maybe some help for crowning a barrel

[tapkoote]

 Been reading about this operation, I've seen a couple times young folks who've made crooked first cuts. Not a machinest but a plumber, using pipe/tubing cutters for 30 yrs. When I need a straight cut on pipe/tube/round stock, I'll get a square line with a tube cutter first. If it's big pipe I'll use a wrap-a -round(lookitup).
Tube cutters will score a square line on the tube. Don't buy a new one, there's plenty of them in the used tool shop/hock shop. The cutter wheel will cut steel, and there are pipe cutters made for it.
 One more thing when cutting w/a hack saw, go slow, keep turning the work in the vice, follow the line. Best to take your time and do it once.
 And another thing related, filing. There's a fellow, Guy Lautard
http://lautard.com, who has written alot about machining for the home shop. If your cutting and filing and grinding- your machining. He tells a story of an old gun smith who hand filed hex gun barrels, he'd look at the job you wanted done and count the strokes of the file. Thats how he'd estimate your cost.

[Mark Davis]

Some very good work can be done by a skilled craftsman and hand tools.
If the first attempt does not work, you can cut another 1/4" and try again.
But I would not attempt crowning with out a lathe, that could change on the basis of need.

[Griffygriff]

Recently I received a new shroud end cap from FX for my .25 Bobcat.  Unfortunately it was for a .22, but I decided not to wait another month to ship it back and arrange for a replacement, so I carefully drilled the hole wider.  This worked although the grouping was now really poor, so I did a lot of research on crowning barrels. I saw that if you attach a round headed brass wood screw to a slow drill and use cutting compound, you can recrown the barrel. The round headed screw method was apparently used by gunsmiths ages ago. It took me about 20 minutes of careful, gentle drilling and I am really chuffed with the results, brilliant tight grouping again.

[Kailua]

If one has a square cut piece of angle iron.  It can be a guide if the barrel is clamped in the inside of the break of the angle iron.  JMO

[Kernbigo]

I shorten a barrel on a air hawk, 4"cut is off with a hacksaw, then put the barrel in a hardened vblock and filled it square, the file would not cut the vblock but cut the barrel.