Removing Revolver Barrel

[joshua]

First time I'm going to be doing this and hopefully it will be a success. Remember the first time you had that 1911 on the kitchen table and the Dremmel in your hand is screaming to be used to fit that grip safety? Well, seems like it's easy enough to see where to turn the barrel to take it off. That is if the barrel is a right turn rifling then the threads must be turn right also to remove, do I have the correct mind set here? Please correct me if I'm wrong. Any other tips in removing a barrel please send it my way and it will be deeply appreciated. josh

[Ross Carter]

You need a good heavy vise and a frame support jig to remove a barrel without damaging the frame. They are fairly tight and the frame is easy to warp without the correct tools. Sometimes in old gun rags you'll see a picture of someone with the barrel locked in a vise and a hammer handle stuck thru the frame as a method to unscrew the barrel. That will almost guarantee a sprung frame. I have done it without the jig by clamping the frame with soft 2x4 wooden blocks. If you do a little carving you can get the frame supported pretty good but it's risky. Good luck.

And yes, you are correct about the threads and the general idea of unscrewing the barrel. Be aware though that revolver barrels are not drop in, the cyl gap and the lead must be cut and usually you have to do some work to get it oriented correctly and tight at the same time. It is more complicated than it looks if you figure all the factors, a Kuhnhausen revolver book would be a big help.

[Mover480]

Mine unscrewed all by itself in a match the other day. This is a custom gun and it turns out the barrel threads are right-hand and the rifling is left-hand. So the bullet tends to loosen the barrel when shot. Also, it was not pinned.

I used the wood blocks technique to hold it in the vise. Since it was already turned/loose, it came out real easy. Cleaned it up, degreased, and red locktited it back together. Used a crescent wrench to get it in position and it seemd to be tight - probably close to 200 ft-lb. I think it will be ok.

So the question is: why would someone make a barrel with left-hand rifling, right hand threads, no locktite, and no pin? Looks like it's guaranteed to loosen.

[reneet]

Ditto what Ross said plus use extreme caution. Our revolver smith has cracked 3 S&W Model 10 frames in the last 18 months and he's removed hundreds of these in his 25 year + tenure here.

[Patrick Sweeney]

The web underneatht he barrel, where the crane fit sin, is very thin. If you over-torque the barrle you can crack the web. Even if you don't, you can constrict the barrel and decrease accuracy.

You want it tight enough not to come loose, and no tighter. You can use loctite, but if you do, and the next time the barrel comes off the 'smith doesn't know, he might crack the frame. I never cracked one, but I also go overboard. If there is the slightest hint of the barrel not coming loose when I lean on the wrnech, I stop. I then spend a week soakign the thread with pentrating oil, and jucidious applicaitons of a propane torcj to help the oil wick.

Making it tight enough involves turnignt he barrel shoulder enoguh to give you a last, eighth of a turn crush to seat the barrel. More, and it may be too tight. Less, and it may come loose.

And avoid the hammer-handle-in-the-frame approach. Straightening a twisted frame is almost more work than its worth.

[joshua]

Wow! Lots of good advice here. I think I will need a lathe for fitting a different barrel. No wonder Dan Wesson went with their own type of barrel assembly design. Makes sense and maybe even cheaper to produce because the barrel shroud, barrel and nut are just straight up machining and the fitting is done when the frame-barrel assembly-cylinder is assembled. Wouldn't it be nice to have a S&W model 66 with a Dan Wesson type barrel assemby? You know I forgot why I didn't get a Dan Wesson, the trigger is not even near a S&W's, and everytime you take the barrel off and replace it you have to sight it in again before shooting a match. Thanks again for all the great info. josh

[Patrick Sweeney]

Brownells makes a hand fixture to set back the shoulder of a barrel. It is a lot cheaper than a lathe. If you do have access to a lathe, it is a delicate operation to set back the shoulder properly. Best to have the machinist who runs the lathe do it, once you explain how little you need taken off.