Barrel Crowning... Anyone here done that?

**BirdsThaWord** · 12-20-2018, 06:49 AM

I have been looking at some beautiful customized 45’s and 9mm’s that have had the barrel crowned either by the factory or afterwards. I just love that look, specially how it makes a .45 look like a 50 cal.!!!

I found that there is a tool kit to do it yourself. According to a youtube video, it looks pretty staright forward. Anyone here that has done that? How did it turn out? Any drawbacks or lessons learned?

By the way, I also had to share a pic of my new favorite drool worthy, wish list 1911ish gun. Hijacking my own thread! Lol!

**340pd** · 12-20-2018, 08:00 AM

Beautiful gun that is. I had an early Cobra Karry. In those days everything was in .45 with a somewhat standard crown.

**BirdsThaWord** · 12-20-2018, 08:05 AM

The more modernized version of the kobra carry is a sexy one too, in my opinion!

**kenemoore** · 12-20-2018, 08:34 AM

For a bullet to be accurate it needs to leave the barrel with even pressure all around. The crowning of a barrel moves the end of the grooves back in a tad, making it less likely to be dinged or damaged. If the end were dinged, one area might get more or less pressure and cause a slight wobble of the bullet. On a lathe, crowning would be simple to do. It is my understanding that you need to ensure the center of the bore and the center of your crown are the same. I assume most modern barrels are made of pretty hard steel, so you have to worry about heat too. Don't want to change the barrel hardness. I would try it on a beater before I did it on a nice pricey pistols.

**BirdsThaWord** · 12-20-2018, 08:46 AM

Yes sir! That's what I've read as well. The tool I'm talking about centers the cutting head by being inserted all the way down and through the barrel, and is sized according to the caliber, to avoid any wobble or offsetting of the crown job. I think heat would be kept to almost non existant as it is turned slowly by hand.

**Tilos** · 12-20-2018, 09:11 AM

Any "turning" tool will impart some twisting/deformation of the crown rifling and will leave burrs.
Crowns today, are often "cut" via EDM erosion that does not leave behind any burs or use the twisting forces that deform the rifling.
Often an EDM'd crown is lapped/polished as a final step for a smoother finish and remove any evidence of the EDM process.

Crowning is not something I'd attempt DIY'ing with a hand tool, but that's just me...

Edit: An EDM'd or machined crown can be a flat/perpendicular to the barrel step in the muzzle that eliminates the perfectly centered requirement of a cone or angle shaped crown.