Determining barrel looseness

[Virginia Hessler]

Hi
I am fooling with an old VH, I can slip a .004 feeler gauge between the barrel and receiver.
The gun seems tight to me.
Is .004 tolerable or close to normal, or is this considered loose and in need of tightening up ?
I have no reference to compare, this would be my first Parker.

Thanks for any advice, Tom

[Brian Dudley]

Loosness and being off face are two separate things. The gun may be tight but still be off face. It could be evenly off face or a bigger gap could be at the top of the breech than the bottom. It is not abnormal to be able to see light between the breech and breech face on a side or area of the breech.

Many use the general rule of thumb that if you can close a piece of paper in the breech and not be able to pull the paper out, then it is fine.

[Virginia Hessler]

Thanks Brian
The gun is tight, I am fitting a VH barrel To a DH receiver and had to sand down the sides of the lugs to get them in. Resulting in a very tight smooth joint. Only thing left is what you called off face, there is a .004 gap a little tighter at the top. I put a slice of electrical tape on the hook and it closed the gap right up. I'm just trying to figure out if that small of a gap is worth fooling with. I'll try the paper trick and see how it looks.

Thanks, Tom

[Dean Romig]

Removing metal when fitting a set of barrels should only be done with the use of the finest two diamond files you can find. The coarser of the two (which should be about 400 grit) is for removing metal. The finer grit is for polishing to a final fit. Smoke the lug area first, then close it as far as it will easily go without forcing it. The smoke will have rubbed off where it is too tight... this is where you use the file a bit and then re-smoke it. It is a long process but will give the precision fit you need.

[Virginia Hessler]

Dean
I did something similar, I used 400 grit paper with a lot of oil. I kept trying to close the action and sanding off the wear marks. It took a few hours and I feel the fit is about as good as it gets, I am very pleased with the results.
I am a little hesitant to get out the welder and rework the hook on the lug just to move the barrels back two or three thousands, not sure it's worth the work.
I just tried the paper trick that Brian suggested, the paper can be pulled out of the left barrel breach with resistance. It will not pull out of the right barrel breach unless I really tug on it.

Thanks, Tom

[Chris Travinski]

Tom, I wouldn't weld the lug, your looking for disaster there. Just make a shim out of .004 brass shim stock and wrap it around the hinge pin.