doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Steel inserts for an old Darne

Hello,
I will make a pair of inserts to use a very pitted 12 ga barrels from an old Darne shotgun.
The idea is to make a 12 to 20 ga tube about 1 foot long, to avoid the heavy pitted area in the barrels.
My question is, the steel that it is locally available are:

-1518 carbon steel or
-T-304 stainless steel.

Could you tell me what material is better for the purpose?

I will work the material in a lathe.

Thank you for your replies.

Best,

Jose

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Briley Sidekick, easy

Mike

Hello Skeettx,

Yes that is probaby the best solution... if I live in USA.
Belive it or not, those inserts are considered by law "firearms parts" so you can not import them and if you bring them with you from USA, you commited a crime!
The option to make my own inserts is the best to make usable a fantastic shotgun that, besides the damage inside the barrels, are in really nice condition.
So, I still need to know, what steel to use (I know 4140 is the forum recomendation, but I can not find them here).

Might be easier to find a pair of 20 ga single barrels and turn them down to make what you want. For that matter the 12/20 chamber inserts do well.

Anytime you use old shotgun barrels you will have some problems getting them concentric I have used pump shotgun barrels to make sleeves some are very heavy but pretty concentric it might be easier to hone the barrels to find out how bad they are.

If the tubes you make are well fitted with no (Minimum!) clearance, the 1518 would likely work.
Remember, they will be supported by the original barrel.
Past 10 inches, pressure is low.
I have made short (2 3/4) inch long) 16 to 20 adapters from similar, and lock-tited in place.
I have had no problem.
My advice worth what you paid!

Thank you for your reply, DmColonial!
What I can purchase here is a "barra hueca" (hollow bar by the translator); it already has 16 mm inside diameter, that is a lousy 20 ga bore (0.630"), so the main lathe work is outside (easier).
Locally, 1518 steel is 8 times cheaper than T-304 stainless, so if you think it will work SAFETLY, I will use it.

Best,

Jose

The barrel should be concentric if you turn it between centers.
Mikr

What do the barrel walls measure? Every Darne at my house, 3 at the moment, is over .050 wall. I’ve measured guns that had .020-.030 thicker walls, too. If the gun saw double or triple proof, when it was a new gun, you might not need to worry too much, if you feed it light hunting loads.

Let’s see a photo of the flats and the tubes where they enter the flats.

Best,
Ted

Original barrels are interesting to turn on center