Does anyone have any real good ideas for holding round tappered rifle barrels????

Jerry Huddleston
6/6/2007 9:53:08 PM

Jere
Make a long jig and hold the barrel between centers then you can also rotate it as you engrave it. You can use some 1 in round doweling and make some adjustable centers for each end. Then just clamp the jig in your vice.

Martin Rabeno
6/6/2007 11:06:12 PM

I happened to have a barrel polisher I bought years ago from Brownells that is just about what Marty is talking about. Works well, is adjustable and has bearing centers.

Rex Pedersen
6/6/2007 11:14:05 PM

Stu Millar
6/6/2007 11:32:50 PM

Hello Jerry... great to see your work featured in the Journal.
Knowing that you may be working on a 40" to 46" Colerain barrel, the jig that Rex mentioned, featured on P.229 in the current Brownells, would be too short. Nevertheless it will give you a picture. I would suggest a movable center support post added to the jig that could be shimmed to minimize vibration while cutting on the long, relatively thin barrels.

I made mine out of 2" square tubing with with posts that slide along the tube not unlike the one in Brownells catalog. Best wishes... Stu


Stu Millar
6/6/2007 11:43:16 PM

Jerry, you could try some of that "Thermo-Loc" plastic and make a set of tapered pads for your vise.
You'd have to keep repositioning the barrel as you worked.It wouldn't be nearly as good as a barrel spinner/polisher.



Brian Powley
6/7/2007 12:10:38 AM

Thanks all of you guys. I'm going to either build or buy one of those barrel polisher type holders. I think I will need some kind of support in the middle. When stuff vibrates it brakes my tool tips a lot.. Any advise on that will be a great help also. I'm working on modern rifles right now.
Very good to hear from Marty and Rex.

Jerry Huddleston
6/7/2007 2:04:47 AM

Jerry,
The vibration hasn't been an issue for me as I am usually only engraving either end of the barrel. It may have issues in the middle as you say. I guess I would rig up some sort of wood V block for the middle or something similar.


Rex Pedersen
6/7/2007 7:01:07 AM

Jerry,
I made my barrel spinner type fixture out of a long bar clamp from Harbor Freight.
You can get them as long as 60 inches, light and cheap.
There is a picture and description of my rig on Sam A's Cafe forum if you would care to see it.
Just a thought.
John.





John Barraclough
6/7/2007 11:18:46 AM

Gentlemen,
I have a barrel spinner that I have had for years. I not only polish barrels with it, I also have been using it to do engraving on rifle barrels, and I also use it to slow rust blue barrels. It sits in a 40" tank of boiling water perfectly, between coating and carding. Hope this will be of some help. Keep up the good work.

Yours truly,
JJ Roberts, Manassas VA

J.J Roberts
6/12/2007 6:21:14 PM