homemade TC barrels

[birdshot8's]

Anyone making their own barrels for Thompson Contenders?. The price of just a barrel on ebay exceed the value of the the pistol. Doesn't look like a difficult project. Am I right?

 

[Edarnold]

Are you in a position to heat-treat the breech portion of the barrel. Unless the locking lug is hardened I don't think you would get much of a useful life.

 

[Jim Watson]

TC attaches the barrel lug by electron beam welding. I don't know what other vendors use, but it must be a precision weld with low heat loss into the barrel.

 

[birdshot8's]

good info, thanks.

 

[Kp321]

Several years ago, I made a 410 barrel for a Contender Carbine. I started with a ragged looking Contender Hornet barrel and an old H&R 410 barrel. Cut the Hornet barrel just ahead of the underlug and bored it out to accept the shotgun barrel which I had turned down. Silver soldered them together, making sure to heat sink the underlug. Some 1911 and Browning High Power barrels are made the same way.

 

[birdshot8's]

excellent. I am thinking I will start with a carbon moly block and whittle it down, then weld it to a barrel prior to finishing the chamber.

 

[birdshot8's]

Edarnold, Thanks for the heads up on the heat treatment. I have a friend who has some training in metallurgy.

 

[jmorris]

If you don't want to weld http://www.eagleviewarms.com/?page_id=191

These guys used a TIG welder to weld the lug on a .2 MOA TC.

http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek055.html

Yeah that's two tenths of an MOA rifle, impressive for a TC.

 

[Jim Watson]

Neat.
If you have a fully equipped gunsmith's shop.

 

[jmorris]

Yep, all it takes to build anything is one of everything.