Any machinists or Iron workers?

[erik_26]

I was wondering if any of you have built your own gun. Or may just your own barrel?



If so, did you forge it?

Or did you have to take round stock (high quality treated of course) slap it on a lathe and have at it?

Did you rifle it? How did you go about that?

Did you just copy a proven design or is this an original master piece?

What caliber did you make it in?



I love designing/fabricating things. So I was just curious if anyone has done it. Maybe if you could share your lessons learn and end results that would be great.

[joelogic]

Barrels are cheap. But people machine their own lowers all the time.

[jtmkinsd]

Tooling and machinery needed to rifle a barrel are too specialized, and expensive, to just build a couple homemade guns.

[joelukehart]

Im a welder with structural and pipe certs. I worked at a machine shop for 6 years and I built a sten mkII semi. I've also fabbed numerous muzzle brakes, stock adapters, ect. to remember. But i've never rifled a barrel blank. Iron workers are too busy building buildings 20 stories up to worry about rifling a barrell.

[hawk81]

I have built many ak rifles and some semi auto stens. I to am a welder and am a machinist. I work in a machine shop. Rifling barrells takes somewhat specialized and expensive equipment.

[Fjold]

You need a deep drilling and threading machine for rifle barrels. Very specialized equipment.

Pistols are much easier. I got bored once on patrol and made a single shot falling block actioned 45 ACP pistol on the Bridgeport combination Mill and Lathe in the Machinery 1 space on the submarine. Running it in reverse at the lowest speed I could get it to thread at 1 turn in 13" to single point cut the barrel grooves.