different grades of abrasive that you just load and shoot through the barrel.
D
Dennis Sorensen
Guest
I would have to ask why you think your barrel needs lapping? There are millions of barrels out there that are not lapped..
F
Fireball Fred
Guest
advise
bored 184, this is not an area to teach ones self gunsmithing as they can change a good barrel to junk incredably fast. instead for the beginner use david tubbs fire lapping bullets if you think it will improve your barrel. Greg Moyer
as always free advise is always worth the money paid!
bored 184, this is not an area to teach ones self gunsmithing as they can change a good barrel to junk incredably fast. instead for the beginner use david tubbs fire lapping bullets if you think it will improve your barrel. Greg Moyer
as always free advise is always worth the money paid!
D
Dennis Sorensen
Guest
Lapping a barrel isn't something I would even consider in trying to achieve better accuracy...
Having your present rifle cleaned and bedded properly may help...
Having a quality match grade barrel installed and correctly bedded will boost the accuracy level considerably.
4
4Mesh
Guest
I'll give you my definition of barrel lapping. It's where you pour a lead lap in the barrel on the end of a cleaning rod and using lapping compound, turn a barrel that probably ain't a world beater, into one that really sucks.
S
Spott3r
Guest
Now come on...
Bored 184,
What they say is true. However one of the best Rimfire shooters taught himself how to lap a barrel. Eventually he got very good at it. It was only a part of what he did to shoot well. Reading the wind is another part.
Bill Calfee is undoubtedly a great barrel lapper and this shows in the results of his rifles.
If you have the ken to follow thru on it. You may well find many better barrels for your service. Patience and diligence will have to go with you for this adventure to be worth your time.
Slugging the barrel is another term that should interest you.
Have fun,
Spot
Bored 184,
What they say is true. However one of the best Rimfire shooters taught himself how to lap a barrel. Eventually he got very good at it. It was only a part of what he did to shoot well. Reading the wind is another part.
Bill Calfee is undoubtedly a great barrel lapper and this shows in the results of his rifles.
If you have the ken to follow thru on it. You may well find many better barrels for your service. Patience and diligence will have to go with you for this adventure to be worth your time.
Slugging the barrel is another term that should interest you.
Have fun,
Spot
Haha! yeah thats another term Id like to learn, I know it involves pushing a slug down the barrel to find the tight spots but other then that I dont know what you do when you find a tight spot. Ive got access to a few 10/22 barrels that I can practice with but I cant find the stuff I need or some basic instructions to start with.
Bill Leeper
New member
Unlike many others, lapping a barrel is something I will often do. What's more, I have no trouble with lapping a barrel after chambering. For some reason, barrel lapping has come to be regarded as a mysterious operation which is more likely to cause harm than do good.
There is little doubt that many people should not even consider attempting to lap a barrel. Let's face it, many people should never be allowed to handle anything harder or sharper than a Twinkie! It is possible to screw a barrel up with a lap just as it is possible to wreck a paint job with a buffer. It doesn't mean this is the most likely result however.
Mostly, lapping is a means of refining the interior surface finish of the barrel. It can also be a means of improving dimensional uniformity or correcting dimensional deficiencies but, generally speaking, these don't usually exist in good quality barrels. If a maker of BR barrels produces a barrel with a noticable tight spot, he will probably not try to correct this with a lap but will cull the barrel.
In the days when muzzleloaders ruled, lapping was often employed to produce a choked bore as a means of easing loading and, supposedly, improving accuracy. I don't think there are many advocates of the choked bore today so this has fallen out of favor.
I have found it is entirely possible to do all sorts of things which most say not to do. For instance:
Don't remove the lap from the barrel. You'll never get it back in place. I do this all the time. In fact, I will index the lap around in an attempt to uniform the land and groove dimensions.
Don't lap from the muzzle end. I actually find this to perhaps be the best way to lap the throat area.
You can't lap gain twist barrels. Because I don't appear to know any better, I lap them all the time. Works good.
I consider firelapping to be a technique for the inept.
Now, as to bored184's question. He states, "I've got a Kimber 82G that shoots great". This hardly sounds like a candidate for any type of remedial work whether it's lapping or rebedding or anything else. If a rifle "shoots great" I'm usually pretty happy with it. Lapping is something that is done to barrel which has an identifiable deficiency or as part of the manufacturing or the chambering process. It isn't done as part of a barrage of changes and alterations or as an act of desperation. As gunsmiths, we should have some idea of what it is we are trying to do before we do it. Regards, Bill.
There is little doubt that many people should not even consider attempting to lap a barrel. Let's face it, many people should never be allowed to handle anything harder or sharper than a Twinkie! It is possible to screw a barrel up with a lap just as it is possible to wreck a paint job with a buffer. It doesn't mean this is the most likely result however.
Mostly, lapping is a means of refining the interior surface finish of the barrel. It can also be a means of improving dimensional uniformity or correcting dimensional deficiencies but, generally speaking, these don't usually exist in good quality barrels. If a maker of BR barrels produces a barrel with a noticable tight spot, he will probably not try to correct this with a lap but will cull the barrel.
In the days when muzzleloaders ruled, lapping was often employed to produce a choked bore as a means of easing loading and, supposedly, improving accuracy. I don't think there are many advocates of the choked bore today so this has fallen out of favor.
I have found it is entirely possible to do all sorts of things which most say not to do. For instance:
Don't remove the lap from the barrel. You'll never get it back in place. I do this all the time. In fact, I will index the lap around in an attempt to uniform the land and groove dimensions.
Don't lap from the muzzle end. I actually find this to perhaps be the best way to lap the throat area.
You can't lap gain twist barrels. Because I don't appear to know any better, I lap them all the time. Works good.
I consider firelapping to be a technique for the inept.
Now, as to bored184's question. He states, "I've got a Kimber 82G that shoots great". This hardly sounds like a candidate for any type of remedial work whether it's lapping or rebedding or anything else. If a rifle "shoots great" I'm usually pretty happy with it. Lapping is something that is done to barrel which has an identifiable deficiency or as part of the manufacturing or the chambering process. It isn't done as part of a barrage of changes and alterations or as an act of desperation. As gunsmiths, we should have some idea of what it is we are trying to do before we do it. Regards, Bill.
S
Spott3r
Guest
Good answer - Bill.
Thanks for taking the time..
Thanks for taking the time..
C
chino69
Guest
barrel lapping
Leave your barrel alone. If it's shooting great, why would you want to screw with it? Turn your attentions to proper bedding, trigger adjustment, etc.
Chino69
Leave your barrel alone. If it's shooting great, why would you want to screw with it? Turn your attentions to proper bedding, trigger adjustment, etc.
Chino69
W
WhelenMan
Guest
The new April 2008 edition of Shooting Times has an article entitled "Lapping a Rifle Barrel." There's good information there but I cringe at the thoughts of how many people are going to ruin barrels after reading this article. If it's used for reclaiming an old barrel in poor condition that otherwise would be scrap like the article intended that's fine but I can just see Bubba lapping his rifle to "improve" to benchrest accuracy. I'm smart enough to know that I shouldn't try it but Bubba might not be.
K
koginam
Guest
Like Bill I have no problem lapping barrels,
This is how i do it.
I mainly do new barrel blanks but I have done many many finished barrels, so when I get a blank I cut off to length I keep the cut off piece and use it as a mold for the lead lap. I then take a threaded one piece rod and put on a tight fitting cleaning patch and run it down the barrel, where I feel it get tight I make a mark on the rod with a marking pin then when the patch feels loose again I make another mark on the rod, I do this the whole length of the barrel, now I lay the rod on top of the barrel and mark the barrel with the start and end of the tight places. I heat up the piece of barrel I saved with a torch and then before it cools I put in a jag and pour in the lead to make the lap, as it cools the lead lap can be pushed out, I make 5 to 7 laps.
I place a little rubbing compound on a piece of tempered glass and place the lap in it then with another piece of glass I roil the lap back and forth until the lap is coated. now I place the lap into the barrel and move it close to the mark on the rod I push the lap back and forth between the marks after 6 to 8 passes I make a couple long passes, 2 to 4 inches past the marks,to even out the polishing. After 30 or so passes I reapply compound and and continue, if the lap feels loose I use a new one, then I go to 400 grit and finish with Simichrome.
This is how i do it.
I mainly do new barrel blanks but I have done many many finished barrels, so when I get a blank I cut off to length I keep the cut off piece and use it as a mold for the lead lap. I then take a threaded one piece rod and put on a tight fitting cleaning patch and run it down the barrel, where I feel it get tight I make a mark on the rod with a marking pin then when the patch feels loose again I make another mark on the rod, I do this the whole length of the barrel, now I lay the rod on top of the barrel and mark the barrel with the start and end of the tight places. I heat up the piece of barrel I saved with a torch and then before it cools I put in a jag and pour in the lead to make the lap, as it cools the lead lap can be pushed out, I make 5 to 7 laps.
I place a little rubbing compound on a piece of tempered glass and place the lap in it then with another piece of glass I roil the lap back and forth until the lap is coated. now I place the lap into the barrel and move it close to the mark on the rod I push the lap back and forth between the marks after 6 to 8 passes I make a couple long passes, 2 to 4 inches past the marks,to even out the polishing. After 30 or so passes I reapply compound and and continue, if the lap feels loose I use a new one, then I go to 400 grit and finish with Simichrome.
A question for Bill Leeper,
Lapping a factory barrel or any chambered barrel without the aid of having a piece of cut off barrel to make laps with, what is the secret of poring good laps? I spent a good 8 hours one day attempting to make a lap for an old varmint barred, never did get a good one without voids. Do you use pure lead, lead with 5% tin, wheel weights, or a special mix? Your insight would be appreciated…
Rick
Lapping a factory barrel or any chambered barrel without the aid of having a piece of cut off barrel to make laps with, what is the secret of poring good laps? I spent a good 8 hours one day attempting to make a lap for an old varmint barred, never did get a good one without voids. Do you use pure lead, lead with 5% tin, wheel weights, or a special mix? Your insight would be appreciated…
Rick