Boring the breech

[flyweightnate]

Has anyone bored a new Sterling for a Freak insert to go to the bolt face? Then a freak front to accept another 2" of Freak XL insert?

[Hellion360]

I was just thinking about this like last week. I have never seen it done, but I don't see why it wouldn't work just fine. My VKC duck is done a lot like this.

[XEMON]

Never thought of doing it on the sterling, but that's what I did to the phoenix.

I am gonna make a spacer for the insert to seat at the right spot.
What about using a normal freak back and chopping down XL Inserts to length?

[flyweightnate]

Never thought of doing it on the sterling, but that's what I did to the phoenix.

I am gonna make a spacer for the insert to seat at the right spot.
What about using a normal freak back and chopping down XL Inserts to length?

I was thinking of just making a "special" front so I could use a normal back and XL inserts. Less future work if I get more sizes.

[XEMON]

we need to convince @doc to make "blank front" we can cut and thread to the length we need 😅

[Richter power]

Check out super stanchy customs milling page https://stanchy.com/pages/superstanchy@gmail.com

[flyweightnate]

Check out super stanchy customs milling page https://stanchy.com/pages/superstanchy@gmail.com

Eh, I've heard some bad stories. If I'm sending off a NIB gun, I'd rather someone with a better reputation.

If I find a guy who will bore the body, anyone in for a group run? Probably save a ton on setup costs.

I might just get the stock barrel or a random 1piece bored to 4.25" deep, and go with 5" inserts to match. There's about .8" from the end of the barrel to the start of the bolt.

[flyweightnate]

In the interest of science, I wanted to see what could be done on a lathe with neither a face plate nor a steady rest.

(No Sterlings were harmed.)

I took a Lapco Spyder .685 "bottleneck"-style sizer, chucked it up, and bored it to .751". Too big for a Freak, I know.

Then I took a junky Spyder body, and screwed in my sizer.

Then I put a 3/4" drill in my hand drill, clamped the Spyder body to my bench, and tried to use that sizer to guide the drill.

Bad idea. The drill dug in way too hard, and made a mess. The sizer did OK due to the liberal oil film, but I didn't get chips of aluminum from the body, I got chunks. Which is why I tested on a $10 Spyder first.

I doubt a reamer can take a 0.030" cut by hand, but even a piloted counterbore might be a bit aggressive to run with a hand drill. This looks like it's best left to people with bigger machine tools.

My only other idea is to make an expanding mandrel, chuck it in my lathe, and put it through the top tube of the body. Then, see if I can either drill or bore it from there. Might be a bit floppy, though, sticking out that far from the chuck.

[XEMON]

My only other idea is to make an expanding mandrel, chuck it in my lathe, and put it through the top tube of the body. Then, see if I can either drill or bore it from there. Might be a bit floppy, though, sticking out that far from the chuck.

I've thought about trying something like that with a steady rest on something like your "bored sizer" to stabilize the front.
My original idea was to use this on barrel to freak them, but it would work well on guns too 😅

[flyweightnate]

I've thought about trying something like that with a steady rest on something like your "bored sizer" to stabilize the front.
My original idea was to use this on barrel to freak them, but it would work well on guns too 😅

My biggest issue to date with this "lathe" (Enco clone of a Grizzly 4015 3 in 1) is that nobody ever made a steady rest for it. It really limits the capability in unique and frustrating ways.

[Araphel]

Do you have a 4 jaw chuck?

[flyweightnate]

Nope. Can't decide whether to spend the extra on this lathe or wait for a better one to come along.

[cheapguitarscheapthrills]

I just had my stock barrel done for the Bronze series but it's flush with the barrel back