scratch rifling

[isobar]

those are going to need serious force to push through...

excuse my ignorance but if they could be pushed through would they rotate to create the rifling? i asked about scratch rifling because i saw it as an easier possibility for me to do but am open to suggestions.i do have a rifled .22 barrel but it's fixed to a nice milbro diana and i don't want to part it.

[isobar]

£15.95 on aliexpress 4.5mm
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000...d=4ATgIGgcxcXV

cheers for that,very interesting.cutting rifling would be preferable but it might be beyond my capability,how do you use those bits?

[isobar]

At this moment I'm not exactly sure how to do it, but it occurs to me that it may be possible to use another (rifled) barrel, along with something that will engage with its rifling and a sub-calibre rod to connect with whatever carries the emery if the barrels are placed end to end, then push this assembly down the rifled barrel toward the smooth bored barrel so that it imparts a "spin".
Does this make any sense to you or am I talking through my hat ?

it makes sense and thanks for the input,all opinions and suggestions welcome,one of them might work with my set of circumstances.

[TonyL]

but I wouldn't bother I
would recrown the barrel and find a suitable pellet

That might work. Along similar lines (ish), might it be easier to consider just adding some shallow rifling at the muzzle end (FX stylee) by introducing some type of mandrill and "cold forging" / pressing in a vice using collets?

[evert]

To be honest, trying to rifle a barrel without previous experience will probably just damage the gun.
As shown by some of the posts above, you need specialized machines to control the spin.
Whatever you decide to do, get some experience with the technique before you attempt to rifle a barrel you want to keep.

My own Milbro made Diana 27 is also a smooth bore, and it shoots quite well with the right pellets, just as good as many other older springers.
If i remember correctly, try JSB Exacts.

[aris]

I could be mistaken, but aren't rifling gunsmithing tools restricted items? Not sure if it is wise to buy off Ali.

Just found them on Amazon

So I guess not

[isobar]

thanks for all the suggestions,i will give it some thought.maybe a rifled barrel will turn up.i can certainly fit the .22 barrel i have on the other rifle for an accuracy test.

[greenwayjames]

As has been said already a smoothbore springer with the right pellet can give surprising good accuracy. It would be better than messing up your existing barrel if things went pearshaped.

[Neil54]

I have purchased a barrel blank, rifling button and hardened steel rods from Ali with no issues.

Seemed a good idea at the time. Not sure what I am going to do with it.

[HW777]

thanks for all the suggestions,i will give it some thought.maybe a rifled barrel will turn up.i can certainly fit the .22 barrel i have on the other rifle for an accuracy test.

You only need to rifle the last few inches of the barrel to introduce spin on a projectile, which be a lot easier than trying to rifle the whole barrel

[lew07]

My thinking is that You would be able to use a ground drill bit to scratch or cut the spiral . It would need to be used on a bench vice to get the uniform and even twists into the metal. It should certainly have enough force to acieve the cut. I’m sure this is achievable It just needs detail. Bit of practice on Ali or plastic pipe first?

[greenwayjames]

I was told by John Bowkett that during the 1980s he made quite a number of rifles, pistols and carbines for the US market which featured is Guns and Ammo annuals amongst others. An easily available buckshot size was used for these. His US agent spoke to one of his contacts who specialized in making blackpowder barrels the old fashioned way. Probably long gone now his name was Bacup. He made barrels to JBs specification and they were lightly "scratch rifled" and very accurate without robbing too much energy being forced through deep rifling. JBs late friend, Gerald Cardew, was also an advocate for "scratch rifling". His incentive was having to do a batch of .25" BSAs for MAG. All in his much modified Myford cutting one groove at a time in several passes.

[xbow]

At this moment I'm not exactly sure how to do it, but it occurs to me that it may be possible to use another (rifled) barrel, along with something that will engage with its rifling and a sub-calibre rod to connect with whatever carries the emery if the barrels are placed end to end, then push this assembly down the rifled barrel toward the smooth bored barrel so that it imparts a "spin".
Does this make any sense to you or am I talking through my hat ?

Clever idea. Not so easy to set up perhaps but the concept is sound.

[Faerie]

Clever idea. Not so easy to set up perhaps but the concept is sound.

Thanks.
I suppose I was just trying to think of a method that could be done by "Ghetto engineering" & without it becoming elaborate or expensive.

It occurred to me that using something like this method shouldn't take much force, and even if it was difficult to do by hand it might be possible to modify something such as a silicone sealant gun to apply the moving force.
On the plus side, the "donor" rifled barrel could be of any calibre as it's sole purpose would be to act as a template that would turn the emery carrier at an even rate. Of course, a jig of some kind to keep the bores of both barrels concentric with each other would be needed, and the rod connecting both the "lead plug" (or whatever) and the emery carrier would have to be the right length to do the job.

[keith66]

There are a lot of different ways of doing it, Harold Hoffmans book Barrels & actions is well worth a read as it gives much info on how to do it.
He used carbide buttons that were pulled through a reamed bore. Such equipment needs serious hydraulic power.
Plenty of vids on you tube of rifling muzzleloaders old time style with a wooden lathe, They use a mandrel with a spiral groove cut in it that the end of the cutter bar engages in as you pull the cutter bar it revolves.
It is the same principle as cutting a thread on a lathe except the feed is speeded up much faster than the rotating spindle.
A sine bar rifling machine is another simple design.
An easy way would be to acquire a scrap rifle barrel & machine a removeable choke tube to fit the end of the smoothbore barrel, This could be acheived with no damage to the original.
Effectively you would have a minature H&H paradox style barrel.