Bad gunsmithing question

Sure can be expensive finding a real smith. One so called smith broke off a headspace gage in my buddy's barrel. Said it felt snug, so he forced the bolt. $350 down the tube.
 
Hedge, that seems pretty hard to believe. If the chamber is short the headspace guage is hitting the shoulder not the side wall. There isn't anything to break on a headspace guage as it is a solid piece of steel shaped like the body of a cartridge. As soon as you open the bolt even if it was snug it would just fall out. If you can start the bolt turning down you are only a few thousandths off. I could see him breaking a reamer but he sure should have ordered you a new barrel or shortened the barrel and re cut he chamber.
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogOnly way I can think of the marking being upside down is marking before it was correctly chambered and head spaced. He did the chambering and threading and head spacing of the barrel. Just ordered them contoured and fluted. I only saw one that the writing was upside down but saw two or three that the fluting was off and it really seemed weird that he would send it out that way. His rifles were extremely accurate. My 243AI would shoot sub 1/2inch groups consistently with about anything I shot in it. Most of the time even better than that.No one ever complained about the way the rifles performed.
If you do a search, my post on my 243AI was "Ugly Betty" if I remember correctly.

I can understand both problems. I am not in any way saying they are right though. I would bet money that the engraving issue stems from missing the final headspace, accidentally cutting it too deep {which, oh by the way,...really don't take much!!!} and having to set the shoulder back to get it right.
As to the fluting...the only way to really properly get fluting indexed correctly is to have an index wheel on the mill. This is a very expensive piece of tooling. I would also bet money that he is simply laying out the barrel by hand and setting it up on the mill to cut the flutes. Not the best way, but you can actually get them pretty good this way if you take your time. Sounds like he didn't.
The engraving, while wrong, wont really affect the way the barrel operates...but the fluting, depending on how "heavy" the barrel is and how far off it is might. The issue is that when you remove more mass from one side or area that could make it "walk" the shots as it heats up away from the thick part.
 
Reading through all this comments. It boils down to this. Are you happy with his work? If not,he has to make it right! End of story. Gun Smiths won't stay in business very long if people quit using them.
 
If you are trying to fit a factory take off barrel to another action, it will take a LOT of time to get the factory flutes or the stamped writing to line up if you set it back. You will then need to completely re-cut the chamber and headspace. All this time cost money. Your money, not his, he is working by the hour. It is a waste on a take off barrel that may not shoot good. You would then be mad at him if it didn't shoot like you think it should. You expect your bargin barrel to shoot bug holes.

To screw on a take off, headspace it, go shoot it, is the cheap way to do it. For you, not him. Having the stamping line up, or flutes a certain way, won't effect how it shoots. You should have this conversation with the smith before he starts. This is the reason many smiths won't mess with a factory take off. To "Do it right" will cost too much money for the results. It will take him less time to do a good barrel for you, than mess with a factory take off, with a host of possible problems, that he may, or may not be able to fix.

It has nothing to do with shoddy work. More about time, cost, his reputation, and your expectations, without any misunderstandings.
 
Once again, THESE WERE NOT TAKE OFF BARRELS. THESE WERE BRAND NEW HART BARRELS, PRE-CONTOURED AND FLUTED FROM HART. The smith chambered,and threaded the barrels along with truing the actions. Granted, using a used barrel is a wasted of money in most cases. Not always but sometimes. Seems the conversation always comes back to using used barrels but this is not the case here. Sorry, didn't mean to raise my voice.
 
Originally Posted By: AWSHedge, that seems pretty hard to believe. If the chamber is short the headspace guage is hitting the shoulder not the side wall. There isn't anything to break on a headspace guage as it is a solid piece of steel shaped like the body of a cartridge. As soon as you open the bolt even if it was snug it would just fall out. If you can start the bolt turning down you are only a few thousandths off. I could see him breaking a reamer but he sure should have ordered you a new barrel or shortened the barrel and re cut he chamber.

Oh, it broke, alright. Won't even attempt to figure out how. Needless to say, he's not working there anymore.
 
Sorry, my bad, read your original post, got distracted, and with time the thread kept going while I typed and dilly dallied.

Just shoot them, and then have them set back a tad when the throat wears a little. Then your new smith can fix your problem.
 
What do you mean the fluted barrel isn't indexed correctly? I have a Mossberg MVP Predator and the top flute isn't at the 12 o clock position, more like 2 o clock, but the manufacture and caliber engraved on the barrel are right where you would expect it to be. Would they engrave the barrel after assembly to the action? Shoots fine.
 
Normal looking to me would be two flutes at 11 o'clock and 1, 2 at 6 and 3 and 2 at 5 and 7. Odd number of flutes will look different I'm sure.


Note: You will have to look at a clock with hands on it. A digital clock won't help you.
 
11, 1, 3, 5, 6, 7 and none at 8, 9 and 10???

Shouldn't it be 6 flutes, one each at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, or one each at 12, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10???
Sorry if I misunderstood.

Originally Posted By: pyscodogNormal looking to me would be two flutes at 11 o'clock and 1, 2 at 6 and 3 and 2 at 5 and 7. Odd number of flutes will look different I'm sure.


Note: You will have to look at a clock with hands on it. A digital clock won't help you.
 
I don't care, just put the dang flutes where ever you want. All these numbers and history lesson are getting way to hard and its late.
crazy.gif
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogI don't care, just put the dang flutes where ever you want. All these numbers and history lesson are getting way to hard and its late.
crazy.gif


Wasn't quite the direction you envisioned for the thread was it lol. It seems that the fact that your rifle didn't happen to have flutes got lost in the shuffle from the get-go.
 
I noticed that too. But, makes for conversation. I know how I want my fluted barrel to look and before I pay, it will be correct.
 
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