DIY Barrel Crown Tool?

[brad407210]

Has anyone tried the at home barrel crowning tools from Midway or Brownells? My wife finally decided to come to the range with me and it turns out she actually liked shooting. I had her shooting my .223 and 6.5 Creedmoor, but both are full length stocks and 24" barrels so they didn't fit her well. I'll cut about an inch off the LOP on the stock, but I think a shorter barrel would help the gun balance better and be easier to teach her with. I'd like to cut down the the Tikka 6.5 to about 18", but it still has a factory barrel that probably will take a relief cut to get off, so I'm thinking about trying the hand crowning tool route so I can leave it on the action. The videos/reviews of the tool make it look like it works, I'm just having a hard time believing you could get that accurate enough to shoot straight. Does anyone have experience with these, I'm not looking for a benchrest gun, but I'm nervous I'll end up with a 5 MOA rifle that turns into the donor action for my next build...

 

[robtattoo]

As long as you can cut the barrel square (muzzle absolutely perpendicular with the bore) you can absolutely create a perfect crown with one of these.....


The hard part isn't the crown, it's the cut. Anyone can whack the barrel off with a hacksaw (I think I've done 6 now) but squaring it up is where the skill & patience comes in. That's the REAL advantage of the Brownells tool, it gives you a really clean, totally perpendicular surface to start with.

 

[robtattoo]

I also believe you can rent one for significantly less than buying, from PTG.

 

[robtattoo]

Fyi; It would be cheaper still to get a smith to do it.

 

[fightthenoise]

I’ve done it and it turned out fine. I just used a hack saw, piece of tape to make sure I’m square, and a brass screw with lapping compound chucked into a drill. I’d still pay a smith to do it though. It’s cheap, done right, and no one should need to remove the action from the barrel.

 

[brad407210]

I suppose I have 6" of barrel to work with, I can take an inch off and see how it works and if I screw it up I can always find a smith to take some more

 

[gbflyer]

Cutting it off yourself will work. We sweat a perfect crown too much. I love this article:

Do rifle crowns matter? Does a crown affect accuracy? I find out with the help of my grinder…

Do rifle crowns matter? Does a crown affect accuracy? I think most of use would say yes. It seems intuitive that the crown, the last part of the rifle that touches the bullet before it leaves the…

rifleshooter.com

 

[TxxAgg]

I did my first the other day. Tikka 223

I took my time and only used a hacksaw, file, and drill with brass screw and lapping compound.

The gun is as accurate as before and stacks bullets.