Chrome lining a barrel after chambering

[Kevin J]

Hey Everyone!

I thought it was time to ask my fellow competitors the question that has been boggling my mind. I want to buy a chromoly barrel blank, profile it, chamber it, thread it for my AR, then send it to someone to have it chrome lined. So my questions are as follows:

1. Where can I purchase barrel blanks that are appropriately over cut to account for the chrome lining?

2. Do any of you know someone that can do the chroming?

3. What is the dimensional difference? I mean how much should the chamber be over cut for the chrome?

I know that this process is usually reserved for major operations like Colt, but I see folks like Novesky doing similar operations.

Any Ideas?

Thanks in Advance!

--kevin

[tightloop]

What does it buy you?...a standard chromolly bbl is good for about 50K or more rounds, so why do it.

I have been doing this since 1978..been to two Puerto Rican weddings and a goat roping or two and have never heard of anyone doing this B4...and trust me when I tell you that during the IPSC Wars in the late 70's and early 80's if it would gain you anything, someone tried it....

Just curious.

[Kevin J]

What does it buy you?...a standard chromolly bbl is good for about 50K or more rounds, so why do it.

I have been doing this since 1978..been to two Puerto Rican weddings and a goat roping or two and have never heard of anyone doing this B4...and trust me when I tell you that during the IPSC Wars in the late 70's and early 80's if it would gain you anything, someone tried it....

Just curious.

Good Question!! I hate to answer a question with a question, but why does Novesky line his AR15 barrels, why does the government for that matter spec the M4/M16 barrels to be chrome lined? My understanding was that not chrome lining the original M16 barrel and chamber was linked to serious issues in the field. Everything I read is that the best setup besides using stainless, was to have the AR15 barrel and chamber chrome lined. Seriously, I'm really interested in hearing pros and cons. Are there tangible benefits to chrome lining vs. using a standard CM barrel? What really is gained?

[ChuckS]

What does it buy you?...a standard chromolly bbl is good for about 50K or more rounds, so why do it.

I have been doing this since 1978..been to two Puerto Rican weddings and a goat roping or two and have never heard of anyone doing this B4...and trust me when I tell you that during the IPSC Wars in the late 70's and early 80's if it would gain you anything, someone tried it....

Just curious.

Good Question!! I hate to answer a question with a question, but why does Novesky line his AR15 barrels, why does the government for that matter spec the M4/M16 barrels to be chrome lined? My understanding was that not chrome lining the original M16 barrel and chamber was linked to serious issues in the field. Everything I read is that the best setup besides using stainless, was to have the AR15 barrel and chamber chrome lined. Seriously, I'm really interested in hearing pros and cons. Are there tangible benefits to chrome lining vs. using a standard CM barrel? What really is gained?

I got it from a good source (History Channel) that the chrome plating was started to overcome corrosion problems seen in the early M-16 deployment in The 'Nam. They didn't say it made things better but it did keep things from getting worse.

Later,

Chuck

[Flexmoney]

This is a bit out of my area, but I won't let that stop me...

(Maybe some of the AR gurus will jump in and give some better info. If not, we might move this thread down to the rifle section to get some more eyeballs on it.)

Chrome lining an AR barrel seems to be done to keep the corrosion down and to require less cleaning, oiling, maintenance, etc. This seems suitable for a hard/heavy use gun.

A hard/heavy use gun...might...want to give up a bit of the tight tolerances in the chamber area, for the sake of reliable function.

So, I guess it seems that you are looking for one thing with the custom cut chamber, but looking for another thing with getting the barrel lined. I'm not sure that there is a 'best of both worlds' here. (But there probably is a more than good enough for most things compromise.)

Maybe a little insight on your planned use for the AR ? That would help the folks here chime in.

If you are after a sh*t-hits-the fan (zombies, hurricane, earthquake, bug-out) gun, then they might tell you to go with something that has a generous chamber and a chrome lined barrel. If you are going to be dispatching prairie rats at 350y+, they might have a different suggestion. If you plan to get heavy into 3-gun...then there are great thread on that in the rifle section (including a current thread on the top guns for the recent USPSA Nationals). Going to compete at Camp Perry might take you in a different direction.

[Bob Hostetter]

It's been a long time since I was involved in military weapons but if I remember correctly the chrome plating of the bore on the M-16's was to reduce corrison and "reduce" the need for frequent cleaning and to make cleaning easier. It also reduced barrel wear in weapons that saw a lot of sustained full auto firing.

They were orginially built without the chrome lined barrel's to reduce cost. Chroming the bore/chamber area is expenive due to the techniques required to chrome in the inside vs the outside on a tube or barrel. You also need a shop that can very precisely control the plating thickness so you know how much to cut the chamber and bore oversized.

[Kevin J]

Thanks Flex! I can see the dichotomy. Why custom cut a chamber to increase accuracy then chrome line the barrel? This barrel falls into the "I wanna break it myself" category (versus the Camp Perry or Roving Zombie Stopper classifications) My goal is to take a barrel blank, chamber and profile it myself, then send it out for chrome lining to my spec (as yet TBD) for the fun of it! I see small shops doing it and can't believe that it's impossible for a lone wolf to pull it off!

[cking]

Chrome lining the chamber goes further back than Vietnam. Also doesn't really have to do with cleaning either. The history is that steel cases have be used for a long time. Also combustion byproduct is water vapor. Now picture a hot gun from shooting. There's one in the chamber, it cools vapor condenses and rust the round to the chamber. Next time you shoot you get a failure to extract, and cleaning rod is necessary to get you back in business. Same reason that machines guns fire from open bolt. They don't cook off, and they don't rust in. Also some powders were a little corrosive add the water vapor and poor cleaning habits and pitted bores.

So the source of chrome lining chambers is stuck cases. Lining the bores was for corrosive ammo.

The stuck cases in m-16 in Nam were more to over pressure, unburn't powder residue poor cleaning habits.

So chrome-lining is more of a prevention from neglect than anything else. Military also likes it because it makes barrels last longer with sustained full-auto.

Sounds like you want a match grade barrel, chrome-lining it will take all your careful dimensions and make them into guess's. Use Stainless.

[want2race]

Just in case this hasn't been covered. Getting the chrome plating even (in thickness) from one end of the barrel to the other is near impossible (or at least not easy). It is usually not done to match grade barrels but on field or standard grade. This is what I've been told anyway.

Lower maintanence with less accuracy. Trade-off. I have two barrels, on chromed, the other is not. I like the lined one as I don't have to oil-patch the barrel once a month like I do the other.