Cutting a barrel

[Rogmatt]

I have a barrel for a Mohawk 48 Rem that is about 28 inches and cylinder bore. It is not doing me any good. I have been thinking for a while now as gn69 knows about converting an old 48 to a HD gun. I want to cut it to 20 inches. I do some gunsmithing at home, but have never tried to cut a barrel. I have always paid for that service. This time, I want to try it myself. What is the best way to cut a barrel. Thanks for any help.

[John Traveler1]

There is nothing mysterious or difficult about cutting a shotgun barrel.

The easiest way of course, is to use a lathe and lathe dogs, with the bore supported between centers.  Advance crossfeed to cut off barrel, deburr, and you are done!

The home gunsmith or hobbiest will find it easier to simply hacksaw off the barrel using a fine-tooth blade, and finish off the end with a mill file.  Check for squareness, deburr and you are done.  A dab of cold blue will hide the fresh cut steel end.

[earschplitinloudenboomer]

Check with one of your plumber buddies, a large tubing cutter does a nice job. Minimal deburring and clean up. Hacksaws have a tendancy to leave muzzle cut crooked.  Crooked muzzles tend to shoot "way over there".

[Nobade]

I sure wouldn't use a tubing cutter on a shotgun barrel other than to mark a line around it to cut to. They roll metal into the bore since they cut by swaging instead of shearing. I have had good luck at home using a hacksaw and file, along with a square to make sure it's straight. A stone to deburr the inside and outside (round stone on inside) will work. At the shop I cut them with a bandsaw and then put it on the mill to cut the end straight, and to trim the vent rib if one is present. At the same time I can install a new bead if desired. Then stone the cut and it's done.