Bay Area barrel work

[SFCRangerDoc]

Hey guys I was wondering if any of you knew of a gunsmith in the bay area that does good cut/crown/thread work. I know Randall of AR15Barrels does quality work but I'd really rather just drive some where and have it done locally w/out having to ship it. I'm building up a .22 AR "pistol" soon and am going to have a CMMG 22 Upper cut down to 4.5 inches and build my own replica of the M&P-15 22 Pistol. Why? Because I can...don't judge me :P

something like this:

http://tactical22.net/news/MP-15-22-Pistol.jpg

Doc

[spdrcr]

Interested in this as well. I need to have a MA-compliant muzzle break cut off one of my MSAR barrels so I can swap it for a CA-approved device to meet OAL.

[kcstott]

Kendog is the man up in that neck of the wood I believe

[Whiterabbit]

try calling castello. Actually, don't do that, except to confirm the shop is open. Better go talk to him in person. I don't know if any of the folks in the back ever turn on that lathe or not, but the tooling is there for all to see.

[kendog4570]

Thanks KC. I do this sort of stuff all the time. OP, your link isn't working.

[SFCRangerDoc]

Thanks KC. I do this sort of stuff all the time. OP, your link isn't working.

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/images/64369.jpg

sorry about the bad link...it was working when i posted.

I had a revelation last night and that was I'm no stranger to metal work, and i have a band saw with a metal blade. As long as i get the barrel cut square i could easily get a crowning tool and put it in my drill press at low speed and crown that way. Lots of people do that every day from what im finding. The biggest thing is threading. Ive seen videos of people doing AK threading with threading dies and about an hours worth of work. is this something that can be done similarly with an ar? or would it be better to have the threading cut on a lathe. The cut/crown i think i can do myself :P

[Whiterabbit]

cut and crown is easy enough, but I would not use those tools. Make a good guide and use a hacksaw. Another hour with a file and a machinist square will get you close to where you want to be. That piloted muzzle profiling cutter will get the muzzle profiled, but I would turn it by hand, not drill press. Finally, the brass bead for crowning if that is still needed (in my case, it was not).

All these are hand tools. Personally, I would not do it with powered tools minus a lathe. You are not a gunsmith, so you are not on the clock. You have the luxury of time.

That's just my suggestion.

I won't mention barrel threading. Haven't done it yet.

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But if you are really considering using a die to muzzle thread, here is my suggestion:

I hope your barrel cutoff is long enough to use to experiment with. Try threading the cutoff in practice. But without a lathe, I have no idea how you are gonna turn the diameter down for the die.

[SFCRangerDoc]

cut and crown is easy enough, but I would not use those tools. Make a good guide and use a hacksaw. Another hour with a file and a machinist square will get you close to where you want to be. That piloted muzzle profiling cutter will get the muzzle profiled, but I would turn it by hand, not drill press. Finally, the brass bead for crowning if that is still needed (in my case, it was not).

All these are hand tools. Personally, I would not do it with powered tools minus a lathe. You are not a gunsmith, so you are not on the clock. You have the luxury of time.

That's just my suggestion.

I won't mention barrel threading. Haven't done it yet.

----------

But if you are really considering using a die to muzzle thread, here is my suggestion:

I hope your barrel cutoff is long enough to use to experiment with. Try threading the cutoff in practice. But without a lathe, I have no idea how you are gonna turn the diameter down for the die.

Yeah, i know im not a certified gunsmith :P However i have built/modified many rifles in my garage and feel like i have a tad more skill than the average garage bubbagunsmith :P

The only reason i suggested the band saw is that i have a sliding guide i know i can get square and then just push the barrel through the blade. it "seems" like less room for error. The hacksaw blade i definitely can accomplish w/out much effort as well. Good thought. As for the crowning tool, done by hand is probably best too...less likely to take off too much material too fast. I guess i should get it cut down first and then take it to somebody to have the threads cut and then crown afterwards...would that be the correct steps?

[Whiterabbit]

Yeah, i know im not a certified gunsmith :P However i have built/modified many rifles in my garage and feel like i have a tad more skill than the average garage bubbagunsmith :P

Then you know a muzzle profile cutter is probably not best used when chucked into a drillpress.

Probably.

[Whiterabbit]

would that be the correct steps?

IMO, the correct step is to talk to the gunsmith you would use first. Some prefer untouched material to start with.

Your gunsmith might (I'm gonna use fake numbers here) charge you $100 to cut, crown, and thread a "virgin" barrel, since it's a blank slate to work with. That same gunsmith might look at your cut and crown work, and think to himself that he has to clean up your work, or set up around your work as it is to get the job done. That may have an additional cost, and knowing you'll have a hand in it, due to the labor involved, may quote you $100 to just cut the threads.

This is not uncommon in other industries like car audio, where blank slate jobs are fast, but re-work costs extra because you have to clean up all the old stuff first.

Finally, I recognize that money or no, there is value in a job you do yourself. (just look at 80%'s) And that personal accomplishment value must be balanced against the cost of the job. So you may see sufficient value in your own cut and crown to pay 50% more for threading versus paying a gunsmith to do the whole shebang. Maybe, I don't know you.

[Whiterabbit]

by the way. This is why, when I talk to people like Randall (haven't talked to him yet, that's a project for later this year), pinging advice about gunsmithing, but not closed-minded to farming the work, I ask up front:

"hey, do you take ID-10-T jobs? The kind that are a shoebox full of parts and the customer says 'can you make this work' that you charge double for compared to the customer just having you do it all from the beginning?"

So far I've gotten a "yes" and a "depends". When you get the 'no', you know you are on your own.

[SFCRangerDoc]

Then you know a muzzle profile cutter is probably not best used when chucked into a drillpress.

Probably.

:P Ive never done barrel cutting/crowning work, so in this situation im trying to do a lot of research before i do things and had seen examples of low speed drill presses being used to accomplish it.

And I value being able to do things myself. this upper work i want to do is actually for an 80% i milled out in my garage a couple weeks ago. Im not opposed to sending something out to save some headache/frustration but if i can do it in house, it adds to the satisfaction level ya know? But as somebody who respects the opinions of others, I like to throw ideas out.

I'll ask around about the threading part. I got a message back from randall with a quote for the threading/crowning work if I sent him the cut barrel so that's always an option.

[Whiterabbit]

Sounds like you are on it

[SFCRangerDoc]

Sounds like you are on it

I try. Thanks for the input! I do appreciate it. Once I get the thing finished I'll for sure put the pix up here

[Whiterabbit]

well since you are a local, you wanna use my lathe or mill for anything, just let me know. Fair warning, I'm poorly tooled and not a machinist. So you'd be on your own (no, completely on your own). But no worries about crashing the lathe or breaking cutters since it's enough machine and cutters are easy to make.