doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com Bulged barrel

Can a bulge in a barrel be fixed? Not a big bulge, around the entire distance between ribs, fluid steel barrel �Shot and regulated by Holland & Holland� on a Webley & Scott.

If a bulge can be reduced it will usually return in many cases because the metal of the bulge has been weakened by stretching. Though on the other hand nothing ventured nothing gained, if you can have the bulge reduced at a reasonable cost it is worth a try but it is like tossing a coin to determine the barrels long term reliability.

It really makes a big difference where the bulge is. The farther from the chamber the better.

Please read my earlier post on this subject, BG.

http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbt...true#Post506081

SRH

It�s in the right barrel, about 6� from the breech. It�s not a very pronounced.

Who would a speak with about having the bulge reduced?

Not that it matters, but this a 20ga ejector, proofed to 7/8 oz.

6" from the breech and I would scrap the tubes, my opinion but eyes and fingers not worth the risk. 6" from the muzzle is a whole different ball of wax. In general, unless the gun is very valuable, bulges are a loosing proposition time and money wise.

Always remember that bulges are usually circumferencable so no matter how good your smith / metalworker maybe ,unless you remove the ribs did you get all the bulge knocked out? Towards the muzzles it may be possible to cosmetically restore your gun , but as SKB so rightly said , fingers are worth more than any saved barrel.

It�s a damn shame. Neat little gun.

Could the bulge be cosmetically fixed, and then converted to a 28ga with whole length inserts of some sort? Or, maybe made into a double rifle? I�d also assume that the right barrel would be the only one needing to be sleeved if it were to remain a 20ga.

It can be fixed, like most anything else.

But the safety factor is there staring you in the face,,quite literally..

I've seen some fixed with a bulge/ring right in front of the chamber. After the repair you could not see the old damage.
That's a testament to the skill of the 'smith.

But it disregards the basic idea of wether it's just a good idea to do in the first place dealing with overstressed steel and high pressure.

Kind of like fixing a broken step ladder so you can't see where it was damaged.
Might hold! Looks good anyway. Try it out...

Lots of bbls w/full ring bulges have been 'fixed' with no problems I'm sure. Tube steel strength, thickness, orig damage, where along the tube the damage is,,they all have something to do with it.
The 20ga runs at higher breech pressures than a 12ga,,something else to take into account.
..also the fact that you've probably grown to like the eyes and fingers you have.

At 6" out from the breech, I'd look at it as a sleeve project gun back to 20ga or maybe 28 if the frame is small enough.

A bulge near the muzzle would be a different situation.
I'd feel more comfortable with a fix out there and it would be much easier with the thinner tube wall and that you can flex the tubes apart somewhat to work all around the circumference that way.

The DR idea is a thought too if you want to get into that.
JMO.
Alot depends on the asking price for the beauty!

Projects,projects,,projects..

Webley and Scott tubes are quite hard so a lot of hammer work will be needed , Problem is getting between the tubes . I have never been successful in this even taking the barrels apart to attempt it .

I suppose it could be done with rollers and heat but this would be more trouble and cost that the gun is worth .

Sleeving would be the logical answer , Sleeving one tube only presents its own problems such as matching tube profiles so the ribs set correctly . Sleeving down a bore size is again possible if you can get tubes suitable in size at the back ends .This again has its own problems with forend fit and will almost certainly need a new loop , not to mention the fit of the wood to the barrel .

Converting to "double rife " you have to consider the back pressures and if the action will take it , which from my experience of W & S guns I would be very cautious about .

Do any of you guys here in the forum sleeve barrels? There are two potential candidates; the 20ga Webley and a 12ga Osborne. If I got them done, I�d prefer to have them sleeved but left white so I can do the final polish and bluing myself. Who might be willing to do that kind of work?

You might be able to find 12 ga tubes, finding 20 ga tubes will be harder than finding someone to do it. figure $2000/ set.

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If I had a bulged barrel, I'd install a full-length tub in a smaller gauge inside the barrel - as the tubes themselves are strong enough for modern ammo, even if they weren't installed inside a barrel.

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I'm sure I'm the oddball in the crowd, but I would never do that. Not that it isn't a viable alternative, it is, but I have never understood why someone would want say, a 12 ga. gun in weight and appearance, that shoots 20 ga. shells. If I had a barrel that bulged I would scrap it, or sell it for parts if possible, and either find another barrel (or barrel set), or sell the whole gun for parts. I'm not belittling the idea, it's just not for me.

The only reason I would have for sub-gauge tubes is sporting clays competition where I could use my 12 ga. gun with a carrier barrel for all the sub-gauge events.

Bulged barrels are the kiss of death, IMO.

SRH