Question: Removing Barrel from receiver Henry Lever Action

RedfordTrails

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Jun 28, 2011
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Hi, the fire arm I'm working with is unloaded. Checking and being SURE of this is always the first step. :)

I'm going to be engraving the receiver on a Henry Lever action. I have the gun torn down to just a receiver and barrel and have ordered a barrel vice and action wrench to finish the disassembly. To this point and including the engraving I have things under control.

I'd like to be able to get this gun back together safe and usable. Headspace seems to be the big concern for a barrel removal. I'm going to get "go - no go" gauges to check the headspace when I re-install the barrel.

My questions are has anyone here removed and re-installed the same barrel to a receiver before? If I return the barrel to the same place rotationally speaking will I most likely have not changed the headspace?

Anything else I should take into consideration?
 

Dulltool

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Is this a reproduction 1860's Henry or one of the new rifles?.... if new is it a .22 or the .44?

It's almost impossible to screw up reinstalling a barrel as the front sight needs to be at 12 o'clock. If you are reinstalling a barrel without a sight I would make a small locating mark on both the barrel and the receiver under the stock.
 

RedfordTrails

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It's the big boy .44 colt. I noticed half of Henry's lever actions actually have a receiver cover, so you wouldn't need to pull the barrel. This particular model is a solid brass receiver though.
 

scott99

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HI,a head space check is needed every time a barrel is removed. Just taking it off and putting it back will most likely make the head space to fall outside safe specs. Sometimes a barrel can be replaced by putting a few "small" punch markes on the recever where the barrel screws up, and I do mean SMALL. in this way you can return the sights to the proper place in the barrel rotation, BUT YOU STILL NEED TO DO A HEAD SPACE CHECK !!!!!!

Remenber you a playing with pressure that can blow your head off!!!! Don'r "fake" a job of this type, if you don't know how it is done find somebody that does.

Sorry for the rant but this is somthing that can kill somebody.

scott99 :( :shock:
 

scott99

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Hi again, I don't think your gun is a .44, that would make it a 44 mag and they don't make one in that caliber. What you probably have is a .45 colt cartrige that has much lower pressure. Reas the stuff on the barrel and I think you will find the info there.

scott99 :( :shock:
 

JJ Roberts

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Redford,I would get friendly with a good gunsmith in your area.That would be your best bet. J.J.
 

RedfordTrails

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Yes it's the .45 colt. I am absolutely going to have the headspace checked by a gun smith. Lets say it falls out of spec though. In that case we're talking about a new barrel or machining the bolt and that means a lot more money for the project. I'm wondering with barrel removal what is the likely hood that the headspace will be correct upon returning the barrel to it's original position? Is it like a 50% chance better or worse?
 

Dulltool

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Nothing magical happens simply by removing and reinstalling a barrel. The bolt will not grow... the barrel won't shrink. Just line up your indexing marks and you are ready to go... This is 100%.
 

scott99

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Hi, barrels can be removed and reset without too much trouble if you are careful and know what you are doing. You have several ways to do this and I will just give a few examples. You can as I said in my first reply put a few SMALL punch marks where the barrel meets the reciever this will "bump up" the metal a bit and the barrel will become tight before top dead center and with a barrel wrench can be then screwed to the proper place with the front sight right where it should be. CHECK THE HEAD SPACE !!!!

If you are way out of shape the barrel can be put in a lathe and cut back a few thousands and then set back in the action at the proper rotation (sight at the top) but then you must cut the chamber face back the same amount and deepen the chamber itself. This requires a chambering reamer many bucks in that alone.CHECK THE HEAD SPACE !!!

You can chuck the action in a lathe and turn back the action face and then (with one more compleat turn) reset the barrel. Again you will need to trim back the chamber face and run a reamer in to spec out the head space.

I would say that if you are going to do just one gun the outlay for machine tools will break the bank to bits. If you are not a good machinist with a large metal lathe (10 inch min) you would be best off to leave this type of work to a GOOD gunsmith. All the tools, dial indicators,reamers and such are very expensive, and even then you will have to learn how to use them.

I have produced many long range target guns and have thousands of dollars invested to get the job done, I spent this money over a lifetime and started doing it after I had become a machinist.

I don't want bum you out but setting in a barrel is very tedious and demanding work, and if you make a mistake you may blow up a gun.

IMPORTANT!!!! NEVER NEVER MACHINE BACK A BOLT FACE TO SET A BARREL. This will ruin the fit of every other part of the action and the gun is destroyed, and will not only fail to function but will be very dangerous.

I hope you read this and understand I am not trying to keep you from learning and am only trying to show you what such a job involves.

GOOD LUCK scott99 :biggrin:
 

scott99

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HI again I see as I was writing another member has writen that resetting a barrel is no big deal, well everybody has an opinion. I guess you will have to chose what works for you. I suggest that you migt look at a book on the subject or talk to a qualified gunsmith and take your pick.

Have a good one scott99 :thinking:
 

JJ Roberts

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Redford,You really need to get with a gunsmith before you mess up the action & the barrel.A good gunsmith will have a barrel vice,the right wrench to remove the action.I have three gunsmiths I can go too.From what I've read you don't have the right tools for the job. J.J.
 

mitch

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i'm with DullTool on this one. taking a barrel off and then screwing it back on is no big deal (or at least should not be). ASSUMING a few basic things- There is a clear sharp 'witness mark*' (no, you don't need several- one good one under the wood is plenty) to accurately index back to. Care has been taken not to damage anything in the process thru proper use of the correct bbl wrench, action vise, etc. The action is of good quality- and here is where I agree a little with Scott99- if the quality of the action is at all suspect (more specifically- too soft), i'd recommend double checking headspace to make sure that the simple process of removing & remounting the barrel didn't screw something up.

let's look at the math, shall we? a typical Mauser thread is about 12 to the inch, or .0833"/thd. Even if you missed the witness mark by 3.6° (a hundredth of a full turn), which is well over the width of the mark itself, you'd still only affect the linear/axial travel of the barrel into the action by less than one one-thousandth of an inch. Due to variations in ammo, headspacing is never that critical in anything less than a super-precision benchrest rifle. In other words, on a good action & barrel, with the proper tools & technique, a monkey should be able to successfully remove & reinstall a rifle barrel without unduly affecting headspace.

however- to reiterate, if one has any reason whatsoever to suspect all is not as it should be, then by all means have the headspace double-checked with the correct Go/No-Go gages.

*a witness mark is usually made with a sharp V-shaped chisel which simultaneously puts matching, perfectly aligned tiny grooves in the barrel shoulder & the breech face when struck.
 

Weldon47

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IF they'll do it: Send it to Henry & have them pull the barrel for you, then, have them reinstall it when you are through.

Sometimes an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
My thoughts,

Weldon:cool:
 

scott99

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HI, I am sorry I caused so much controversy about barrel removal and replacment. In my experience I have found that many rifles (especially imports) when the original barrel is placed the manufacturer has put the barrel on with a machine and the original threads have been streached at that time. When the barrel is removed and replaced the front sight does not realine properly leaving the front sight past TDC when tightened to proper spec. Sometimes people will make a witness mark and turn the barrel to that point and stop. This unfortunetly can leave the barrel in a partlty loose state that may when in use back off. This will leave the gun in an unsafe condition.

I suppose if you have not seen this condition it will not be recognized. when turning in a barrel I use a wrench speifically made for the purpose (double handle as to not place strain on the action 30 inches across) I also find to get enough grip from wrench to barrel I must apply rosin to keep the wrench from slipping. Thats how tight a barrel should be.

Like I said before I don't mean to cause contoversy in any way, what I am saying if this is not how you do it a barrel probably it has not been set in correctly. If you have never seen the problem in my thinking you are lucky, without the proper tools the job can only be done poorly. Setting a rifle barrel is not a "garage pipe wrench job" and in this case not only do you have to get the barrel correct you have to get the under barrel magazine tube in alinment.

Well thats the way it should be done, like I said I don't mean to make waves I just don't want to leave people thinking a gun barrel is a jar lid. As to the calculations made on a Mauser thread these are finely made usualy Mil Spec rifles not a repro done in Spain, I have seen repro barrels with as few as 4 threads per inch and badly cut at that.

So as before everybody has an opinion but sometimes the opinion is not based on sound practise NO OFFENCE PLEASE.

scott99 :)
 

Dulltool

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I for one have taken no offence..... I just disagree... I've been removing barrels and reinstalling them for many years. I've never had a problem. I always test for function and test fired each gun with never a sign of a head space problem.

The original question was about removing a Henry Big boy barrel from a brass receiver.... I stand by my original post.... 100%. :tiphat:
 

RedfordTrails

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Scott, I understand everything you said. I'm not a machinist and have no machine tools, but I am aware of it's importance and role in the gun industry. I'm' a jeweler and I've been expanding my engraving beyond jewelry and noticed many guns would need there barrels removed in this fashion to achieve the type of engraving I do.

I went to a few "gun smiths" in my area and none of them even seemed to know what a action wrench, or barrel vice were. I'm very mechanically inclined so my course of action will probably be to do the teardown and re-assembly myself. At that point I'll bring it to a gunsmith and explain what I have done and have the headspace checked.

I'm feeling confident now though that the headspace will probably not be changed. Like dull tool says above... no parts are going to grow or shrink and the forces put on the threads simply unscrewing it are going to be a lot less than an actual round passing through the gun.

Also I contacted Henry with the issue and they told me that it would be very unlikely the headspace would change through the procedure. They suggested a gun smith check the head space when I finish.

I think the worst case scenario (a hopefully unlikely scenario) is that the headspace will be off and I'll either send the gun to henry for a barrel factory re-fit or a very good gunsmith to do the work. Most likely I will deal with Henry though as it was one of my local "gunsmiths" that mentioned machining the bolt... :caution:
 

RedfordTrails

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I actually missed this second page before I posted.

JJ I have the right tools on the way, the Wheeler action wrench and barrel vice. It comes with Oak bushings and I'll use rosin to prevent any scuffs or damage. If I feel any concern I may add some thermo lock to the equation. Also I will be placing the floor plate screwed tightly into the receiver as to not bend the sides during the wrenching. It really is a super simple mechanical action we're talking about. It's just the fact that this is a fire arm and a potentially lethal situation. I think the controversy is good brings up some nice points and just lets me know what I'm dealing with.
 
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