Shawneeboy87 Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Other than looking really cool, does spiral fluting a barrel provide any benefit? I've seen it on pistols and most recently saw it on an AR barrel. What exactly is the point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooterj Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 One other benefit is weight reduction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueOvalBruin Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 It's done on some 6" 1911 barrels to keep the weight down, but since it's still a bull barrel you don't need a bushing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexmsmith12 Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 They do look epic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornetx40 Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 on a bushing barrel it's for more even wear on the bushing while still getting the weight reduction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RePete Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Not only does it look cool, it offers more surface area for cooling, it stiffens the barrel, has weight reduction. These are my 2 rifles. A C14 Timberwolf sniper rifle in .338LM and a Coyote in.308Win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 I pondered a spiral flute when Matt built my gun but to be honest it is almost invisible to me when the slide is closed so it was not worth it for the cool factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgj3 Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Sarge, that just means you need more holes/cuts/slots in the slide to show the fluting off better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outbreak Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Not only does it look cool, it offers more surface area for cooling, it stiffens the barrel, has weight reduction. Wrong. It does not stiffen the barrel because it removes material. Any time you remove material, you remove rigidity. It would add rigidity if you ADDED the flutes, but since you start with a larger diameter barrel and REMOVE metal to creat the flutes, you have weakened it. Marginally, maybe, but it's still weaker. As for the cooling, it does cool faster but not because of surface area. It cools because at the bottom of the flute the heat has less metal to move through before it can radiate to the outside air. It still cools slower than a smaller-diameter barrel. A smaller diameter barrel would actually cool faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrbet83 Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Not only does it look cool, it offers more surface area for cooling, it stiffens the barrel, has weight reduction. Wrong. It does not stiffen the barrel because it removes material. Any time you remove material, you remove rigidity. It would add rigidity if you ADDED the flutes, but since you start with a larger diameter barrel and REMOVE metal to creat the flutes, you have weakened it. Marginally, maybe, but it's still weaker. As for the cooling, it does cool faster but not because of surface area. It cools because at the bottom of the flute the heat has less metal to move through before it can radiate to the outside air. It still cools slower than a smaller-diameter barrel. A smaller diameter barrel would actually cool faster. Bingo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warpdrv Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 But - it makes you a better shooter, don't cha know THAT IS THE SOUND OF INEVITABILITY ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APL-G35 Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 The barrel is more rigid due to it having more surface area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrbet83 Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 The barrel is more rigid due to it having more surface area. Wrong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpowe Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 A fluted barrel is stiffer than an unfluted barrel OF THE SAME WEIGHT. It can not be stiffer than the original barrel before metal was removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrbet83 Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 A fluted barrel is stiffer than an unfluted barrel OF THE SAME WEIGHT. It can not be stiffer than the original barrel before metal was removed.+1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EngineerEli Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Slightly off topic but is it possible to spiral flute a hybrid barrel, but leave the rib un-altered? (IE. sight tracker barrel) I have a 5.4" sight tracker that is just slightly nose heavy, but i like the clean 15 lpi on the top of the rib/slide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reptoid Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 With modern CNC machinery almost anything is possible........Just a matter of time and $$$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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