doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Sleeving steel barells to a twist monoblock

I have a nice old 12 ga hammer gun with damascus barrels. I bought an similar gun that is not so nice for parts. Now I have a pile of parts left! I was thinking that I could use the breech from the parts gun to build a set of steel barrels via sleeving. No loss, the part gun's barrels are rough, inside and out. I know that it can be done, what I don't know is if the barrels would be OK for the low pressure smokeless loads that I intend to use in it. How well would the twist monoblock take rust bluing that would be correct for the barrels? Woould it be a two tone? The original barrels are in very nice shape. I would like to keep them that way by using the sleeved ones.

Thanks,

Chief

chief: it has been done. i have seen fluid steel tubes sleeved to parker damascus breeches. when blued it all looks the same color with no hint of damascus pattern showing through. this gun is regularly used for skeet shooting and bird huntin, so it takes the pressure of field loads just fine...however, you are looking at a cost of probably $2000 by the time you have your new barrels fit to your receiver and forend...is it worth it?

Well, considering that ruination of the original barrels would result in another parts gun for me, yes.

Chief

chief: i do not understand your reply. the sleeving and fitting of your extra set of barrels has no affect on your other set of barrels. in the end you would have two sets of barrels that fit the same forend and receiver. one set of barrels would have the original damascus tubes and the other set would have new fluid steel tubes sleeved into damascus breeches. if you wish to discuss this, email your phone number via pm and i will call you.

I think his point was, if he can use the parts gun breech for sleeved barrels, then he can shoot to his hearts content using that set of barrels on the good gun action, setting the good gun's damascus barrels aside and not using them at all. OTOH, if he has to use the good gun's damascus barrels to shoot, then he's likely to either use them to ruination or have them fail at a most inconvenient moment, turning the good gun into a second parts gun.

But, if he can afford sleeving the pats gun barrel set. he probably should go ahead and do it. He seems pretty set on using this gun for (a lot of) shooting.

No problems at all ,having said that you can get a slight difference in the color of the black between the new and old . It can depend on who blacks them and what they use as there are many different variations on the blacking solutions and applications .Have done a lot over the years with no problems.

Dave,

Exactly!

Gunman,

Thanks!

Ed,

Thanks for your input and your offer. I already have someone in mind for the work.

Chief

Chief, I have an old friend that has sleeved many a double shotgun in his shop over the past 40 years using the Damascus monoblock, usually drops down a gauge to make sure that there is enough meat on the monoblock to make the seam easier to finish.

I picked up a book last year "Building Double Rifles on Shotgun Frames",by W. Ellis Brown. Makes interesting reading, if you are inteested in the techniques used.

I hate to seem picky but you folks do realize I suppose the definitaion of a MonoBlock is not a short section of bbls, But a breech piece for bbls machined from "ONE" solid piece of steel. Cutting the bbls off does NOT convert the breech section to a monoblock, just bbl stubs.
Either can have tubes inserted to complete a bbl set, but if the stub has joints in it it Ain't No Monoblock.

OK Miller, consider that hair split! I do understand what you are saying though. Let's say I would be using the breeches as one would use a monoblock!

Jerry, I will look for that book. Is it still in print?

Chief