Cutting and Re-crowning

Good morning from sunny Florida guys.

I've had my SBH since 1979 and its in beautiful shape. My intention is to cut the 7 ½ " bbl down to 5 ½ " which I wanted too do for along time now.

Cutting the bbl with a guide for the hacksaw blade clamped to the bbl. would be my choice of cutting it down. Crowning doesn't seem to be a problem with the right tools, which can be had from Midway or Brownells.

The other day I was checking out the different custom S/A gun makers and found a front sight kit from Jim Stroh, it comes with drills, taps and instructions to mount this sight. It costs $137, different size post heights are available for $37. ea. I have a drill press and the necessary tools; all I have to do is grow a bigger set of gonads to do it. I try to convince myself saying "there are plenty of 7 ½ " bbls on Gunbroker, go for it" Carl.

I then found an article about a barrel band front sight made by Gary Reeder it sells for $200. I'm tempted to pay the extra $$$ just for the convenience of it but… what do you think of it?

I've posted this thread on other S/A gun sites, I want all the thoughts and opinions I can get.

……Carl

Go with the Stroh sight, its a drill/tap and screw-on proposition, pretty straight-forward... the bbl band version from Gary may be a bit more difficult due to all the variables such as taper of your bbl, etc.

Plus I'm just not a barrel band guy and like the looks of the Stroh sight better anyway. Less expensive and easier install.

Thanks dlhredfoxx, I was leaning towards the Stroh sight kit from the beginning, the barrel band was an after thought because of the article I came across . Stroh lays out an installation article on his site, it is straight forward as long as you follow his directions.

Thanks again for your input.....Carl

Well guys here are the pics from my cut and recrown job. If you haven't already seen them on other sixgun sites here they are:


Tube cutter scribe line.... like you didn't know that. See that black stripe along the top of the bbl, that my F/S guide line.






As you can see I did a real hi-tech job of making it level. That masking tape covered piece flat stock is what I used to polish the muzzle by wrapping the Emory clothe around it.


Part way through and the diamond blade is tracking straight.


Here's my jigsaws... I started out with the Bosch but when the diamond blade dulled I had too turn to the Craftsman with a 36tpi blade.


All done...you'll notice on the far side of the muzzle is where I went off line.





The filing begins, I used the edge of the vise jaws as a guide for the file.


The filing is done. On to the Emory clothe.


Before I finished polishing the muzzle with the Emery clothe I became anxious and crowned the bore; it looked Ok.



I used a carriage bolt as a crowning tool and as you can see from the impression on the bolt head it is very concentric. I have to thank brimic for that idea; it worked out great bud.












Here are several pics of the muzzle and crown all polished and at different angles.


I didn't like the sharp muzzle radius so I took it out for this very subtle radius. I used a 3/4" deep socket; I cut medium emory clothe into 1 1/2" squares and held in place with my hand, I pushed the muzzle into the socket and turned 180 deg. each way until I reached the radius I liked.




Here's my baby all cut up, it feels so much more balanced in my hand.


Now for the F/S.....


I used light cord to align the F/S, I slip-knotted it to the hammer and ran it through the rear to the muzzle, marked the top of the bbl. and there you have it.


Here's my marks.


I think this is as good as its going to get IMHO. The sight is sitting there its not stuck yet.... wish it was.


Heres the stub, the pin is in the hole just for safekeeping. Too small, almost lost it yesterday. If I couldn't get the pin out a 3/32" bit would have been a donor... fits nice and snug.


I had the SBH plumbed every which way, I wasn't taking any chances.


What you see sticking out of the F/S is a transfer punch, I've had them I don't know how long and never used them. It did come in handy.....


Here's the dimple from the punch.


No, you're not seeing things.... after dimpling the bbl. I chucked a 3/32" bit in my Drill press; it held, but when I lined everything up and lowered the boom (can't remember the name) the bit didn't move. The chuck won't tighten up on the bite. Now what am I going to do.... well, that's my Dremel collet there.... worked out great.


I couldn't use the original pin the hole was a little oversize, so I cut a 1/4" from the top of a #40 drill bit it worked fine. The pin is JB'd in.


Here's the F/S JB'd in place....


The F/S is wrapped in electrical tape, the elasticity of the tape places a lot of downward pressure, it works well.....


Guys I tried like hell to align the sights and take the pic... this the best I could do... you get the picture.






Now, what am I going to do for an insert.... fill it in with JB, or another red insert?

Let me know what you think...

Great pics and very detailed info. Thanks

Find a toothbrush in the color you want and make another insert. One Toothbrush will make many inserts.

Fred

Tellico, thank you for the kind words. I've been wanting to cut the bbl. down since I bought the SBH back in 79 but didn't have a big enough set too do it. It came out good, but I had anxiety attacks every inch of the way.

The toothbrush is a great idea.... never would have thought of it. I owe you and all the other posters from the other sites a big THANK YOU for all your great ideas which helped me along the way.

..... Carl

Your welcome Carl. This site has been a great help in my projects also. Best Forum I've seen.
Fred

That it has Fred, I've DL'd a ton of threads from here and other sixgun sites for future use, and the guys are a wealth of info.

..... Carl

I just gotta ask...... why didn't you just pull the barrel off?

flatgate

You remember Herman Munster Flatgate?He always said "Why didn't I think of that"

Guys, thank you for posting.

I looked at this project from every angle long before starting it. If I was a pro in the business I would have the tools, but, I'm just like everyone else on the forums picking everyone's brain for ideas. Those ideas saved me well over $250. for the cost of the frame fixture and muzzle crown tool I would most likely use once.

Could I have made a fixture; I'm sure I could've, one guy fabbed his out of wood that fit into the frame. Did I want to mess with that….no. I've found that there are always alternative-ways in doing things and saving $$$$ at the same time. 8)

Also, I didn't have to worry about possibility of twisting the frame if I got a little rambunctious with the wrench.

I hope you like the job; IMHO it came out great for me….. a novice.

I owe the guys a debt of gratitude from RugerForums.net, Handgun Hunter Magazine and Single-Action.com for all their input. Without their help I'd probably still be messing with it. Check them out, it's under the same name "Cut and Re-crown".

Now, if I can only find the time to get to the range, and check to see if the front sight height is ok and sight it in.

One day soon…. Carl

Fred I found the perfect toothbrush (my own), it has a green/white handle and its the brightest white I've seen since XS's Sights shade of white. It looks like it'll be missing a piece of the handle.

Before you mentioned the TB idea I was looking into a flouresent red sheet sold by Brownells for FS inserts; but like the tools how many FS inserts will I do. I'm glad I waited. Down here in Florida there's only two colors during hunting season brown and green; but than again that's most of the year. I think the white should standout great, and if not I'll try another color.

..... Carl

Nice job!!! With the right tools and some mechanical ability anything can be accomplished.

Larry8 thanks for the kind words. You said a mouthful. My heart was in my mouth all the way especially when I cut the bbl..... but it worked out.

again thanks...... Carl

You had a lot of guts to make that first cut on a $500 firearm. Jobs like this require a lot of "common sence" too, especially since you don't have all those expensive tools. The next one will be that much easier. Again, good job.

Larry8 I've had the SBH since 79, yes I thought about cutting it for years but didn't have the balls to do it. Now, after all that time what could possibly happen... I screw it up, then I'd get another bbl.

I'm not sure there'll be another one. But who knows..... "the Shadow Knows." That's an indicator of my age.

Larry thanks again.... much appreciated.....Carl

I suppose you could say "no guts, no glory" when it comes to cutting one. But, with some careful thought and research the outcome is pretty much guaranteed.

Nice job btw!

I had considered the string trick a few times, but I think I'll just stick to this from now on



If the factory front is centered, this is about the easiest way to mark the new sight location

tek, that's a great idea using the rod, I'll definitely remember that one... like I always said there's always alternatives.

Did you dimple the bbl. and drill after the cut or before the cut with everything attached? I would suspect after.....

tek what worked in my favor was my GS drilled a support hole when he mounted the insert, I used that same hole after drilling it through for my transfer punch dimple for the new pinhole.

I can't complain, it worked out pretty good.... and thanks for the
atta-boy.... Carl

Wish I had cut Mine. I had it swapped for a 4.62. It was a 5 1/2" SS. Do you know you can not sell a 5 1/2" SS Blackhawk .45 barrel for any reasonable amount? I had it on here, on GB and on Ebay.
Fred

I'm planning on cutting down an extra barrel I got for my shotgun. I'ts 28" and just too long and cumbersum for me to use, so I'm going to cut it down to 20" as 18" is the minimum by law for a shotgun. I'll keep the original barrel for the gun if I ever decide to sell it. I know a shotgun barrel is a lot simpler and easier to cut than an expensive revolver barrel, but I just got the gun and found the extra barrel at a GS so I'm not really attached to it as you were having your gun for over 30 years. The only thing I was concerned with is reattaching the front site, but you guys here on this forum thread showed me the way to do it (which I'm grateful for). Now I have to get out the hack saw.