I am working on an old junker hammer LC Smith (fluid steel barrels). It has a dent in the barrel that looks like it was made by contact with something thin and square across the barrel. I measured it at .1 wide, and .25 long. As best as I can measure it is approximately .015" deep on the surface. It is just over 18" from the breech. It is just barely visible on the inside of the barrel.

I have two questions;
What is the going price to have a good smith pound out the dent?

Can I test fire the gun with the dent in the barrel?

Thanks,
CHAZ

Yes you could test fire the gun if you would like to do possibly irrepairable damage.
It will cost a very small amount of money to knock the dent out with a plannisher. THEN you could test fire it.

I have plenty of guns with little dents in the barrels, never stopped me using them. No doubt getting them fixed is the best idea.

Sounds like you should invest in a barrel jack...I was told that shooting a barrel with a dent causes the metal to prematurely wear at the dent.

If you have the means to acturately measure the bores and have access to a lathe make plugs .001 smaller than bore. Early L.C. Smiths, some have tapered bores starting at .729 (a few at .725)and after 17" or so, they taper to .720 and then again to .718. to choke. So if your gun is tapered, then plugs have to be made to fit. I make them in .002 increments out of aluminum.
For the dent removal plug, once I find out the size I make a tapered plug out of steel, around 3-4" long that will fit under the dent and the other end will be .001 under bore size in that area. On the opposite side I drill and tap a 3/8-16 hole for attaching a 3/8" rod that is covered with tygon tubing with a handle on the end and tap this under the dent. I lightly heat the barrel to "loosen" the molecules and with a flat headed hammer, (planisher) tap that area, tap the plug farther, tap area, until dent is gone and plug slides smoothly in bore. Sometimes on a very sharp dent, the crease will never come out. I don't like to file the outside of the barrels unless I know there is plenty of wall to do so.

Barely visible is a tough call to make looking on the inside and .015 is a very deep dent as in this area the barrels would only have approximately .025 wall thickness.

I was typing this as Homeless jOe posted his comment. Unless you shoot many hundreds of shells through this gun, wearing of this area with the protection of the plastic wad I would think protect that area. But like I said, if .015 that is a problem. The only way that could be measured is with a dial indicator with a needle tip.

Thanks all.

I am going to try and lift the dent myself before firing the gun, if I can't get it then I will have a good gunsmith work on it for me.

As far as the depth of the dent I was trying to use the "pin" that extends from the back of a regular dial caliper, so my "measurement" is a worst case guess.

Thanks,
CHAZ

Unless you have experience and the proper jack for raising dents I'd suggest having an experienced gunsmith work on it....might be cheaper in the long run.

A small localized dent has never caused any additional problems/damage on guns I've seen shot or guns I've owned. Chances are that the gun has been shot hundreds of times since that dent got in there. Inspect the area for a bulge by pointing the barrels at a light source and looking along the outside of the barrels at a very shallow angle.

If the dent is not sharp at the bottom, you can put the fitted plug in the bore with some grease on it to help slip under the dent, then apply some clear thin packing tape to the outside and use a nicely polished steel hammer to wail on it (just kiddin, tap nicely). The tape will protect the surface beyond your wildest imagination. It also increases the required force to raise the dent, so be prepared to hit harder than without tape. Check under the tape often.

If the dent is sharp at the bottom, I'd go bare with a steel hammer and get it worked to satisfaction working around the dent with the hammer. Then refinish as necessary.

Chuck, are you talking about the brown plastic tape or the nylon reinforced?

You will not believe this, but I used a 1/2" socket as a buck and it worked quite well. Dumb luck that the outside diameter of the socket was perfect, but it was. I actually found another smaller dent when the socket stopped before reaching the dent I wanted to work on. I used a soft punch and worked both dents out. Just the lightest bit of filing and sanding removed almost all traces. This picture is terrible, and I was so anxious to start I forgot a before photo, but the worst of the two dents used to be in the exact center of the frame.
Thanks for all the advice.
CHAZ

Clear common packing tape. It's made from either Mylar or some poly-plenty-o-sumptin-lene. The really thin stuff works best. Thick stuff cushions the hammer blows too much and gettin the dent out is near impossible.

The thin brown stuff may be the same stuff. It'll probably work fine.

There is a dude that shows up at most the Southern and VC who takes out dents for $30 a pop - does beautiful work. He also sells tools for DIY types.

Dude above sez the plug should be as hard and smooth as you can get. The hammer should be VERY light and the face polished to mirror - if you can't see yourself in it, don't use it. Tap light and lots. Done well, refinish is not generally required - unless you desire as good as new appearance. Brass or aluminum punches may imbed some material in the surface texture of the barrel steel and discolor it. Polished, hard steel may "compact" the surface texture and leave a slightly shiny spot where tapped. Most of the guys I've talked to do not plan to refinish after having dents lifted as above.