Barrel replacement illustrated

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by tmmcnay@hotmail.com

I have a 1917 Luger 9mm with...a slightly pitted barrel that I want to replace...what tools are necessary...?

Originally Posted by John Sabato

If you decide to replace the barrel/receiver... contact member LugerDoc...

John's advice is probably your best bet...The special tools can be expensive...and the learning curve can be steep...Tom Heller [LugerDoc] and/or Gerry Tomek [G.T.] have all the tools and fixtures necessary to swap out barrels...

But since you asked...

Here's a quick & dirty guide to barrel swapping...

We get at least one post a month asking about swapping Luger barrels...I have a receiver with a 4 3/4" Tikkakoski barrel on it, I want to swap in a 5 7/8" barrel...here's what I use to do it...

- Barrel vise
- Action wrench
- Receiver block [brass]
- Squib rod [brass]
- Receiver shield [brass sheet]
- Receiver/block bolt
- 3/4" wrenches



I clamp the barrel in the vise with the squib rod inserted up to the breech face. Barrel has a turn of masking tape so the finish doesn't get scratched. Squib rod keeps the barrel from collapsing from the pressure of the vise. Receiver block is installed with bolt. The block keeps the receiver from twisting while unscrewing. Brass shield draped over receiver to prevent scratching, wrench is attached.



Receiver is unscrewed. One sharp smack with my hand on the wrench usually breaks it free.





5 7/8" barrel ready to go in. All threads cleaned. Threads get a light coating of grease. Masking tape on barrel again.



Receiver is screwed in by hand until it won't go any further. It has ~1/16 to 1/8 turn until the barrel/front sight is perpendicular with the receiver [or one extractor notch width]. Just right.



Receiver block installed again, wrench attached with brass shield. Receiver tightened until it is perpendicular with front sight.



Everything taken apart. New barrel installed & ready to go.



I sometimes use a special fixture that clamps to the front sight base to attach a spirit level (not shown), and another spirit level laid across the receiver to get the barrel and receiver perpendicular. Here's a pic of an artillery barrel being leveled/installed using the spirit levels (but not the front sight fixture). Also, for clarity, I have left the brass receiver block off for the pics (but it is used for final assembly).



Some slight tweaking may be necessary to get the F&R sights aligned after leveling/installing.

That's it. I spend about an hour doing the whole job, including cleaning. There are other ways to swap barrels, but this way works for me.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by lfid

where do we buy the kit to do the rebarrels ? kind of kidding - but is there a source for tools that are correct ?

are the barrel vise bushings tapered ?

do the squibb rods fit like friction fit or more loosely ?

have you had cases that required heating with torch , grinding away the old barrel flange to release pressure , rusted threads , other heroics etc ?

There is a guy on eBay who sells the vise & wrench; bushings are tapered; squib rods are a sliding fit in a new barrel, for older ones, Travers sells ground steel rods slightly oversize; some barrels require a thin ring to clock correctly, some require metal to be removed (I use a lathe).

Originally Posted by Rick W.

Some ideas were presented that I had not seen on a web before. Kinda like the receiver block, did that idea come from Martinis? Not too sure for myself about the rod down the bore, but sure cannot hurt.

Some like a little rosin on top of the tape, and the metal surfaces previously gone over with some acetone, I am sure you just forgot to mention those.

The comment on headspace is revelent to me.

The use of spirit levels renews my interest in such.

Receiver block idea came from my work with AR-15's/M16's; the rod down the bore is a must (for me anyway) as I have crushed a barrel [sob!] without one; I haven't needed rosin but it's a good idea (I don't have any); I use lacquer thinner to remove the tape residue; I didn't get into headspace because everyone has their own idea as to what is the correct headspace - if you like GO-NO GO gauges then they are very handy. I have several popular finish chamber cutting reamers so I can adjust headspace as needed. The spirit level is a quick & dirty way to index the barrel; you can't really see the sight alignment while it's in the vise. Here's a pic of the front sight base fixture I use on Lugers (it also doubles as a Mauser M1896 lathe center, for turning replacement barrels on Broomhandles)...



(Note the oblong shape of the bore...this is the crushed barrel from not using a squib rod)...

Here's the same tool in a Mauser receiver...for turning between centers...



Here's a pic of some mandrels and sleeves used for turning Luger/Lahti barrels, Mauser receivers, etc...

[sheepherder]

And here's a Q&D setup of the two spirit levels, front sight tool, and receiver block in action...



In actual use, the levels would be secured with a rubber band to keep from falling off...I left the wrench off for clarity...

[Hugh]

I have had to soak barrel threads in penetrating oil, and have left the bbld receiver in the freezer overnight to loosen them for removal. I had one bbl that twisted until the sight was turned 90 degrees before the bbl broke loose! In retrospect, it might have been easier to grind the shoulder off!

[sheepherder]

Please note - Although my username appears on this thread, it is actually comments extracted from a longer thread. Please see -

http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthread.php?t=25223

- for the complete thread.

Thank you for your patience!

[John Sabato]

I haven't needed rosin but it's a good idea (I don't have any);

Just buy yourself a bowler's resin bag

http://www.bowling.com/products/bowl...n-grip-bag.htm

... or at the local bowling alley shop. There is enough resin in one of those to do dozens of barrels and you can reuse it most of the time if you are careful... just keep it in a zip lock bag...

[Blastattack]

How much torque do you put on the bolts that hold the wrench onto the receiver? Is it torqued down? Or just snug enough that the wrench will not shift on the receiver?

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by Blastattack

How much torque do you put on the bolts that hold the wrench onto the receiver? Is it torqued down? Or just snug enough that the wrench will not shift on the receiver?

My receiver wrench has been modified slightly to hold the brass shim stock between the receiver and the wrench. It is not tight...You don't want it tight...

This is surely not the only way to swap barrels, and not even the best way; it is just my way to do it...And my techniques evolve constantly...

[Blastattack]

Thank you very much! I very much like your setup and plan on copying it. Currently I'm in the process of designing and drawing up the tooling i will need for this project. The wrench is almost fully designed now

Concerning the dimensions for your receiver block; did you reverse engineer them from your receiver(s) or did you take them from a blueprint, and shrink them a few thou?

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by Blastattack

Concerning the dimensions for your receiver block; did you reverse engineer them from your receiver(s) or did you take them from a blueprint, and shrink them a few thou?

The former.

Edit: I've added some more inserts for the barrel vise, more ground drill blanks for the barrel reinforcements, and use a dial indicator for the taper. I replaced the Grade 8 bolts in the barrel vise with Grade 8 studs and nuts/washers.

A few of the two-piece inserts are for Nambu, Lahti, Mauser, and M1911/Star BM/Tokarev. The single-piece inserts are for rifles that I will never own (they came with the barrel vise).

Because different Luger barrel lengths have different tapers, I make my own inserts. I use 1 1/2" 6061-T6 aluminum rod bored to the specific taper of the 4, 6, 8 inch 9mm barrel; 30 cal 'pencil profile' uses different inserts.

I reinforce the bore with ground steel rods [drill blanks]. If you don't reinforce the bore, it will squish.

Figuring the taper for the odd insert is easy. I mount the barrel between centers and mount a dial indicator on my compound rest. I run the dial indicator along the barrel taper and adjust the compound rest until I get zero along the entire length of the taper. Tighten down the compound rest & tool post, drill out the chunk of aluminum rod to about 7/16", then bore the taper using the compound rest travel. Perfect taper for that barrel.

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by sheepherder

I reinforce the bore with ground steel rods [drill blanks]. If you don't reinforce the bore, it will squish.

If it did not, G.T. would be unable to remedy those bulges!

[raygun]

I am thinking of replacing the barrel in one of my Lugers . AS MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE TO SEND IT TO ONE OF YOU guys who know what your doing the paperwork would be horrendous. We have good armourers here in Australia so I would like to know where I can buy an authentic barrel if there is any such thing ?
and what ARE MY choices in terms of length ? your kind advise is always appreciated .

chris

[rhuff]

You will want to contact Lugerdoc(Tom Heller), and GT, both members of this forum and good folks to work with. They will most likely have what you need/desire.

[sheepherder]

I had posted this in another thread, but since a member asked...

The eBay username of the maker of the Luger Action Wrench and Barrel Vise is wallycooper. He makes the wrenches and vises for dozens of different firearms. He does a run of a specific firearm tool and then moves on to another. Here's a couple of pics of what he has currently on eBay. An eBay email about Luger vise/wrench availability should get you an idea of when they will be available.

Barrel reinforcement rods ['drill blanks'] are available from Travers in a variety of sizes - Metric, number. letter, and fractional. The barrel needs this support during clamping.

The wrench, vise, and barrel reinforcement rod are what I consider bare minimum of tools to swap out Luger barrels. I make my own vise inserts now, since Luger barrel tapers can differ. And I still wrap the barrel in one layer of 2" masking tape to reduce/eliminate marring the finish.

Much easier & cheaper to have Tom [lugerdoc] or Gerry [G.T.]swap out your barrel for you!

[Anfanger]

I can attest to the excellent service, communication, value, and expertise that I have had with GT working on my Luger shooters.
He is a resource that we are fortunate to have, and I highly recommend him.
His turnaround time was very quick with the work I sent.

[dalek]

Is this walleycooper still around? I looked for him on ebay and nothing

NVM, found him

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by dalek

Is this walleycooper still around? I looked for him on ebay and nothing

NVM, found him

Did I spell it wrong??? Yup. Corrected!

[Puretexan]

http://stores.ebay.com/wallycooper-gunsmith-supplies

[CyborgDokey]

Hi! New to the forums here. I would like to convert my 1923 DWM 30 luger to 9mm. I have the 9mm barrel ready to go and great condition. I need help on how to do so. I can't DM or post on the forums for some reason.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by CyborgDokey

Hi! New to the forums here. I would like to convert my 1923 DWM 30 luger to 9mm. I have the 9mm barrel ready to go and great condition. I need help on how to do so.

Is this a one-time thing, or do you plan on changing many (more than 3) barrels??? The equipment is expensive, but some members here do offer a barrel replacement service.

I can't DM or post on the forums for some reason.

You have to have a certain number of posts to participate. Post a couple more times, start another thread, and then you'll be able to attach pics, PM members, have albums, etc.