firelapping?
What is firelapping? What does it do for a gun?
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I believe I read somewhere that Firelapping is a special kind of cartridge with some projectiles that have abrasive tendencies or can be smeared with a kind of abrasive - like the stuff you use to grind intake/exhaust valves in an engine with.
You'd fire a certain amount of coarse projectiles through the firearm, clean it.
Then fire some medium abrasive projectiles, clean and end up with some finely abrasive projectiles.
This is done to smoothen out a damaged barrel or a.. let's face it.. terrible barrel as an absolute LAST resort or attempt at saving it.
As I read it, it rarely comes out too good and it's NEVER to be done in a new barrel - It'd ruin it.
I've read somewhere that a guy tried Firelapping in an attempt at "Breaking in" the barrel - it didn't work, he ended up with a gun shooting quite inconsistent.
Don't do anything that I've allready done - That'd be just plain STOOOOOOPID.0 -
It's a last ditch way to (possiably) save a junk barrel from being turned into a tomato stake.
No decent barrel should ever be treated to such abuse.
A better name for it is Fire Scrapping, because thats what your doing to your barrel (trashing it).
Do a search, and you will find more information on it
Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.0 -
Youcan buy kits from Midway, et. al. and you typically get 3 small tubs of different grit polishing paste and 2 small flat metal bars. You take you bullets and smear on the polishing paste be rocking the coated bullet back and forth.
You start w/ the coarsest paste first fir whatever the recommended number of shots is, clean the barrel, and repeat w/ the next, finishing with the finest grit and cleaning.
As stated above ... last ditch effort to make a sick barrel shoot.
Some claim that taking anew barrel and doing this eliminates any minor maching burrs, etc. Me I'm not buying that one.
My preference is to take a slightly worn brush wrap it with a patch and coat the patch with automotive valve polishing (NOT grinding) paste, then run the patch back and forth in the barrel maybe a dozen times. Put on a new patch and paste and repeat, then do it a 3rd time.
I've seen improvement in group sizes by doing this, with new barrles and on barrels that was beginning to open up and that thorough cleaning was not restoring them to their original grouping capability.
If you only have time to do two things so-so, or one thing well ... do the one thing!0 -
What C-Man is suggesting is a "Hand Polish" and it isn't harmful to the barrel. JB bore paste, Shimichrome(sp) and other fine polishs can be used also.
Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.0 -
There is a regular way to lap that not many people seem to know about. Not told about much anymore, because it's not Murphy-proof and some people are idiots.
I use it, but I know what I'm doing.
On a barrel that shoots rough, take a STEEL cleaning rod, with a jig on the end and a T handle, longer than your barrel.
Put the cleaning rod in the barrel from the breech end so that it is about 1 inch from the muzzle. Stuff a plug of steel wool about 2 inches down the muzzle so that it forms around the rod and creates a seal but leaves the upper area of the rod open.
CAREFULLY pour molten lead into the muzzle, not quite to the end. Allow to cool and harden.
If things went right, you now have a plug in your barrel that has a steel rod imbedded in it.
Again, CAREFULLY tap from the breech end to cause the plug to come out about 1 inch from the muzzle. If you tap too hard, you will expel the plug and have to melt it off and start again.
Apply a smear of valve grinding compound to the plug. Pull back toward the breech. You will be able to "feel" the rough and high spots.
Continue to work the plug up and down the barrel until it is a nice even pull the entire length. Your barrel should shoot better.
Fire lapping has kind of superceeded this lapping due to ease, but you can't tell if you need to continue with firelapping. This you can so you only remove what is absolutely nessisary from a barrel.
You can also do this to a new barrel that shoots like crap. You will feel where the barrel high spot is and be able to clean it up.
I use to have a couple of magazines around years ago detailing this procedure, but don't know which ones it was. If you do this be careful and don't get in over your head.
Success you share with everyone.
Failures are yours alone.0 -
I cringe when I think of fire lapping with coarse material down a barrel. I'm not saying it won't work in some instances, such as a last ditch effort on a bum barrel. It just smacks of the "bigger hammer" theory. As for the lead lapping a barrel, I am familiar with that and can say that it has worked for me in the past. The old timers that I learned from in the old days practiced a type of fire/lead lap method of their own. They only shot jacketed bullets during deeer hunting season and practice at the range the rest of the year with lead bullets at low velocity(usually 1200 to 1400 fps). Most of their barrels were dead smooth and lasted many thousands of rounds before accuracy started dropping off. I myself, have been using JB bore paste for some years now but only to smooth a rough bore(one that plates with copper too much). However, what works for me might not be acceptable to others--makes for an interesting world. 0
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