Thoughts on Lothar Walther?

[Buck Fever]

I got my aluminum Friday night and yesterday I pulled out my hacksaw to make it a barrel vise bushing.

A Starret bi-metal coarse tooth blade (24 tpi I think) makes quick work of aluminum.

I used my calipers to mark 3" on the tube, then wrapped next to the scribe line with painter's tape to make sure the cut line looked square. That gave me a super visible reference to saw to. Of course push down on the cut stroke and no pressure on the return to avoid clogging or dulling the blade. After cutting to length, I used a flat file and a round file to smooth and chamfer the cut edges.

Slitting the side was similarly easy, just long smooth strokes with the hacksaw, a bit of inside clean up with the round file and a few strokes of the flat file on the exterior.

The proof in the pudding is that the aluminum did not spring enough to cause a tight fit on the barrel, it's a loose fit but only by a few 0.001"s like the 1.250" i.d. and 1.240" o.d. would suggest. The saw kerf seems to be enough to squeeze for a tight fit on the barrel. If the tube o.d. is close to the 1.750" size and the barrel vice i.d. is also, everything should be great but I haven't measured that yet. If there is any discrepancy, I hope to solve it with alumanized duct tape.

Later today I plan to measure my chassis for my linear bearing mount.

 

[Buck Fever]

I need a bushing for the Brownells barrel vise.

Instead of paying $30 and shipping for one set from Brownells, I think I'm going to buy a foot of 1.75" by 0.250" wall aluminum tube and have enough material to make 4 sets of bushings for $25 shipped.

I'll saw it to 3" length, then saw through one wall so it remains in one piece but can clamp down on my barrel.

If it works well, I'll sell the other three for $15 each shipped.

I finally torqued on my barrel and my jaws worked fine.

I will be making and selling the other three barrel vise jaws.

 

[P7M13]

I need a bushing for the Brownells barrel vise.

Instead of paying $30 and shipping for one set from Brownells, I think I'm going to buy a foot of 1.75" by 0.250" wall aluminum tube and have enough material to make 4 sets of bushings for $25 shipped.

I'll saw it to 3" length, then saw through one wall so it remains in one piece but can clamp down on my barrel.

If it works well, I'll sell the other three for $15 each shipped.

I'm old enough that I still have 3-4 spools of 50/50 3/32" lead solder. Last time I did barrel work, I coiled the solder around the tenon and clamped it in the vise. Held great.

 

[Buck Fever]

That's an interesting way to do it.

I don't have spools of solder and I don't know how many times you could reuse it.

Aluminum should last pretty much forever.

It's not the only way, it's probably not the best way but it worked really well for me and if anyone else needs cheap jaws, I'm offering to make a few.

Aluminum 1.24" jaws to fit Brownells barrel vise:

Brownells sells their two piece aluminum jaws for $30 plus shipping. That was too expensive for me so I bought a foot of aluminum tube ($25 shipped) from Online Metals: https://www.onlinemetals.com/en/buy/aluminum/1-75-od-x-0-25-wall-x-1-25-id-aluminum-round-tube-6061-t6-extruded/pid/7158...

www.longrangehunting.com

 

[sendero21]

I am building a 338 RUM on an action I have. I'm limited to a magnum case head and 338 RUM seems to be a sweet spot before you step up to bigger actions along with very expensive brass, bullets, etc.

Looking at it, it seems like the SAAMI chamber and a 250 grain Berger Elite Hunter will be able to make a CIP magazine length load around 3.72" COAL that's about 0.030" off the lands.

Finding someone to cut a barrel isn't the easiest thing and with big stuff and long barrels, it is never cheap.

Except I found the custom barrel page for Lothar Walther and it seems they can make custom prefit barrels with a pretty good price.

I'm looking at a 32" stainless barrel 9" twist, breach threads, chambered, muzzle threads, recessed crown and a profile I like for under $700.

I know some people dislike chambering LW barrels but if LW is doing all the work, it seems like a deal.

Some people think the type of barrel steel they use might be harder and tougher than typical barrel stainless. Maybe it could slow down throat erosion a bit? I've never heard anyone say it wears worse.

I haven't heard anything bad about their machining except their lead times might not be accurate. With Corona Virus, I'm not expecting anything to stay on schedule so not a huge issue for me.

Does that seem like the deal I think it is or should I look somewhere else?

Thanks.

I had my Remington 700 Sendero rebarrelled with a Walther Lothar barrel by my Gunsmith. It was a pre fit pre chambered in 270 Win. Which was the Sendero's original Chambering.
He re blued the action, added an oversize recoil lug, bedded the action. Added a one piece 20 MOA rail mount. Steel bedded the action and blued the barrel. He also threaded the muzzle for a suppressor. All that cost be €750. He also had to stamp the serial number onto the barrel and the date of fitting.( legal requirement where I live)
The job he did was superb, haven't shot it yet, only picked it up last Friday.

 

[Huntz]

Lothar Walther was good enough for Dakota.I never had a Dakota that did not shot great.