I am a newbie to this forum, gun lover, tool lover and tinkerer. Great grandfather was an old time gunsmith. Grew up watching and "helping" him. Obviously I am in over my head but I enjoy it.
I have a 1917 DMW I found in a junk store. It shoots and proceses ammunition fine.
Barrel is bent slightly and bore is bad. It looks like someone shot corrosive amunition and let it sit for years. The serial numbers are from 2 or 3 different guns. FIt is tight but reasonable.
My goal is a decent shooter. I shoot a fair amount, mostly rifles and target pistols but just for fun. I would kind of like to get one of the artillery stocks and a artillery barrel and use the conglomeration to plink.
I bought an action wrench and barrel vise from here.
http://stores.ebay.ca/wallycooper-gunsmith-supplies It is an extremely nice setup. The photos on his site do not do it justice. This is a very nice tool.
I removed barrel (a lot of force a little liquid wrench and very little heat). I got the old barrel off without buggering anything up.
Before removal I could see the alignment of the witness marks where they calibrated the barrel on installation.
My questions
Sarco, Numrich and others show standard reproduction barrels. Is it reasonable to think one would thread on and shoot without modifications? If no then what kind of modification should I expect?
I guess I am asking will a new barrel thread in and stop in the appropriate location? I feel pretty certain that is a fantasy but I am wondering how you stop at the appropriate position (I guess where sight is perpendicular to sighting plane) and lock down the barrel so the calibration does not drift?
Sarco shows an Artillery barrel with artillery sight. Are there any mechanical obstacles to threading this barrel on my shooter and it working?
I have seen you guys say Sarco has marginal quality. Where can I buy a good barrel?
Is a new barrel going to go in so tight that it is difficult to remove? I would like to get a long and short barrel and maybe swap when I am bored. Is this a bad idea?
Again I don't consider this an investment. It is a hobby. I don't care about ROI. I will find a valuable collector some day and will buy it. For now I just want to shoot.
I appreciate any input you can offer.
Scott