New Tool - Barrel Wall Thickness Gauge

[NiceOldDouble]

Hello Folks. At the last Southern Side-by-Side, I was finally about to get a tool I’ve wanted for a good while, a really nice barrel wall thickness gauge that a machinist and fabricator named Jon Hosford makes. Super nice fellow.

I’m able to offer barrel wall thickness mapping now as a service. I measure them from the end of the forcing cone to the muzzle, in 3-4” increments. I also measure around the circumference at various o’clock positions.

 

[Dead Eye-NC]

Can you explain how this tool works and measures the wall thickness?

 

[NiceOldDouble]

Sure. You zero tech gauge against the tip of the opposite other prong. The prong is then inserted into the bore, the gauge then reads .xxx” over it’s zero’s reading and that tells you the thickness of the wall which is between the gauge and the other prong. There is a scale on the gauge so you can determine as what length of the barrel that reading is determined.

The barrel is mounted to a mandrel, which allows it to rotate so that can get readings around the circumference of the tube between the ribs.