Crowning on a lathe versus drill press

[nervoustrigger]

I already live in a White House.
 

Yes, but is the kind that gives you tyrannical power and effortless persuasion?

[Privateer]

I already live in a White House.
 

Yes, but is the kind that gives you tyrannical power and effortless persuasion?

When the Wife is not home? Yes.

[Privateer]

I built a 2x4 jig years ago that held the barrel.
At the end of the jig I used a hand drill to do the crown.
So there are many ways to do the same thing.
Work with what you have. The expensive fancy tools are not absolutely needed.
(SWMBO told me that)

[nervoustrigger]

When the Wife is not home? Yes.

Well played sir.  Well played.

[Privateer]

When the Wife is not home? Yes.

Well played sir.  Well played.

You know how it works my Friend.
If Mama ain't happy? Ain't nobody happy!
 
I can be a 1000 miles away from home and still get my behind chewed!

[Machinist]

I went full psycho crowning my best crosman barrel.  First I used an absolutely sharp tool to generate the angle, moving outward from the bore. Got a nice, smooth, concentric surface.  Then  I made 11 degree copper laps with a thru hole, that were centered in the bore with a tight fitting pilot.  I worked up to 800 grit lapping compound. I did the best I could.  I took my time and it was really nice looking.

The gun still shot like garbage!!!

Yes I also carefully deburred the barrel port and lapped in a nice leed.  Barrel secured into the breech with 9 screws....Yes 9!!!

You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.

Then I bought a Hatsan.  First thing I did was look at the crown.  It was ugly!!!  But the Hatsan shoots really well, ugly crown and all, right out of the box.  I didn't even clean the barrel.

Steve

[Tack Driver 10]

Those are nice crowns.

Are they Crosman barrels?
If they are you certainly hit the barrel lottery with those two.
I haven't had any luck with Crosman barrels except the Challenger (LW) barrels.
The main issues, loose with minimal rifling.

[nervoustrigger]

Funny thing is they are both Chinese barrels.  The one on the left is a DAR and the one on the right is a SPA.

[Tack Driver 10]

Funny thing is they are both Chinese barrels.  The one on the left is a DAR and the one on the right is a SPA.

Not surprised they're made in China as are a lot of things now.
Are the barrels available for purchase separately?

[yourmallthat1]

My guess was the lathe top and the drill the bottom.
Question does the Crown help with anything?

[Horatio]

Those are sharp looking crowns.

How does one actually do this? What tools are required aside from the lathe?

Thanks, the drill press technique is described here http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=55681

BTW the same thing can be done with a handheld drill if you work out a way to support the muzzle end.  If you look at the picture in the article above, I'm supporting it on the drill press with a piece of wood that has been drilled to a slip fit with the barrel.

That’s good thinking.

[nervoustrigger]

Ron, it looks like Pyramyd Air has the SPA barrels available for $35.  Search for Stormrider barrel.

DAR is a newcomer to the market...I don’t know what they will be doing for replacement parts.  So far I’ve worked with 4 of their barrels.  1 in .25 cal and 3 in .22 cal.  One of the .22 cal barrels was a stinker but the others have been phenomenal with JSB’s, producing many sub-MoA groups on my 43 yard target.  I wouldn’t normally think of any Chinese barrel as a potential upgrade but these have impressed me.

[nervoustrigger]

Question does the Crown help with anything?

The crown establishes the last thing to touch the pellet before it goes out into the world.  There are some exceptions where a poor quality crown will still produce good groups but it is generally regarded as an important thing to get right if you want your gun performing its best.  In my experience, most inexpensive barrels will benefit from touching up the crown with the brass screw technique.

[Tack Driver 10]

Ron, it looks like Pyramyd Air has the SPA barrels available for $35.  Search for Stormrider barrel.

DAR is a newcomer to the market...I don’t know what they will be doing for replacement parts.  So far I’ve worked with 4 of their barrels.  1 in .25 cal and 3 in .22 cal.  One of the .22 cal barrels was a stinker but the others have been phenomenal with JSB’s, producing many sub-MoA groups on my 43 yard target.  I wouldn’t normally think of any Chinese barrel as a potential upgrade but these have impressed me.

Jason, Thanks for the info.

I'll give a few a try, seems like a reasonable upgrade over the stock barrel if they shoot accurately.
Hoping to win the barrel lottery....LOL

[yourmallthat1]

Thank you Jason

[Walther]

I can't say my results are any better with a lathe than they were with a drill press...but setup sure is easier! 

Care to guess which is which?

 

Hey Congrats you got  lathe?!  My lathe (db200 unimat) is too small (bore wise)  to chuck a barrel to face it.
Easy to build a jig to do a good job though as you know:)

Between the re crown and bstaley mod it was massive improvement.