doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com SXS Muzzel Repair

I recently received back a SXS from having the chokes opened up. Patterns and regulation are good. However, I noted a few things that stick in my craw a bit. The inside of the rim where the bores were cut are still sharp with one having a fishhook burr. I'd also like to see a polish done at the areas opened as well. The machine marks are visible. I could go through the hassle of boxing it back up and sending back to the shop for all this to be done, and maybe it will be like I want when it returns, maybe not. So, how hard is it to clean off the burr, round that sharp edge on the inner rim, and polish out the chokes? Are there special tools for this that I can purchase and do the job myself? I do not have a machine shop, but I do have plenty of time and patience.

It is muzzle, not muzzel. That being said, I hope the shop that did this job on your shotgun worked from the breech towards the muzzles, and not just the expedient, aka "jack-legged" method of working the reamer in from the muzzle and going back towards the breech.

Hi Wahoo.
There are correct expensive tools for doing the job but unless you know how to use them it can all go disastrously extremely fast. But all is not lost!
There is one method I would recommend that is as old a gun manufacture itself �the Lead bore lap�. It is simple in its manufacture and use. Firstly plug the bore tightly with a damp rag just below the place where the choke is reasonably smooth and acceptable next top the rag with a damp card disk the size of the barrel at that place. Next pour in molten led making a lead plug the same size of the choke and try to make it as long as practicable, as it cools the lead shrinks making it easy to knock out of the bore with a cleaning rod and a perfect size for the bore.
Because the barrels where cold you will find that the sides of the lead will have random groove lines and that is what we want in this case to hold the abrasive compound. Just for completeness if we wanted a lap with smooth sides we would need to heat the barrels but if the gun is vintage the barrels could be soft soldered so be careful you don�t re melt the jointing solder at the muzzle. Drill a hole lengthways through the lead lap and mount it on a piece of threaded rod sometimes known as studding bar using a nut and washer at each end, cut the rod to a length that will encompass the choke length plus enough for holding in a drill chuck.
Use fine grinding paste and cover the lap ease it fully into the bore (if you don�t do this there is a high chance you will end up with a bell mouth) use a slow drill speed and keep the lap moving while you polish.
Now the reason why this form of polishing lap is reasonably safe for polishing a bore is as the abrasive particles embed themselves into the Leads surface they will polish the bore but at the same time they also wear the Lead so making the lap self limiting to the point it will stop working and you will have to cast another.

Yes Lead and its fumes are toxic but so is aspirin and Lead/Tin Solder unfortunately we are not going to live for ever so it's pays your money and takes your chance.

Thanks for the spell chekc Fox.

Damascus, your suggested method seems safe enough. How do you feel about an alternative method of using a same gauge bronze brush wrapped with steel wool saturated with JB polish compound?

Wahoo.
I don�t rate that at all for the following reason. Tool marks on metal are a series of score marks and if you could cut the choke section of the barrel and open the tube out it would look like row of hills and valleys. Now to remove the marks fully you have to polish down the hills to the valley bottoms, so you need something rigid to hold the compound so that it lowers the hills first down to the valleys thus removing the marks you can see. Now if you use something that gives your idea it will polish the hills and valleys equally so the marks will stay but will be polished. In the end it is your gun so you must do what you feel is right if you do not want to go to the trouble of returning the gun with a complaint. I hope the explanation makes sense.

damascus

Don't Brownells do a drill mounted choke hone ?

What about a #320 grit Flexhone of appropriate diameter. I've used them in rifle chambers md pistol cylinders.