Open 32 cylinder throats

[WARD]

I am thinking that I would like to have the cylinder throats on one of my 32 H&R's opened up to .3125. Can anyone recommend where I could have this work done?

I would go to Cylindersmith as he did a couple of my 45 Colts and I am quite pleased with the results - but he offers only .314 for the 32's and I think that is larger than I would like to try.

Thank you

Ward

 

[flatgate]

I'd try Manson.

flatgate

 

[edlmann]

I'd try Manson.

Their pdf catalog is here.

On page 7 (8 of the pdf) the throating reamers are listed. There is no dimension listed for the size of the reamers - just the pilots.

 

[WARD]

I've just sent an email inquiry to Manson - we'll see what they have to say.

Assuming I have the proper tooling - is there any reason I shouldn't be able to do this job myself? I understand it is mostly a slow and easy by hand type task.

Ward

 

[BenT]

Ward, keep me posted on what you find. I would like to ream mine to .313. I would send it to the cylindersmith but I think .314 is too much. A 5/16 reamer is .3125. From what I have read is that the cylinder throats should be the same size as your bullet. Which is .313 for the cast bullet I want to shoot.

I would even split the price of the tools if it isn't too much. My throats are .311 and it leaves lead in the cylinder if I shoot cast. So I need to do something.

 

[WARD]

In a brief conversation with David Manson yesterday I was told that a .3125 reamer with one pilot would cost about $125. The .314 is the standard size but he would grind one to my desired size. Delivery would be within a couple of weeks. He said it might be difficult to take so little out of the Ruger with the reamer.

He suggested that I try to find a machine shop with a Sunnen Hone and consider having the cylinder honed professionally. This method of honing would assure concentricity.

Some questions have come to mind:

How many pilots are needed? They appear to be available in 5/10,000 increments (ie .3090, .3095, .3100, .3105 etc.)

What sizes for the pilots? I slugged only one Single Six (I own several) using a soft lead round ball. All six chambers came out pretty much right on .3110. Do you buy that size pilot or slightly smaller?

What other questions need to be answered before purchase?

BenT - I considered the .313 but I think I would rather try to keep it a little tighter than the bullets. I do not know how precise this operation will turn out and I do not want the throats to be oversize! I would not be adverse to sharing expenses - it appears that there is a 45 throat reamer making the rounds these days with good success.....

Ward

 

[BenT]

Ward I believe the pilot just needs to be the size of your existing throat to make sure that the reamer is centered. So you should only need one.That is assumming all your guns are the same at .311.

 

[WARD]

I don't think we can assume that all cylinder throats are the same.

When you are measuring to 1/10,000 and are not a practicing machinist with the best of tools, there might be some different results.

Ward

 

[BenT]

On Brownwells website , The Manson reamer pilot pack for 45 colt comes with six pilots . So I would think that you would need at least 3 . .3105,.311, and .3115. Tough call unless you slug all your throats. Plus we are talking 5/10,000 of an inch . Your base pin has more slop than that for the cylinder and bore to align.

 

[eric conrad]

If your shooting cast bullets I would think the .314 would be the way to go.
I wish someone reamed throats for the 30carbine.
Eric

 

[BenT]

Eric , my bullets drop out of the mould at .313- .3132 so I would like to keep them as close to that as possible. I would like to take small steps in opening up the throats and checking accuracy as I go.

 

[cas6969]

The .32's are a pain because of the size, the flutes are very shallow so there's nowhere for the metal to go. They are always the ugliest of the lot.


The pilots are funny, if you have .314 throat (in theory) and a .314 pilot, you MIGHT be able to get the pilot in it. But more often than not you won't be able to ream it because the fit is so tight it just won't budge.

 

[WARD]

CAS
Are you suggesting to go somewhat undersize in the pilot?

Ward

 

[BenT]

I was down to my buddy's last night. His Buckeye throats seem to be .312, his Davidsons Vaquero are .314 and my baby Vaquero are 311. It's going to be raining the next couple days . But hopefully Sunday we are going to shoot all of these side by side using 313 cast bullets and see what the accuracy difference is. Hopefully 314 throats shoot just fine and then I can send my cylinder to CAS and be done with it.

 

[WARD]

Watch for leading as well as accuracy. Leading may be more likely to happen if the bullet is smaller than the throat.

Ward

 

[cas6969]

You often have no choice but to go ever so slightly undersized or the reamer won't move. Cylinder throats (especially Rugers) are rarely perfect (true or smooth, often they're not cut all the way through), if you match it exactly it usually it's so tight it won't work.

 

[BenT]

My buddy and I got together this morning and shot the 32 H&R's.

Blackhawk cylinder av. size .312 Barrel length 6 1/2 in

Vaquero cylinder av. size .314 Barrel length 5 1/2 in

Baby Vaquero cylinder av. size .311 Barrel length 4 5/8 in

Loads were with .313 lead bullets.

Shot 6 times and measured best 4 shot groups.

Blackhawk group size 1 3/4 "

Vaquero group size 1 1/8 "

Baby Vaquero group size 1 1/2 "

I'm surprised that my baby Vaquero shot that good of a group with tight throats. But it also shows that if throats are .001 over bullet diameter it does not negatively affect accuracy.

My problem was lead build up in the cylinder to a point where you could not reload. So CAS you will probably be getting an e-mail from me about cylinder work.

 

[WARD]

This weekend I took a few minutes and played with four different SS 32 mag Rugers. Two are from the 80's with adjustable sights. Two are mini Vaquero's - one of which is stainless and one is blued with BH grips.

I rummaged through my various boxes of bullets for reloading and found a variety of diameters. There were some Hornady .312 (for 32 mag) and .310 (for 7.62x39) and some Speer .311 (also for 7.62x39) diameter bullets. After scrubbing all the cylinders with a bronze brush I tried passing the various bullets through each cylinder.

The .310 went through all 24 chambers. A couple needed only a small amount of force, most dropped right through. The .311 could be made to pass through all 24 chambers when some force was applied. Most required a brass punch and a plastic hammer to get the .311 diameter to pass through. Some required simple pressure while a couple required some serious whacks with the punch. The .312 would not come close to passing any chambers.

Next I will try to find some time to check out barrel diameters and see how they compare.

Ben - can you tell me more about the leading you encountered? Was it on all guns or which ones?

CAS - Would you care to share your opinion on the benefits of going with your .314 cylinder throats? Have you gotten much feedback from customers?

Thanks guys,
Ward

 

[edlmann]

I was down to my buddy's last night. His Buckeye throats seem to be .312, his Davidsons Vaquero are .314 and my baby Vaquero are 311.

How did you measure these? Reason I ask is that Ruger throats can be oval, which you may not detect with a micrometer. You could also get inconsistent results trying to measure throat diameter. I bought a set of pin gauges last year.

I am not convinced of the absolute accuracy, but they certainly make it easy to detect a trend or inconsistency, as well as being easy to detect an oval throat.

Sunday we are going to shoot all of these side by side using 313 cast bullets and see what the accuracy difference is. Hopefully 314 throats shoot just fine and then I can send my cylinder to CAS and be done with it.

I see several other variables at play here. A better test, but not diagnostic, would be a before-and-after with the same pistol under the same conditions.

 

[BenT]

Edlmann , pin guages would be great . But I have to make judgements based on the tools at hand.

Ward , the lead problem I experienced was as follows. I was using jacketed bullets for my 32 H&R mag hot loads . I use .313 lead bullets for my 32 sw long plinking loads. Which I have a couple different revolvers in that caliber. After using the 32sw long loads ,lead is getting shave off by the smaller throats to the point that I cannot chamber a 32 h&r cartridge all the way in without cleaning all the lead out of the cylinder.

Because of the cost and scarcity of jacket bullets . I plan on using cast in all my loads . So I just want to fix the throat leading issue. At the velocities that I am shooting I don't forsee going back to jacketed bullets.