What is the average cost of cutting down a barrel...

2

22man

Inactive
and having it recrowned? I'm thinking about having a barrel shortened and maybe having a front sight attached as well on a .22 rimfire.
Could somebody give me some ballpark figures to work with?

22man

------------------
 
22man,
I've had a couple of barrels shortened and recrowned before. The cost was about $60.00 each. The front sight work would probably be extra. Hope this helps.


------------------
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Matthew 5:9
 
22Man, the costs will vary from shop to shop. I charge $40 to cut & crown. The sight would depend on whether it is a sweat-on $15 or screw-on $12 per hole to drill & tap. Smiths that do this work by hand rather than on a lathe may charge a little less for the cut & crown. George
 
Thanks guys! When you say they do it "by hand" instead of a lathe are they literally doing it with "handtools" or things like a Dremel tool, etc?

Is it viable to attempt to do this oneself? I understand keeping the muzzle square to the bore is most important!

Thanks for the input! I'll probably take mine to a gunsmith for both jobs, but was curious about the do-it-yourselfer trying it.

22man
 
22Man, different smiths will use different methods. You are correct about the muzzle being squared to the bore. In the past when I've done them by hand I used a piloted facing tool. A dremel can be used at the bore mouth but if you attempt it be very careful. Another way is to use a head of a round brass screw coated with lapping compound or some type of abrasive grease. You'll be money ahead to pay for it done. George
 
I will definitely stick with having it done, as I don't want to effect the accuracy of the firearm. If I were to do it "correctly" it sounds like I would need a "few" more tools. A piloted facing tool, as you mentioned would be almost "necessary" unless one used a lathe, I would assume.

Thanks again for the great info!
22man
 
You can get the stuff to do it from Brownells. consists of a handle, interchangeable pilots, and several cutters. cost is under $100 I believe and you can do as many barrels as you want with it.
 
The tooling from Brownell's also has the cutter for the crown cut. It is a neat package and you don't have to buy the whole set. You can get a handle and then buy the pilots that you need (22,25,265,etc) and I think that they all use just 2 crown cutters if you don't want to handle different angles. It is a waste to spend the money for the tooling for one or two bbls as the cost for a single caliber is about $50 and the rifle or pistol sets go for $200-300 and the comoplete set is $400. I am not a pro, but have used mine for dozens of pistols that I have built and loaned it on occasion to a good buddy so it has more than payed for itself. Jim
 
Thanks guys! I checked it out and it looks like I can get away for about $80 for the tools I need to do .22's. This means two barrel jobs and it would be payed for! That would only leave HOW TO ATTACH a new front sight?

22man
 
Don't forget, that the cost can be much higher, like $10,000 or your wife's Life. Make sure that you leave yourself plenty of leeway over the legal 16" if you try this at home.....
 
22man, your old front sight will probably no longer fit the radius. But, depending on the type you get, screw-on or sweat on, here's how I would do it without the extra tooling, jigs and so forth. With barrel in the receiver, square up the receiver in a padded vise. Use a small C-clamp to hold the front sight while you get it squared and level. Once you have it where you want it silver solder in place. If it's a screw-on you can use an epoxy that will give you enough working time to square up the sight. Once it's dry use the holes in the sight ramp as your drilling jig. With a .22 you could just epoxy in place and leave it at that. George
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top