Gun Barrel Gouge

[Paul39]

For years I have been speculating if one could make cheap good bowl and spindle gouges from rifle and shot gun barrels.

I got some cut off barrel ends today and dashed to the shed and ground a 35 degree bevel on a piece of 20 Ga. barrel.

I mounted a dry red oak mushroom blank, knocked the bark off the middle and end, and had a go with the NEW CHEAP GOUGE. It folded the sharp edge back just like a tin can.

I reground at a 45 degree angle, honed the inside with 240 grit wrapped around a dowel and had another go.

This new edge lasted about 2.4 seconds. I tried a spindle gouge from my 8 pieces for $20 Chinese set. It at least cut for 30 seconds.

I tried my new to me Henry Taylor Osolnik tool and it sliced off piles of curlys and lasted until the mushroom was finished. The off the tool finish was such that when I sanded it the 120 grit dulled the shine.

So, shot gun barrel gouges don't work for sour owl poop.

I'm grinding a .22 barrel to open it up for a bowl gouge. I'll let everyone know how that turns out. I'll also do a bit of reading to see what sort of steel goes into gun barrels. It is possible that it has enough carbon in it to be hardened.

If any of you have played with this idea put in your tuppence.

[nalmo]

Dare we ask why you need sawn off shotguns?

[vk4]

easier to carry to the bank:D:D

Probably come from a gunsmiths shop , gun steel is tempered differently to tool steel, tool steel needs to be HARD, gun barrels need to be strong and elastic,
they cope with pressures in excess of 40,000lb's per sq inch, on firing.

shot gun barrels are slightly different, but again they are not hard tempered, and this is why, they will fold up .

Jeff
vk4

[soundman]

I'd say retemper and try again....if you can be bothered.......half decent chinese tools are pretty cheap these days.

Another thaught though is a vacuum gouge.........someone traied to sell them commercially a few years ago......the gouge is tubular and the back end is connected to a vacuum cleaner............Thats gota suck :)

cheers

[issatree]

Hi Paul,
I'd like to ask what kind of Sparks came off when you Sharpened the Cutting End.
Many moons ago I found some, What I thought were Sq. Screwdrivers.
Tried to Sharpen them & the edge kept falling off. Wasn't worth the effort, & would not cut at all.

[Paul39]

Dare we ask why you need sawn off shotguns?

Folks sometimes have one as a home defense weapon. Shortened to the legal barrel length makes them easy to swing indoors. It is harder to buy a hand gun and some areas prohibit them. If someone with evil intent is confronted with a shot gun they may sooner take that under advisement than if confronted with a little pocket pistol.

If the barrel and / or the over all length is too short, that makes them a "weapon of mass destruction" and is prosecuted the same as possession of a hand grenade, pipe bomb, or car bomb.

During Hurricane Katrina some years ago there were gangs of looters in New Orleans going from house to house taking guns, jewelry, and small portable valuables. There was a photo of a black gentleman sitting on his porch with a shot gun in his lap.

He told the reporter that he warned the looters to not touch his neighbors unoccupied houses, and they moved on.

[Paul39]

Hi Paul,
I'd like to ask what kind of Sparks came off when you Sharpened the Cutting End.
Many moons ago I found some, What I thought were Sq. Screwdrivers.
Tried to Sharpen them & the edge kept falling off. Wasn't worth the effort, & would not cut at all.

The sparks compared closely to those made grinding my cheap Chinese tools. I am going to heat and quench in oil the shot gun barrel and not temper it. Theoretically that should make it as hard as it will get. I'll see how that goes.

I looked up the steel used for rifle barrels. Some are 4140 or M2 steel, both are tool steels so should be at least high carbon. It is possible that gun barrels are tempered to be less brittle so they do not shatter. I have seen shot gun barrels split open, and I discovered today a piece of octagon rifle barrel that is shattered like the neck of a beer bottle.

I have sharpened two old, old, US made straight screw drivers that I use for shallow cut off tools or turned the other way for making a spigot or recess for the chuck. For the brief time they are used I find they cut fine.

Some of the really cheap Chinese screw driver sets are really soft. I have gotten some stray ones in a box lot at auction. I grind them into awls to make a hole for starting screws.

I have snapped the end off of Phillips bits. I needed to face off a cast iron face plate on my metal lathe. I sharpened the Phillips bit to the proper shape and used it to skim cut a 10 inch face plate without resharpening. One never knows about mystery metal.

My grinder is 12 inches from the end of my lathe. When turning, I turn on the grinder and let it run the whole session. It is easy to reach over and give a quick swipe to the Bedan tool or scrapers. I have 3 bowl gouges and sharpen all of them at the beginning using a jig so I don't have to stop and fit the jig and sharpen in the middle of hollowing.

[Phil Spencer]

Did it once with a Remington barrel I hardened and tempered the steel, it worked fine the only problem was the barrel blocking up with chips.
I suggest that you harden and temper the steel:D

[soundman]

Did it once with a Remington barrel I hardened and tempered the steel, it worked fine the only problem was the barrel blocking up with chips.


hence the vacuum cleaner:2tsup:

cheers

[Paul39]

I flattened the top first, then made a groove on the edge of the wheel, then trimmed up into the barrel with an abrasive cut off wheel and Dremel tool, honed the inside at the end with a cylindrical stone and Dremel, then slowly beveled the outside free hand in short sessions to not overheat.

The orange color of the bevel is from the incandescent light to the left. The light from the top is cool white florescent.

It cut like a bowl gouge but not as long as my Crown or Thompson before slowing down a bit. I will heat and quench the tip of this as well as the shot gun barrel to see how they do. I need to do some research on the color polished steel turns at 1400 degrees F.

The first photo shows a 3 X 4 inch piece of red oak that I turned with it. It cut quite nicely.

After hardening, if it will harden, I will put it into a jig and give it about a 35 degree bevel and sweep back the top more. Then if it stays sharp as long as my Chinese bowl gouge I'll grind the top open to let the chips out.

More to follow. I also have a .30 cal barrel end which may be decent steel. It looks like a Mauser.