Is it possible to make commercial quality pistol barrel in a common machine shop?

Question

Is it possible to make commercial quality pistol barrel in a common machine shop? I know it will be way slower than the rate of production line, but I wonder if common machine shop is able to achieve the accuracy and durability compared to the barrels available on the market? I think gun barrel making could be tricky and it could also be very straightforward... Rifle barrels are more difficult to make compared to pistol barrels (correct me if I am wrong). Please share what you know. Thanks

Answer 1

This would be a really good question to ask an expert in the field - like JD Jones of SSK Industries. He built a gunsmithing empire by creating wildcat barrels for the Thompson Contender series of single shot guns. If anyone alive could make a barrel out of Bisquick - he is the guy! You can surf to the SSK Ind web site and ask them. I have not talked to JDJ in over a decade - but - the has nice people always working for him......I am sure they will give you a straight answer about exactly what kind of machine shop, what tools, and bits are needed to make the rifling.



There used to be an old time gunsmith in Anchorage........ I knew is son........ and I got to see the back room where all the 'magic' happened. The floor space was massive - easily had 5x more floor space than my 3 bedroom house. I know what a lathe is, I know what a milling machine is, and I know what blue tanks look like - but he had some machinery I had never seen before in the military or industrial application. I am pretty sure he could have properly milled the outside of a barrel - and - perhaps put lands and grooves into a barrel...... but the machine I suspect was capable of it would stick out like a sore thumb in a garage or small shop.

Answer 2

I agree with Tex. Several here have NO idea what they are speaking of. I challenge anyone of these people to find ANY common machine shop that can drill a hole 6" or more ABSOLUTELY straight in hardened steel. Most could not do that in Plastic. A drill it walks, and will seek the softer metal as a route. A lathe is the same. Simply a drill press laid horizontal.



One speaks of Muzzle loaders being made. If this was that simple, why can't we all make our own guns ? I have worked many places that have the machines used to make firearms. However, there are specialized tools, added to common machines. Have you ever sen a Rifling Table used to cut rifling into a muzzle loader barrel ? I have been lucky enough to have seen 4 real ones, from the day. One guy had these and he DID make muzzle loaders. The tables should have been in a museum. You needed more then one to do different rifle rates, and barrel lengths.



Beyond the problem boring a straight hole, there is the specialized heat treating techniques. Even Firearm manufacturing companies that make the cheap guns, have a hard time producing a dependable firearm. AND THEY HAVE THE TOOLING. Tooling is the operable word. Although a shop may have the correct machinery, machinery requires proper tooling and set up.



Where is our BBean ? He has machinist experience, and understands both metallurgy, and tooling. A firearm is different then anything most machine shops fabricate. A firearm MUST endure, and contain multiple explosions at such pressures that attempt to blow them to pieces. AND do this after many heat cycles through many years.



Added : Anyone who has attempted to bore just the short distance of a revolver cylinder in stainless steel can tell you how difficult it is to bore a straight hole even that short distance. Of course I do know as many of you know people who do have the facility to build firearms. That is not the question. The question is more at least it seems to me, IF a common machine shop would have the tooling to do this. As I say, I believe YES, the may have the machines needed, BUT, not the tooling that is used on those machines.

Answer 3

sure... heat treating is a pretty common skill and any good tool and die maker could make a pistol barrel.



I'd probably find a rifle barrel to cut down or order a bored and rifled blank and turn it for profile, thread the ends and crown it... then mill the dovetails for sights and send it around the corner for polish and blue or whatever other finish I'd like that I cannot do in the shop.



Cut or pulled rifling reqiures special tooling... I could probably build it (most machinist's build many special tools and fixtures just to build a part)... but why would I?

Answer 4

Apparently a lot of the answerers have no idea what they're talking about, and the people claiming they don't know what they're talking about don't know what they're talking about. Nobody knows how to make rifle barrels, apparently.



Fact is, modern rifle barrels ARE made in a machine shop, on a metal lathe. It is not a "drill mounted sideways." It is a precision machine with automatic feeds that control the depth and progression of a cut within 1/1000" or less. They use a specialized carbide boring bar to shave metal from the inside of a hole, not a "drill bit."



Gun barrels are not the modern technical marvels that gun manufacturers would have us believe. In 150 years, the formula has not changed much: a metal tube with rifling cut into the interior. Talk to me about chrome lining, polygonal rifling, and space-age alloys all you want, today's gun barrels still use the same basic method to accomplish the same thing that rifle barrels in the Civil War did.



YOU can make a functional gun barrel at home with the proper tools (not technological miracles) and a little training. "Proper tools" cost a good bit of money, on the order of $50,000 or so for the machines and tooling required. Still, people can and do produce perfectly functional rifle and pistol barrels in their own garage. My uncle is one such person, and he is also a gunsmithing instructor.



If you're thinking that a person could turn out a barrel in the basic garage woodshop, well of course not. A drill press and wood lathe are next to useless on anything related to a gun barrel. But with the proper metal lathe and some precision tooling, it is entirely possible. There are whole books and magazine publications devoted to the subject.

Answer 5

there sure is. All you need is proper machinery anyone who says no doesnt really know what theyre talking about. I went to College in a small rural county in California and there was a small shop that made high quality rifle barrels for years. Basically you need a lathe, a mill, a drill capable of making deep straight holds and a machine that cuts rifling or pulls a button through the barrel (been available as govt surplus for years).



Also unless Federal regulations have dramaticaly changed since I had my FFL there is little to no Federal oversight to worry about since youre not making a regulated item (barrels are not regulated).

Answer 6

Oh! It is possible.



There is a lot of measuring, cutting, and other things involved, but if you know how to do it, you can do it.



STEPHEN is confused. He is correct that there is more to it than just making a metal tube, But if you know the mechanics of it all and have the time and the parts you need, you can certainly make a commercial quality or even military grade barrel for any gun.

Answer 7

Absotootly. I know some people who do their own rifling and barrels with just some standard machining equipment. I have no idea how, but they say "it's not that hard." (But you know how that goes...it's not that hard for someone who knows HOW.)



That being the case, I wouldn't attempt anything until you get at least some basic formal training in gunsmithing. Granted, back in the day, and even today, there's tons of people out there experimenting with building their own guns...but they do harness small explosions. But you can take the risk at your own discretion...

Answer 8

From scratch starting with a piece of steel? Sure, it is possible if you have the equipment and can cut rifling. A friend of mine is a gunsmith and he has made many rifle and handgun barrels in his garage using only a metal lathe, a metal drill press, and a metal milling machine, but he buys the barrel blanks. A barrel blank is already bored and rifled. http://www.riflebarrels.com/



Several answers are from people who have no clue.

Answer 9

It is possible.



There is a lot of measuring, cutting, and other things involved, but if you know how to do it, you can do it.



STEPHEN is confused. He is correct that there is more to it than just making a metal tube, But if you know the mechanics of it all and have the time and the parts you need, you can certainly make a commercial quality or even military grade barrel for any gun.

Answer 10

How To Make A Pistol

Answer 11

Not far from my home town Major Robert Stutler a retired machinist from Ruger has recently renovated an old hotel into a very nice gun room. Behind glass he has some very ornate rifles he has made from scratch. Also, a friend of mine who is an aircraft machinist in my home town, recently made his own rifle using CNC machine and lathe in his spare time at the machine shop. So, with the right knowledge it is very possible to make a quality firearm.

Answer 12

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Answer 13

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Answer 14

Machine shop equipment is stupid...they don't know whether they are making a car part or a gun part. How do you think they are made now ?

Answer 15

You'd have to work out how to cut the rifling grooves, but it's possible. Indeed, the Kentucky and Pennsylvania long rifles of US Revolutionary War times were mostly hand-made.

Answer 16

1

Answer 17

I had a sibling who owned a machine shop and did firearm work.

As farm machinery was also present I would give him points for

fab' work using scrap but you don't often find a genius doing that.

The ATF and IRS took dim views of that common machine shop

or maybe it was illegal weaponry conversions. The government

also closed one gun shop steering business that way. The two

lessons my sibling learned was machine shops earn profits but

keeping your nose clean is less expensive.

Answer 18

Make a workable one? - Yes.

A 'commercial quality' one? - No.

The specialized equipment for button rifling is far from common.

Answer 19

Uh... You have to register as a gun manufacturer, and know what you are doing. Failing either of those, is the road to quick trouble.

Answer 20

Ha ha I do not have a clue. Just wanted everyone to know which group I am in.

Answer 21

What do you think they're made on now?

Answer 22

It's not recommended, and can be very dangerous if the tolerances are not right for the ammunition you're firing. For example, you can use .223 in a 5.56 NATO rated barrel, but not the reverse. It's just not worth the risk, especially if you're not a qualified gunsmith.

Answer 23

You have to register as a gun manufacturer, and know what you are doing. Failing either of those, is the road to quick trouble.