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Old Gunner: Comments received so far do seem to make hammer forging the most likely candidate, but there has still been no convincing reference offered. I can't agree as to the surface finish produced in modern hammer-forged barrels - they are usually very uniform and smooth, if properly...

alpacca45: Thank you for the tip! I went directly to the homepage of the Newcomen Society (UK), and discovered that their archives can be searched - however, the only reference I could find to 'dollying' in gunmaking (from 'Gun Making Handicrafts', C.E. Greener, 1924) was in regard to a device...

J.k. ... Could you please give a full quote of Skennerton's comments on the 'dollied' barrels? Thanks; mhb - Mike

Dennis and FB ... I did take note of Mr. Keilly's response, but it was he, not the quoted reference (so far as I could see from his post) who equated 'dollied' rifling with hammer-forging, and what I am looking for is an authoritative reference: someone must know what the term means in Britain...

I tried previously to get some input on the nature of WW2 Enfield barrels described as having 'dollied' rifling, but I didn't use the term in the title of the posting - I'm hoping that re-posting my query with the subject made clear will attract someone who can explain by what process such...

John,Don,Mark... Thanks for the input! I've still not received any hard reference (from any of the fora on which I posted the question) equating 'Dollied' rifling with any other method of manufacture. Can anyone provide such a reference, or refer the question to a knowledgeable British...

In a book about the British #4 rifles, I found a reference to wartime barrels rifled by 'dollying' - 'dollied' barrels. I've never encountered this term with regard to a process for rifling barrels. Can any of our British (or Anglophile) participants shed any light on the term, and exactly...

In every way... that comes to mind for evaluating the contributions made by designers of successful military small arms, I think Mr. Browning is unquestionably the greatest. His contributions ranged from handguns through light and heavy machineguns to light artillery - some of his weapons...

Final comments: Lest anyone think I was taking a shot at gain-twist barrels, it ain't so! I simply discussed some facts about their manufacture and nature. However... I'll accept that they are better than a good fixed-pitch barrel when such barrels are entirely supplanted in the winners'...

caroby: The traditional lead lap is fully conformed to the rifling (fixed-twist) by virtue of being cast in-place in the rifled bore, attached to a steel lap rod. The lap is several inches in length, and, after casting is trimmed to remove the casting 'sprue', and charged with lapping compound...

Gain-twist barrels... are certainly nothing new, but they have never demonstrated indisputable superiority over fixed-pitch barrels for any shooting discipline. Harry Pope made gain-twist barrels for his breech/muzzle loading lead-bullet rifles, but stuck with fixed-pitch for jacketed...

Pete: It was deceptive: we oiled the spindle cups regularly, but because the wick didn't extend into the bearing gallery, the bearing wasn't getting the oil. mhb/Mike

And one other thing... which may sound unlikely and too simple, but which I've actually encountered on the same model lathe: check the spindle bearings to see that they are getting enough oil and are not galling/seizing. One of the South Bend 10" lathes in our shop, (which had been use for...

Chances are... it was manufactured prior to the Gun Control Act of 1968, which mandated serial numbers for all firearms manufactured after that act took effect. Many earlier arms never did have a serial number, and are perfectly legal because they pre-date GCA68. Only where there is reason to...

Probably not... I've only seen one attempt at EDM rifling in exotic materials (the time we tried to rifle barrel blanks of Rhenium and Tantalum alloys - both of which sneered at anything we could do by way of cut rifling), and the results were NOT pretty, though they apparently were sufficient...

Well... IIRC, Mike Walker is credited with helping to develop button rifling (in the U.S.) while working for Remington during WW2. Whether any barrels were made by that method under wartime contract, I don't know, but Remington did button-rifle barrels made just after the war ended, and...

The most likely article that comes up on a search... That is, one of the first and probably the source of the information you quoted is one concerning the making of M2 barrels by Sabre Defense Industries. This gets several hits, first as printed in American Machinist. Reading the article...

Stellite liners... most commonly encountered in U.S. made machinegun barrels, are not 'cast in place'. They are finish-machined (to include rifling), then inserted into the breech end of the barrel - the junction line between the front end of the liner and the bore of the barrel itself is...

Chrome-lined barrels... are, indeed, plated with hard industrial chromium. The process requires an electrode of a form which is the reverse of the rifled bore, in order to prevent plating of uneven thickness caused by varying distance from the electrode to the bore surface - needless to say...

'Open sights!?' Ahem. Every U.S. service rifle since the later trapdoors and Krags had aperture rear sights, which were invariably used in bullseye competition as much superior to the open-notch 'battle sights' on those rifles. The M1 and later rifles have ONLY apertures for rear sights. At...