How many of you know that TC factory barrels are chambered in a drill press?
Melvin

Melvin, I have had a couple that looked like they were cut with a brace and a bit. I think some of TC's barrel's must have been produced on Mondays and Fridays if you know what I mean. When I first started fooling with TC's a barrel was a barrel was a barrel. I had several different barrel's in various calibers. Some shot some didn't, chalked it up to "it won't work in ??" barrel length" or it is a rifle caliber. Then a friend gave me some info and phamphlets from a fellow named Mike Bellm. And as Paul Harvey would say "thats the rest of the story" "good day".
Jeff

I have 2 that shoot better than a custom barrel I bought last summer during an outfit's sale. That barrel is now gone.

I attended the IHMSA Handgun Silhouette Internationals in Ohio last week. We had a seminar that was led by Jim Henry, a very knowlegable guy when it comes to TC's. He does not work for TC, but they recognize his work.
It came up in the discussion that they use a jig with some kind of centering cone for the reamer.This jig is used in a drill press. Someone asked about the Fox Ridge Custom Shop barrels.He said they were the same as production line barrels.
Thought that was very interesting.
Melvin

Sure enough Melvin. I seem to remember a guy by the name of Mike Bellm lettin us know about there custom barrel process a long time ago. Same as there production barrels only with TC Custom shop stamped on the barrel.

The only difference with the Fox Ridge barrels is that you have a few more calibers and finishes/lengths to choose from. The chambering process is exactly the same. A while back I inquired about a barrel from them and said I'd send the money as soon as I had confirmation that I'd get a throat within my specs (not the toilet bowl that goes on forever in some of the standard TCs). TC never responded to multiple inquiries, so we know the answer to that question.

That being said, I have had a few excellent shooters, primarily some of the older barrels. The new stuff, well, don't get me started on that...

Bellm, Bullberry, SSK, Van Horn & Virgin Valley (in alphabetical order, not by order or preference) all have furnished me some wonderful barrels, and I will continue to buy from them. (You can find good used deals on them as well...)

I'd rather pay a little more for something that is going to perform up to expectations rather than spend a little less and have what amounts to a rather expensive paper weight.

[ 08-20-2002, 01:14: Message edited by: Bobby Tomek ]

I second that!

Glad to see that I'm not the only one on this board that see's the "custom shop" for what it is. I tried to order a 22" bull barrel in 30 Herrett and specified a shorter than usual throat for 110gr. RN bullets. They said they aren't able to do that. I said "custom shop?"! Hardly.
I have in my cabinet a T/C barrel in 30 Herrett that the lands can't be touched with a 210gr bullet seated too far out of the case! What's that for?
BTW, I did get my short throat 30 Herrett from Bullberry. It's a keeper!
T.D.

T.D.

I had a 15" 9mm SS Custom shop barrel that would shoot very well but with only one load: a hard to find European Hirtenberger 100grn Jacketed Truncated Cone loading. All other loads would not group well at all.

So, before going much further with the barrel, I put it in my vice, put my shop light in the ideal position, and inspected the chamber as best I could with a magnifying glass. Low and behold the chamber was so far out of alignment with the bore that I could see it with the naked eye! Half of the circumferance of where the throat would begin (and the casemouth of the 9mm headspace) was deep enough to see clearly, and the other half so shallow that no division was perceptable at all!

Truly a dissapointment. I have never noticed a difference in quality between the T/C Custom shop stuff and the regular production barrels. No more Custom shop stuff for me unless I purchase it specifically to be rechambered by Mike Bellm!

Couple points.

A person who presented himself as a former employee of TC told me that he had persuaded them to chamber in lathes, but figured they may well have gone back to chambering in a drill press.

The party chambering Don Bower's barrels chambers in a vertical mill, which is in essence a big precision heavy duty drill with a table that moves.... for those not versed in machine shop stuff. I have borescoped a number of these chambers, and inspite of the well intentioned good efforts of the gent, with whom I have had a lengthy conversation regarding his procedure, most of the throats are quite visibly off center with the bore. As with most of the TC barrels, they shoot well, but my contention is that especially if you are paying for custom work, it should be precision, not just a different variety of misaligned chamber.

Second point is that I cannot do all the chambers that are presented for rechambering. It is time for changes in procedure to take hold elsewhere. I have laid the groundwork, now run with it.

Mike