Barrel Liners?

[ZigZagZeke]

So when I had my old Remington rolling block rifle restored to shooting condition the rifle maker and I decided that in order to save the 28" tapered octagon barrel we would install a barrel liner. That allowed us to chamber the rifle for .38 spc/.357 mag and not throw away a beautiful old barrel.

I recently thought about acquiring another Remington #1 rolling block sporter with a corroded and pitted barrel, lining it, and chambering it for .45-70. Since the guy who did the restoration work on my rifle has since passed away, I inquired around locally about anyone who could install a liner in an old corroded barrel. One of the replies I got indicated that they wouldn't touch that kind of work and doubted that anybody else would. I got the impression that the guy on the other end of the call took a dim view of lining barrels. My understanding from a master gun maker and a guy who built rifles from scratch was that it was a perfectly safe and reasonable solution to the desire to keep an antique barrel that was shot out or corroded. What's the deal? Does anybody know? And BTW, I scratched the guy who gave me the condescending answer off my list of people I'll ever do business with.

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[Capn Jack]

Sounds like a, "CYA" to me. My favorite DYS was the fellow that put a pair of 45/70 barrels into
a shotgun and made himself a double express rifle. He used eccentric washers on the muzzles
to align the barrels.

 

[Mikej]

I was fascinated by your rolling block as I have one that's in poor shape with a seriously pitted throat and barrel. It's in some large .45 caliber and dated around 1871 I believe. It's the last of the old junkers my dad had purchased after he got out of the Navy in 1947 with the intention of doing "something?" with it. Apparently there's some reason I haven't sold it to turn the money into a usable gun like the other junkers of dad's. I'd like to hear what @Velzey would have to say about your gun project.

 

[JRuby]

I had a 1894(93) marlin relined to 38-55 from 30-30:winchester. The conversion made the barrel caliber able to .375 caliber bullets which used the more available bullets. The rifle never shot hot loads but it never had a problem for the five years i.had it. I think relining is a very viable option and based on my experience would do it again.

 

[User 1234]

I've heard of relining 22LR barrels in gallery guns, but I personally would not trust a relined 45-70.

 

[Member 18201]

Barrel outer dimensions, minor thread diameter, and total length are critical in relining to 45-70 vs rebarreling.

 

[Ura-Ki]

@Velzey might have some answers for you regarding this! I know it needs to have enough "Meat" around the chamber to handle the pressures, but the exact specs I do not know, I would think it depends on the type of alloy it was made of!

 

[BillM]

Well--learn something new every day. I've relined 22's, and knew Redmans up in Omak did the short
Winchester calibers ( 25-20, 32-20, 38-40, 44-40), but was totally un-aware that liners were readily available for the bigger boomers. Barrel liners: breech loading rifle bore liners - Track of the Wolf
With an OD of 5/8", the liner alone will take a pile of pressure. Would have no qualms about using one.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

I was fascinated by your rolling block as I have one that's in poor shape with a seriously pitted throat and barrel. It's in some large .45 caliber and dated around 1871 I believe. It's the last of the old junkers my dad had purchased after he got out of the Navy in 1947 with the intention of doing "something?" with it. Apparently there's some reason I haven't sold it to turn the money into a usable gun like the other junkers of dad's. I'd like to hear what @Velzey would have to say about your gun project.

For those who might not have seen it, here's the finished product together with the wood it had on it when it came to me. It had been in a cabin fire about 100 years ago, and looked like junk.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

Barrel outer dimensions, minor thread diameter, and total length are critical in relining to 45-70 vs rebarreling.

This tapered octagon barrel is 1" at the muzzle across the flats, 1-1/8" at the receiver, and the receiver is ~1-3/8" across the flats. The liner is 5/8". That leaves a lot of meat to work with.

 

[trevi]

Sounds like a, "CYA" to me. My favorite DYS was the fellow that put a pair of 45/70 barrels into
a shotgun and made himself a double express rifle. He used eccentric washers on the muzzles
to align the barrels.

This is what i want to do. Can I have this guys' contact who did the work?

 

[Member 18201]

This tapered octagon barrel is 1" at the muzzle across the flats, 1-1/8" at the receiver, and the receiver is ~1-3/8" across the flats. The liner is 5/8". That leaves a lot of meat to work with.

If it is a Number 1 Black Powder receiver, the minor diameter of the breech threads are .920". With a nominal .625" liner, there is less than .150" wall remaining.

Not what I would consider to be a lot of meat.

YMMV, of course.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

If it is a Number 1 Black Powder receiver, the minor diameter of the breech threads are .920". With a nominal .625" liner, there is less than .150" wall remaining.

Not what I would consider to be a lot of meat.

YMMV, of course.

You're discounting the liner itself.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

Looks like a fair amount of "meat" to me...

 

[Member 18201]

You're discounting the liner itself.

No, I am just mentioning the actual undisturbed material remaining.

A .625 " liner with a .505 case head adds .060" of wall thickness at the chamber.

The total wall thickness of ~ .210" is fine, ( as it would be if rebarrelled ) except there is a seam between the 2 tubes.


ETA- the above photo does not appear to be of a 45-70 rifle.

Best of success with your project.

 

[Velzey]

1" diameter at the muzzle is plenty of meat for the liner. You can grind a drill bit with a pilot on it and silver solder an extension. Then get to drilling and clean the chips out frequently.

 

[Capn Jack]

This is what i want to do. Can I have this guys' contact who did the work?

Sorry,. It was a 3 part project I was following in a magazine several years ago. I believe the shotgun he converted was a, "Coach Gun".
It may be on the WEB some where. Most everything is these days.

 

[Capn Jack]

As I remember, he bought a couple of .45 blanks and chambered them to 45/70, then profiled them to the inside of the shotgun barrels.
I don't remember how they were held in place, but I remember he used a couple of concentric washers one on each muzzle to dial in the barrels. Looked like a fun project.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

No, I am just mentioning the actual undisturbed material remaining.

A .625 " liner with a .505 case head adds .060" of wall thickness at the chamber.

The total wall thickness of ~ .210" is fine, ( as it would be if rebarrelled ) except there is a seam between the 2 tubes.


ETA- the above photo does not appear to be of a 45-70 rifle.

Best of success with your project.

The picture shown is the .357 Cal rifle.