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Posted: 12/25/2012 9:15:11 AM EDT
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I'm thinking about having a few of my barrels re-profiled, so save some weight and make the rifle a bit more manageable. Other then turning it in a lathe, and keeping minimum barrel thickness for safe .223 operation, is there anything else to consider? Re-heat treat?
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Turn away!!!
If you are looking for safe dimensions, the just use a government profile light barrel as the max you want to relieve a barrel. No on the heat treatment. Just use a flood or mist when turning so you don't work harden the steel, hence leave the steel in it current state without tool tempering. |
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If your barrel was originally a cut or button rifled barrel, reprofiling shouldn't be an issue. Are you going to do this yourself? If you have steady rest follower that will help reduce chatter. Light cuts and use coolant if you have it.
If your barrel is hammer forged, I would not turn it down as there is a lot of stress in that kind of barrel and it could well end up with a bend or curve in it. |
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Quoted:
Go for it! Monday I turned the area under the handguards on my ban era HB down to .750 and threaded the end. I think that I took 4-6 oz off and it does feel less front heavy when remounted. This was my first try at this sort of thing and it was cake. Likewise. I took my 1" under the handguards on an 18" midlength to 0.750" and took the area in front down to maybe .675". Handles so much better, and not even a POI change. |
| I've turned down several barrels for various purposes. I usually take them down to A1 dimensions if I'm going for weight savings. I usually leave the area underneath the gas block alone, but this has more to do with not wanting to have to track down a .625 gas block than anything. If you're turning down from a heavy barrel, you will see a huge difference in how it handles. |
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