Machining services

[Biggredchev]

Could I? Yes. Would it be cost effective? Absolutely not. The barrel it a solid 8 hour peice, another 20ish for the slide, and at $120/hr (standard shop rate at my shop), conservatively thats almost $3400 in just time. No way I would use supplied materials, so add material cost, special tooling cost, heat treat/annealing, coating, etc. This is not an offer to do it, this is just trying to bring some reality into light. Also you dont need to go to school to learn how to use a manual lathe and knee mill. Just watch some youtube and practice.

 

[ditcherman]

I would buy used buddy of mine already has a lathe and i can buy a knee mill for 2-3k. Then tooling for the mill.

I have that stuff.
I have not worked that hard to learn how to use it anywhere near this level, but I know from past experiences that when you start down a path like this the less expensive, surplus, used, or just plain old equipment will just not cut it. And really think about that heat treating process and equipment.
IMO there is NO way that an Ivy Tech machining course can fully prepare you for an expedition like this. No knock on IT, it just is what it is. Education is not experience.
Make no mistake, I am not telling you to not go down this path, I suffer from the same disease.
Just count the cost, move slowly, understand the budgetary needs including time and mental commitment. I think you'll have $10K worth of material used in practice to prepare for a barrel making experience.
Document your process and come back here and show us how wrong we were, or explore the possibility and tell us why you didn't pursue, there's no shame in that either. There are so many more things that you could do with machines, tooling, and inventiveness where there's a much higher profit margin from the OEM, not a mass produced part like a barrel.
The Ivy Tech thing may be a good start. Even better might be to humbly approach an experienced machinist and ask questions about this path you want to take.
Best of luck, and never let anyone talk you in to taking vaccine for this disease we have.

 

[JHB]

I spent most of my life in the tool&die trade 4 years apprenticeship the whole 9 yards.
The cost in scrapped material and tooling will be more than the price of after market parts.
Now that said if money is of no concern go for it machining is a fascinating and challenging trade. A lot of satisfaction comes from making your own parts.

 

[churchmouse]

Great advice given.

I am not what I call an accomplished machinist as I know many who are and I do not hold a candle to those men. But I do know my way around a Lathe and a Mill having owned both and still have the lathe. I would tackle most anything I could get chucked up in either machine and yes, scrap. In materials and tooling.
In this I would never even consider attempting to make a barrel on my equipment. I understand tolerances etc and heat treat. Enough that Brownells and others offer up some nice parts and pieces for the smallest fraction of the cost of the tooling involved.

ditcherman said it very well as did others......and he also gave sound advice.

 

[sgthud]

I think that you will struggle to find a machinist that will do this for you...my dad is an accomplished machinist with almost 60 years of experience and I know for a fact that he would not take supplied materials. He has done some small jobs for me such as fitting jobs, tapping and threading...but I will not ask him to do something that would be a liability issue.

 

[ghuns]

I'm approaching 30 years as a toolmaker, designer, programmer, CNC operator. I work in a shop with conventional and wire EDMs, 3 and 5 axis vertical mills, and 4 axis horizontals.

I wouldn't undertake such a project for myself, let alone for a stranger. Especially not when the parts can be easily, and economically, sourced.