H&R's barrel chambering process

[Ireload2]

Has anyone ever seen how H&R's barrels are chambered?
I would guess they are chambered after the lug is welded on which make me wonder....
Do they use a lathe and a steady rest or some goofy process they don't want anyone to see?

[trotterlg]

I would say they are chambered before the lug is welded on.  I only say this because in the stubbing projects I have done I have found the part of the barrel just in front of the lug is not consintric with the bore.  It has been ground down on the bottom where the lug is fitted.  In order to get a place for the steady rest to run properly I have had to put a center in the chamber and turn the barrel round in front of the lug, usually had to take off about .020 to do it. They may turn the reamer to do the chamber which is not normally done in chambering rifle barrels.  It also appears they grind or mill the rear of the barrel after the lug is welded on, so this may add to the notion that they turn the reamer and not the barrel to cut the chamber.  Larry

[quickdtoo]

This is the procedure that they use:

1. The barrels are chambered after the lug is welded on.

2. The barrel is placed in a special collet that accommodates the lug.

3.  The barrel turns and the tools are held on a turret with floating tool holders.

It's a very common setup that is used by many firearms manufacturers. They are currently changing most chambering operations over to CNC lathes.

Tim

[d_hiker]

I don't think that Tim lives in Washington State at all.  I think he has a room just off the factory floor in Gardner, MA.  He's probably a chief design engineer.  How else can he know all of this stuff.  It is just too much for any normal Handiholic to know.   

[Graybeard]

Who said Tim was a "normal handiholic"?

[quickdtoo]

Yeah, who said I was a normal anything!!!  

Tim

[jon f]

Tim, you are unique.  Don't ever change.
                      Jon

[wtroger]

That is exactly how I chambered my stub project. I fitted it to the stub then chucked it in my four jaw chuck and indicated it off a mandrel I had made for 6mm barrels. then chambered it I use a floating reamer holder. That was actually the easiest part of the the whole stub project.

[Ireload2]

Wtroger,
Using a collet and a 4 jaw are a bit different. You have complete control over the centering of the bore with a 4 jaw. Not so with a collet.
However if the bore and OD are concentric the collet is not too bad though not my first choice.
I have seen photos of one "factory" where a drill press was being used to chamber barrels.

[quickdtoo]

There's a factory tour video link in the FAQs, but it's about 8-9yrs old, they dated themselves when they refer to the RMEF 280.

Tim