OzFclass

Ok all you f class gear nuts. Help is needed are there any good hand crowning tools on the market.

Assuming you only want to nip up. Certainly not the 11 degree lathe cut.

45° MUZZLE/CYLINDER CHAMFERING CUTTER & BRASS PILOT
BROWNELLS

$100.99 - $101.99

Have a look at this on
www.mansonreamers.com

Muzzle Crown Refacing Tool Kit

Easy to use and the finish is excellent

I have used a few types of hand crowning tools, none of them have been up tk what I would say is match grade quality.

I was leant a full set of the Manson gear by a prominent dealer here in Brisbane to test, after several uses in a few different situations and barrels we agrees it was not up to competition grade finishes and they decided not to stock them.

I don't think you could go past a lathe job myself.

jasmay wrote:I have used a few types of hand crowning tools, none of them have been up tk what I would say is match grade quality.

I was leant a full set of the Manson gear by a prominent dealer here in Brisbane to test, after several uses in a few different situations and barrels we agrees it was not up to competition grade finishes and they decided not to stock them.

I don't think you could go past a lathe job myself.

100% correct!!!
Keith H.

Keith, I also believe that a correctly produced lathe crown is ideal, however because of time and distance to the nearest person I would have do this job I found that I was shooting well past the use by date of my rifle.
Since buying the manson kit I can now recrown as needed and testing after crowning at 300yds my rifle will shoot sub 0.35 moa.
As I can not hold better than this(or any where near it) and even if shot as a F class rifle I believe that I am better off.
It has also given me the confidence to shoot with a single 11 degree crown, I do not do the 45 degree relief, as if I do damage the crown I can fix it (note this has never happened so far)
I have altered my cleaning regime so that I do not drag anything back into the bore past the crown

Richard

RMc wrote:Keith, I also believe that a correctly produced lathe crown is ideal, however because of time and distance to the nearest person I would have do this job I found that I was shooting well past the use by date of my rifle.
Since buying the manson kit I can now recrown as needed and testing after crowning at 300yds my rifle will shoot sub 0.35 moa.
As I can not hold better than this(or any where near it) and even if shot as a F class rifle I believe that I am better off.
It has also given me the confidence to shoot with a single 11 degree crown, I do not do the 45 degree relief, as if I do damage the crown I can fix it (note this has never happened so far)
I have altered my cleaning regime so that I do not drag anything back into the bore past the crown

Richard

What I was referring to & I think it was also Jasmay's meaning too, is that the hand tools may work, but do not do a professional job which to me is unacceptable. It must be understood that it is hand operated piloted tools I am referring to, not piloted tools that are used in a lathe.
Keith H.

Exactly right Keith, they work, but from more peoples perspectives than just my own, they are not up to match grade quality, fine for hunting etc.

The other thing I don't like is the pilots for the Manson reamer, it would be hard to cause damage to the bore if you were not careful. They also have a slight amount of flex I found.

How often are people re crowning anyway? If you take good care of your rig you shouldn't need to re crown, just get it done when you set your chamber forward.

The other thing is, removing a barrel and express posting it to your smith is not that hard.

Everyone has their own preferences, mine is certainly not hand tools.

Then how is a muzzle set up for concentricity in a lathe to be concentric to the axis of the bore if it is worn or eroded ?? Chop

I would think that when a new barrel is fitted and crowned the end of a barrel should be turned at the same time concentric to the axis of the bore to make it easier to set up for further crowning ? just a thought , Chop

Your last post was spot on, a good smith will set everything up true at the one time.

As for trying it up in the lathe if the bore has some wear, there are a couple of methods, the easiest of which is probably using range rods with suitable pilots.

Jasmay wrote

How often are people re crowning anyway? If you take good care of your rig you shouldn't need to re crown, just get it done when you set your chamber forward.

My info is that the crown should be done between 500-700 and chamber at approx. 1500 for a 308, so unless I want to rechamber excessively touching up the crown seems like a good idea.

Fair call.

As a side note, I have not played around with crowns, my rig has about 3500 on it, I just shot a 60.8 yesterday with it. I do think how we take care if things makes a difference. Not saying you don't, you may have other issues.

That's my experience anyway....

jasmay wrote:Fair call.

As a side note, I have not played around with crowns, my rig has about 3500 on it, I just shot a 60.8 yesterday with it. I do think how we take care if things makes a difference. Not saying you don't, you may have other issues.

That's my experience anyway....

Mine too! I rarely find the need to touch my personal crowns between chamberings. I do check them often with my Hawkeye though. having said that I often see crown damage on my customers crowns, mostly cleaning rod fitting (jags & brushes ect) damage, nicks & burrs on the crown edge, these only need to be barely noticeable to destroy accuracy. Those crowns that do not have the 40 degree "break" on the crown edge are more vulnerable to this damage.
Keith H.

Keith you are spot on with the 40 degree nip at the edge of the crown to prevent damage.