Barrel threading

M

mully

Member
I'm sure there are different methods, but I've had one gunsmith tell me he doesn't remove barrels from action and another tell me the barrel must be removed for concentric to the bore threads. After threading he screws the barrel back on and it doesn't need to be headspaced (Remington 700) because it threads on to a shoulder. I realize not all gunsmiths are created equal, and some of the different methods may have to do with available equipment, but how can a guy figure this out?
 
My guy has threaded several for me without removing the action, and he spends a lot of time making sure the threads are concentric to the bore. I've never had a problem.
 
I've had many barrels threaded, some where threaded in the building stage before they were screwed on the action and some were threaded after they were built, but I've never had a gunsmith spin the barrel off of a completed gun to thread it.

I'm not a machinist but I suppose one could argue runout will, maybe, be ever so slightly better if the barrel is removed from the action but I'll bet it's so slight that it's inconsequential.
 
I have learned the hard way that threading the barrel for the brake adapter for the suppressor is very important. I had my gunsmith thread the barrel. I have never had any problem with the work he has done in the past. After he did it, my groups went from 1/2" to 1". I took my rifle the Thunderbeast and they squared up the threading for the brake. They did a very good job, my groups are back down to a 1/2". Not just anybody can do the threading properly.
 
I had one smith tell me he had to remove the barrel. When pushed for a why answer, he said it would not fit in his lathe with the action on. Just a thought??

But I agree not just any smith can thread a barrel correctly.^^^^
 
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Depends on the capabilities of the smith. I have had a couple threaded by smiths with a fixture that keeps the barrel on and I had one smith tell me he removes them to put them in his lathe. At the end of the day, both were done properly.

If you are unsure, I'd find one who has the spider(I think that's what he called it) to cut the threads with the barrel on.
 
It depends on the lathe and length of your barrel. The mini rifles I had to take to a smith with a new lathe because they would work in his lathe. The other smith had an older lathe and the short barrels wouldn't reach. For both of them I removed the scope and stock. Both did good jobs. Rudy
 
I thread my own. I do not remove the action. The action is a machined piece of steel with internal threads, the barrel is a machined piece of steel with external threads, I have to think the chamber is concentric to the barrel threads and the receiver threads are concentric with the receiver O.D. If they are not it cannot be much off. The muzzle is centered on the tail stock, so the bore is the center. I have done 15 or 20 barrels and have never had one lose accuracy.
 
I am having 2 barrels threaded right now and for the Tikka T3X Varmint, the gunsmith said they do not have to remove the barrel from the stock and it is straight forward.

The only thing I made sure to do is leave the suppressor adapter with them to ensure spacing and everything was perfect.
 
Originally Posted By: SymmRanchI am having 2 barrels threaded right now and for the Tikka T3X Varmint, the gunsmith said they do not have to remove the barrel from the stock and it is straight forward.



if the gunsmith says he doesnt remove the barrel from the stock to thread it i darn sure would not leave my rifle with him.
scared.gif
 
There is no reason to remove it unless it won't fit in the lathe. That is why some remove and some don't. All has to do with their equipment. We at Thunder Beast have threaded a [beeep] ton of barrels without removing them from the action. As stated above , as long as it's indicated in properly it doesn't matter at all.
 
It all depends on the tooling that is available. If you have an 8 screw truing fixture and a range rod you can do an excellent job of threading the muzzle concentric with the bore. With as much curve as some barrels have that's about the only setup that will do a good job.
 


I am going to try Gemtech Latter this year. $140.00
As anyone used them?

Gemtech

This is from their website.

Rifles: Remove scopes, scope rings, bipods, etc. For bolt-action rifles we strongly recommend either leaving the rifle in its stock, or removing the trigger assembly altogether for shipment. The trigger assembly is fragile and will often break in shipping regardless of how well it is packaged. Leaving the action in its stock protects the trigger.
 
Gemtech is overpriced. Morgan at Class 3 Machining does it for like $80 shipped or Longrifles Inc, TS Customs, and other custom builders will thread for $100.
 
Originally Posted By: SlickerThanSnotOriginally Posted By: SymmRanchI am having 2 barrels threaded right now and for the Tikka T3X Varmint, the gunsmith said they do not have to remove the barrel from the stock and it is straight forward.



if the gunsmith says he doesnt remove the barrel from the stock to thread it i darn sure would not leave my rifle with him.
scared.gif


agree
 
Originally Posted By: mullyI'm sure there are different methods, but I've had one gunsmith tell me he doesn't remove barrels from action and another tell me the barrel must be removed for concentric to the bore threads. After threading he screws the barrel back on and it doesn't need to be headspaced (Remington 700) because it threads on to a shoulder. I realize not all gunsmiths are created equal, and some of the different methods may have to do with available equipment, but how can a guy figure this out?

RayDog is spot-on. The only reason to remove the barrel would be that he couldn't fit it in his lathe.

We too have threaded metric $hit tons of barrels and have not removed them from the receiver. My lathe headstock is too long to thread Remington barrels by the normal method. We are able to get very concentric threads with our method.
 
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