doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Flex hone

That's what I said to begin with, use the 800 grit to polish.

If the barrels are of any value, send them to someone with a Sunnen setup. I believe there are a number of barrel guys who do. I have heard fine reports and seen the work from Allems and I would not have a problem going to them. Anybody else you gotta ask somebody else.

If the barrel isn't particularly valuable, personally I'd just spin a wire brush thru it to get the corrosion out and shoot it. Pits won't mean squat to a shotgun barrel in performance terms and if you kept it clean it won't get any worse.

I mean, it's a shotgun. Right?

Dr.WtS

I'll go along with that on the larger bores: 10, 12, 16, 20. I don't have any experience with pits in a 28g, but I do have some experience with a .410 having pits. It messes with the pattern.

Two barrel sets I have that got honed at a shop called Skeets in OK had the chokes honed out of them...not at the request of the customer. Pick the shop carefully.

What a coincidence, I was thinking of giving that shop a call for some bore work, yikes!

Reminds me of certain expert backboring a 10 gauge barrel set of mine. He managed to stick the tool, and called to say that the problem was the barrel steel being "oil-quenched" and too hard for the reamer. Luckily a long forcing cone job cleaned it up.

I can give you the name of a celebrity barrel guy....I asked for ONE choke to be opened to .020.

He opened BOTH chokes and confessed to scoring the one I wanted worked on. Therefore, he had to remove an additional .005".

The good news is, he only charged me half price.

"While I was giving you a pedicure, I accidentally amputated your toe. No worry! I'm only charging you half price!"

Mike,
Maybe a little too much Boston Lager tasting going on up there in Mass?

Chuck,

I don't know....maybe it was Black Watch Porter?

Whenever we get a discussion going about choke alteration or bore work I think we all tend to forget that the vintage years of shotgun manufacturing was in the late 19th century. A very long time before Sunnen hones, micrometer bore guages and CNC.Whatever happened to plug guages, lead laps, a trained eye, and skill?
Aaagh yes, now I remember, Progress.

If you go to the Mcmaster-Carr catalog you may find expandable brass arbors. I have used them with valve grinding compond that comes premixed with lubricant. You can get it most grits. Depending on the guage select the arbor that is closest to your bore dia. then turn it to a 5 thou under that. you will have to thread a piece of drill rod or round stock to fit the female end of the arbor. Make a stop so that you are not polishing into the choke. lubricate your bore with behr honing oil and you will clean up most bores fairly quickly. With the right grit when you have finished you will have a bore that is smoother and brighter than a baby's bottom after their bath. Less chance with wavey bore dias.
Of course start with 80 or 120 and move to the finer as you go. There is more to this but this is the basics and you should be able to work it out from here.
Be sure to move it back and forth with a smooth even stroke.

Good Luck
John Mc

Salopian:
I agree, my friend. More's the pity. Those grand old fellows knew what they were about. And the loss of their skill is a loss to human craftsmanship. A few remaining have it yet. But damn few. Let's hope they pass on some secrets.

Best, Kensal