We offer a rebarreling service for rifles of all types. Usually we supply only match-grade barrels as the time taken in precision fitting them to the action is the same as for the cheaper ones. The price difference is usually not sufficient to justify anything of a lesser quality and risking the possibility of poor accuracy.
‘Accurising’ the action basically involves ‘truing’ or correcting any dimensional inaccuracies which are very commonplace in factory mass-produced actions, especially older military ones which may take a lot of work to bring up to acceptable standard. This work must be completed on the action before the barrel is to be fitted. We offer most of the common chamberings, special chamberings may be accommodated on request, however this may be at extra cost.
Once your new barrel has been fitted the calibre designation is engraved (not stamped) on the barrel shank as a finishing touch. This is not only tidier, but does not induce any stress into the surface of the barrel steel.
NEW for 2021 – Doosan LEO1600 CNC lathe – bespoke machine for highest-quality rifle barrel installations.
Before fitting your new custom barrel to your custom action (or trued factory action) a few barrel thread test stubs are machined in our special CNC lathe to confirm the correct thread specs for that individual action, and to also determine the timing position of the individual receiver when hand tight.
Special-ordered from Korea in 2021, our Doosan LEO1600 special CNC lathe (with manual chucks) is shown in various pics here part way through the job, and is showing the through-bore coolant system which allows us to get the absolute best finish on chambers that are as close to reamer specs as possible.
Final pics show 4 carbon-wrapped USA-made cut-rifled stainless barrels, about to be final fitted to their actions, then re-inspected and test-fired.
Guys, top quality barrels like this are very expensive and there is often a long waiting list. Every custom barrel – whether imported or NZ made – deserves the absolute best possible installation job in order to give it the best chance of being an accurate and reliable performer. At D.F. Maisey Gunsmithing we have the best CNC lathe setup for doing the most accurate and consistent machining work on all top quality barrels, using the best techniques and methods learned and refined over 25 years as a qualified gunsmith, and with a dedication to do every job to the highest standards possible.
Whether you are a target shooter who wants 5 or more identical barrels machined and prepped all ready for the coming season, or just one barrel for a custom hunting rifle, we can take care of it.
(Edit: barrels are 28” .300PRC, two 24” 7mmPRC, and 26” 7mmLRM.
The rigidity and accuracy of this Doosan CNC lathe means we can hit a tolerance of 0.0001” to 0.0002” of reamed headspace depth if required, which by comparison is very hard to achieve on a conventional manual lathe. )
A few other pics also showing 4x fully-trued Rem700 actions, including re-cut female threads.
See our facebook page for more info and pics:
https://www.facebook.com/gunsmith.co.nz
Chamber Reamer List
Click here to view our current chamber reamer list. Chambers not listed here may be available on special order.
Information on barrel fluting
Click here to view our fluting notes.
Notes on rifle barrel fitting:
The accuracy potential of a good barrel blank is only as good as the gunsmithing employed to install it. To further improve the quality of our barrel fitting we have (in late 2007) installed a GTR chamber flushing system to both of our lathes used for barrel fitting. A chamber reamer receiving constant coolant fluid pumped under high pressure from the muzzle, down the bore and out through the reamer, ensures that tolerances are kept to a minimum, while also producing an outstanding finish and increasing tool life. No swarf ever travels down the bore which may mar the finish, and ring marks in the chamber walls are non-existent.
Our barrel fitting is usually done ‘through the headstock’ in a specially designed spider-chuck, or ‘between centres’ utilising a custom-made floating reamer guide and high quality interchangeable-pilot chamber reamers, ensuring that all chambers cut are perfectly concentric and in-line with the bore. The barrel fitting method that will be used depends on several factors such and barrel bore straightness, length, chamber length, and the degree of machining precision required. (i.e. for short-barrelled hunting rifles with short chambers to be machined into very straight barrel bores, then ‘between centres’ is usually perfectly acceptable, and precise. For very long barrels for precision shooting applications, and very long or magnum chambers to be reamed, then the barrel is usually machined ‘through the headstock’ after carefully dialling in the last 4 inches of the bore to run dead true, to ensure that there is to be no runout at the finished throat location. This ensures that the projectile get a good straight start into the bore. ( Throat concentricity to the bore is something that is sadly lacking on many mass-produced factory rifle barrels.)
Both of our manual lathes for barrel work feature high-precision headstock bearings, with the larger lathe being specially made for us to custom order, by a well known manufacturer who produces the South Bend, Kent, and ‘Turret’ branded lathes. We also have literally over $10,000 worth of specialist chamber reamers, bore pilots, throating reamers, centre reamers, form tooling, and other reamers.
