What is an "extreme" Christian? Someone who 'turns-the-other-cheek' to such a fault that under no circumstances would they defend themselves or their loved ones? Yup, that's it. No radical Christians has ever shot gays or bombed an abortion clinic. Compare that to a Muslim Extremist: visi...

Drilling/milling holes/slots is the best solution. Many small holes will be more effective if spaced evenly, but also a lot more work. I don't know if there is any consensus on how much you can lighten a spacer/skirt, I would guess that 50% should be fairly safe (assuming same material/thickness as ...

What I can't understand is why this would happen only with a silencer fitted. Have you confirmed this or was it just a coincidence.

If I recall correctly, steel sounds the worst, followed by Ti and Al Sounds quite right, based on the general properties of those materials. All constructions can be viewed as a bell, give it a good whack and it will ring. A steel bell will ring louder and for longer than one made from aluminum. Fo...

If there is zero room for movement and everything is locked together tight there will be no difference in sound. Are you sure? I must admit I haven't tested it thoroughly as I've mostly made/used aluminium cans for subsonic. But if you tap a steel can they tend to produce more of a sharp "ping...

It's well known that steel cans produce more of a "ping" sound. Not sure about Ti, but I expect it to do the same (at least more so than aluminium). As for coatings I doubt you'll be able to notice any difference, but a cover would probably reduce such effects.

Can't usually do that in the tube since there isn't the excess material to remove... I don't care how the threads measure. Now I follow you, for thin walled tubes this can be a very sensible choice. I have to admit my OCD prefers threads that follow standards, but for one-offs like a silencer it's ...

It depends. For best cutting action you need some speed, carbide tools usually works best at fairly high speeds while HSS is much more forgiving. The real limit is how close you can stop the lathe before crashing into the piece. Within those limits you should try to use the highest speed possible. I...

It's easier and smarter to cut a male thread a bit deeper, than to do it on the female.. How so? A male thread can me measured with wires or a thread mike to ensure it's within tolerances. The female can then easily be cut to a proper fit. BTW, super-tight muzzle threads aren't as desirable as you ...

CMV wrote:Next do your female threads. Get those exactly how you want them. Then do the male piece and keep adjusting until it fits the way you want it.

Care to explain you reasoning? I always do the male first, they are much easier to measure (and thusly easier to get them perfect).

You also must use the right insert for the metal you are cutting. Not really. Unless you're working on something really odd, any insert will get the job done. I have yet too meet a combination that wasn't better than HSS, all things considered. But HSS still has it's role to play, every once in a w...

Choosing the right tools for you isn't easy, there is plenty of room for personal taste and technique. This chart shows the different shapes and some benefits/drawbacks: http://i01.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/578/969/543/543969578_935.jpg Since gunsmithing at a hobby level doesn't require hogging huge amoun...

Short answer: More. You will always need more tooling.

Well, I just cut some 16TPI barrel threads using a universal insert. 0° feed, started with 0,5mm cuts and reduced it gradually to 0,1mm as I was getting close. Turned out smooth as always. For 1-2mm pitch I have full profile inserts, those are the best. Simply cut until the proper OD and you're done...

Kbillet: Grade 2 is still a decent material. I used it for the barrel mount in my 222-silencer because it was available and stronger than the 6000 alu I had. Even if it wasn't stronger than aluminium it still has useful properties like better erosion resistance and lower thermal expansion rate. Joe:...

Could you elaborate? I don't understand the question, what's wrong with threading Grade 2?

The spindle bore can never be too large. A 1.5" bore is enough for a barrel blank, but might not fit a barreled action. For large center-fire silencers it might also be a bit small, but you can usually get around that with a steady rest.

That Grizzly sure looks nice considering it's size, power feed is worth a lot. Sure you can get feeds using the lead screw, but swapping gears quickly gets tiresome. One remark on Chinese large-bore lathes, they can be less sturdy than their small-bore cousins. Sounds counter-intuitive, the fellow t...

Intriguing piece of work, never seen anything like it before. I'm struggling to see any benefits to the design, but it looks like it was well made.

I must admit that I've never noticed that, nor have I had any problems maintaining tight tolerances on threads.

Bottom line is: Why not try and make your own judgment? I've tried both, and for most jobs I just don't see any benefits in the 30° method.

I just remembered it wasn't cermet, it was ceramic :oops: . You can't drill that with carbide, the insert came back good as new. I doubt the drill bit was any use afterwards. Historian: That's pretty much how I do it as well. Not that I have any table or fixed number of passes, but I start out with ...

On the subject of Cermets: Last year at a large flea / used marked there was a guy selling carbide drills that were ground to handle both stone and metal. He of course impressed people by drilling holes in everything from hard steel to bricks. A few stands over there is a guy selling used tools, end...

because if you are taught by an actual machinist Actually I was taught by a skilled machinist as well. I'm not saying it's wrong to feed at an angle, just that it isn't mandatory for all jobs. It depends on the tooling, setup and material, but for plain steel and say <2-2,5mm pitch (about as coarse...

curtistactical wrote:The correct way

The correct way is whatever gets the job done. For coarse threads, hard materials or small machines the 30° trick can help, but most of the time I've managed fine with feeding straight in.

I''ve only threaded one or two parts in titanium (Grade 2) with carbide tooling but they came out perfect on the first try. I don't do the 30° nonsense, just feed straight in. Speed is appr 100rpm with foot brake and locked half nuts.