? about bad barrel blank

[Mram10us]

My interapid 312b-15 long stem dti was around $375. Can find them cheaper on sale or used, but Honestly they are worth it. If you don't see the need for it or you don't grasp what i was talking about, then you don't get stacked tolerances and you don't understand until you actually measure it with the right tools.

I'm pretty sure I understand what you are saying. I wont be getting a interapid since this isn't my living, but I can get different tips for my indicators. I have decent noga, starrett and mitutoyo stuff. Goal is to get it to not move, so these work fine. I'll post results

 

[70oldsracer]

So try different methods and see what you think is best. I'm not knocking the OP for his trial and error. But I've suggested a few times to try different methods or even just a different barrel and he's doesn't want to spend the time or money. Can't fix anything if you don't try to make it better or try again. $340 for a high quality barrel is cheap to me. I have thousands more invested in my stuff.

I see it differently, you kinda are knocking me. Let me explain this one last time. I bought an inexpensive barrel (not cheap) to thread and chamber for the first time. I wasn't going to spend $300+ just to waste it and find out I have no clue what I'm doing. I went with Wilson, because they have a good name (not the best) and the price was good. The rifle would just not group, so I sent the barrel to a good friend to have him check it. He feels the blank was bad and the machining was fine. .0012" may not be up to your standards, but it should still shoot fine. Now, does it not make more sense to see if the barrel blank was actually flawed before I go and buy another barrel? Would you go to a mechanic that just keeps changing parts on your dime to fix a problem, or one that figures out what part is actually bad. I have no problem spending money on a good barrel, but that's not why I wanted to build this rifle. I'm a hunter, not a BR shooter and I really like this round. What BS are you calling? I've been upfront with everything that's going on, I've sent pics of my set ups, which may not be the best, but it's the best I can do with what I have. Hey, if my lathe and methods aren't good enough to chamber a rifle barrel, then I won't do it anymore. Believe me, I have thousands invested in my stuff too, but at the end of the day, it's just another hobby.

 

[Mram10us]

I see it differently, you kinda are knocking me. Let me explain this one last time. I bought an inexpensive barrel (not cheap) to thread and chamber for the first time. I wasn't going to spend $300+ just to waste it and find out I have no clue what I'm doing. I went with Wilson, because they have a good name (not the best) and the price was good. The rifle would just not group, so I sent the barrel to a good friend to have him check it. He feels the blank was bad and the machining was fine. .0012" may not be up to your standards, but it should still shoot fine. Now, does it not make more sense to see if the barrel blank was actually flawed before I go and buy another barrel? Would you go to a mechanic that just keeps changing parts on your dime to fix a problem, or one that figures out what part is actually bad. I have no problem spending money on a good barrel, but that's not why I wanted to build this rifle. I'm a hunter, not a BR shooter and I really like this round. What BS are you calling? I've been upfront with everything that's going on, I've sent pics of my set ups, which may not be the best, but it's the best I can do with what I have. Hey, if my lathe and methods aren't good enough to chamber a rifle barrel, then I won't do it anymore. Believe me, I have thousands invested in my stuff too, but at the end of the day, it's just another hobby.

You were right to try an inexpensive barrel first. Most of us do. I'm very curious what the barrel manufacturer says, so keep us posted. I'm wanting this lathe to work out for ya. Watched a couple youtubes on guys using smaller lathes with good success.

 

[70oldsracer]

Will agree with that, I chambered many sub par "cheap" barrels just to test. I'm more inclined to say that the barrel is not the issue. I taught myself on cheap barrels. But if he won't try a different method then try a better barrel. Because he is claiming it's the barrels fault, we both know you can chamber a cheap barrel and have it shoot good, HE DOESNT which is why I was calling his BS. I've chambered $95 green mountain barrels that shot 1moa with first loads. So that's why I posted try a better barrel if you think your setup is sound, but he refused to buy a $300 to prove it. I still think he was bending the barrel into place with that setup.

Also to clarify, I'm not saying you can't get an inexpensive barrel to shoot well. I'm not saying the rifle doesn't shoot, because the barrel was not top of the line. I'm saying (from what I'm being told) the barrel had an issue before I even chambered it. Now, with my set up, I very well have bent the barrel, screwed up the chamber or the crown, I really don't know, but buying a more expensive barrel and doing the same thing to it does not seem the right way to go right now. If Wilson tells me the blank was good and I screwed up the chambering, so be it. It won't be the first time I screwed something up and it sure won't be the last.

 

[bigngreen]

There are a lot of ways to skin this cat but unless you direct read you don't know for sure what you got, I've played many times with a barrel and dialed it in marked it up, undone it then redialed it in to be satisfied with my methods. I rarely will use a long reach DTI to dial because I just struggle with using that particular indicator and I've proven how to get perfect repeatable results with the Gordy rod, I also know when it's not acting right and can remedy it but I know that because I have the tools to verify with a direct read. There really should be no good enough just because it's a hunting barrel, I also don't buy the shoots good so it's right argument, I've seen some ridiculous crap shoot stupid small, heck Wheeler had a barrel that looked like was threaded using the file and dies method and it came of a record holding 1000 yard BR gun, I've seen a perfect barrel in every way I could measure it shoot like butt because of a crappy heat treat. The only way to be OK in your head about your method or a bad barrel is to make every barrel like your shooting for a BR record and leave nothing on the table, though we all have that learning curve!!

 

[Mram10us]

There are a lot of ways to skin this cat but unless you direct read you don't know for sure what you got, I've played many times with a barrel and dialed it in marked it up, undone it then redialed it in to be satisfied with my methods. I rarely will use a long reach DTI to dial because I just struggle with using that particular indicator and I've proven how to get perfect repeatable results with the Gordy rod, I also know when it's not acting right and can remedy it but I know that because I have the tools to verify with a direct read. There really should be no good enough just because it's a hunting barrel, I also don't buy the shoots good so it's right argument, I've seen some ridiculous crap shoot stupid small, heck Wheeler had a barrel that looked like was threaded using the file and dies method and it came of a record holding 1000 yard BR gun, I've seen a perfect barrel in every way I could measure it shoot like butt because of a crappy heat treat. The only way to be OK in your head about your method or a bad barrel is to make every barrel like your shooting for a BR record and leave nothing on the table, though we all have that learning curve!!

I like your comments, but I prescribe to the "if it shoots good, it's right" mentality. I've seen rifles built on lathes that have probably never had a proper test cut or setup, yet they shoot well repeatedly. Do I build mine that way? Heck no, but it does make me wonder how much I/we do that is unnecessary. My old smith and friend built me some very good shooting long range rifles (338 edge and two 30-8mag) on regular rem 700 with no truing. Again, I cant help myself, so I made up the tooling and do it, but they shot.

 

[bigngreen]

I like your comments, but I prescribe to the "if it shoots good, it's right" mentality. I've seen rifles built on lathes that have probably never had a proper test cut or setup, yet they shoot well repeatedly. Do I build mine that way? Heck no, but it does make me wonder how much I/we do that is unnecessary. My old smith and friend built me some very good shooting long range rifles (338 edge and two 30-8mag) on regular rem 700 with no truing. Again, I cant help myself, so I made up the tooling and do it, but they shot.

I come from a back ground of right is measurable both in individual parts and then performance, for me it's not right if I can measure it regardless of how it shoots and that's where I can get better parts by correct measuring. IMO if your qualifying your methods just by shooting you have to stack up a lot of build shooting in the highest levels by the best, the only person I know well personally is Wheeler who I would say could performance proves his methods since there just isn't a smith out there right now with shooters dropping records consistently like him. I don't build those guns and I know it so I have to qualify my methods based on measurements then performance follows, I do build ELR rifles and precision type builds but they way they are used and the typical shooter that uses them won't be able to prove the capabilities well enough that I can accept that as proof I'm doing it right. There are a LOT of guys who hit a rock a few times and think that means they build top level rifles, that just don't get it for me!!!

 

[birdiemc]

There are a lot of ways to skin this cat but unless you direct read you don't know for sure what you got, I've played many times with a barrel and dialed it in marked it up, undone it then redialed it in to be satisfied with my methods. I rarely will use a long reach DTI to dial because I just struggle with using that particular indicator and I've proven how to get perfect repeatable results with the Gordy rod, I also know when it's not acting right and can remedy it but I know that because I have the tools to verify with a direct read. There really should be no good enough just because it's a hunting barrel, I also don't buy the shoots good so it's right argument, I've seen some ridiculous crap shoot stupid small, heck Wheeler had a barrel that looked like was threaded using the file and dies method and it came of a record holding 1000 yard BR gun, I've seen a perfect barrel in every way I could measure it shoot like butt because of a crappy heat treat. The only way to be OK in your head about your method or a bad barrel is to make every barrel like your shooting for a BR record and leave nothing on the table, though we all have that learning curve!!

You lost me on this one...In my brain direct read would be sticking the DTI into the bore, but then you say you use a Gordy rod ( is that the grizzly rod I see talked about?) so is that what you are referring to as direct read?
And do you hold it in the tail stock like on the video linked to earlier?

 

[bigngreen]

You lost me on this one...In my brain direct read would be sticking the DTI into the bore, but then you say you use a Gordy rod ( is that the grizzly rod I see talked about?) so is that what you are referring to as direct read?
And do you hold it in the tail stock like on the video linked to earlier?

Direct is always with indicator on the bore but I only final check, I don't do the whole dial in direct, if i can't reach a long chambering I'll only use the rod but I've got a good feel for using it. I hold Gordy/Grizzly rod in the tailstock very short and just enough to hold it so it isn't ridged.

 

[70oldsracer]

I hope everyone had a nice holiday. Well, this is kinda of an update. I sent the barrel back to Wilson last week and tracking showed that it would arrive on the 23rd. It arrived on the 23rd, but Wilson was closed. They tried again on the 26th to redeliver it, but were unable to, so I'm guessing they are closed the whole week. I'm hoping after the 3rd try they don't send the barrel back to me. I have no luck.

 

[birdiemc]

I hope everyone had a nice holiday. Well, this is kinda of an update. I sent the barrel back to Wilson last week and tracking showed that it would arrive on the 23rd. It arrived on the 23rd, but Wilson was closed. They tried again on the 26th to redeliver it, but were unable to, so I'm guessing they are closed the whole week. I'm hoping after the 3rd try they don't send the barrel back to me. I have no luck.

That would surely suck

 

[HRM Johnny]

I think you should contact the shipping company. Let them know what's going on. Communication is a big deal in situations like this. I hope you'll contact them. I hope you'll keep us informed!

 

[Mram10us]

Direct is always with indicator on the bore but I only final check, I don't do the whole dial in direct, if i can't reach a long chambering I'll only use the rod but I've got a good feel for using it. I hold Gordy/Grizzly rod in the tailstock very short and just enough to hold it so it isn't ridged.

BG, if you get time, could you video how you setup a barrel and post it? I am really curious how other guys setup. Thanks

 

[70oldsracer]

I think you should contact the shipping company. Let them know what's going on. Communication is a big deal in situations like this. I hope you'll contact them. I hope you'll keep us informed!

I want to, but I'm not exactly sure when to tell them to deliver it. Wilson might be closed Monday-Wednesday of next week too. I'll call the post office today and see what they suggest, thanks.