we have finally given up the smokehouse after several years of 7 days a week 52 weeks a year.
I would like to build my own rifle.
I have had several years in the engineering industry operating lathes millers grinders etc.
Never had to work to microns but quite capable of working to +/- a thou. I do not have faintest idea about this and would like advise on any good books available for the novice gunmaker..
I don't want to make any fancy custom rifles "yet", but to rebarrel a simple remmy action would be start..

regards

griff

john hinnant, a shop teacher, publishes a manual called THE COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO PRECISION FIRLE BARREL FITTING and it may still be sold by brownells. imho it is the best step by step primer on this subject. you can do a very credible job with his method. there are other methods and i'm sure you will develope your own as you go along. another avenue to explore is to ask a local guy if you can just sit and watch him. if you have machining background you will understand what is going on.

Steve Acker, who writes a gunsmithing column for Home Shop Machinist, has a video out on precision barreling of the Remingon Model 700 Action. I wish I still owned my copy as I would have lent it to you. But they are available for purchase, and he does an extremely good job of showing what needs to be done to not only barrel the action, but also clean it up for better accuracy. I think it would be worth your while.

Griff,
sounds as if you have the skills there, just not organized as a barrel plumber, yet!!

daryl holland and AGI have a pretty decent tape (might be best to watch it on mute after the first time) on installing a barrel. Not a bad place to start since you have the machining skills.

If you are in Fife, you may got find a local smith and tell them that a scion of the lindsays would like to know if they would 'prentice you in gunsmithing!!!

look out! he's probably armed!!

the nra complete guide to gunsmithing is also good stuff


neither of these covers 100%.. or even 50% of custom gun barrel work.. but it does cover 100% of how to SAFELY get a barrel on, from a mechanical viewpoint

jeffe