Wall Thickness Gauge

[Dean Romig]

Patrick, one person's "thin" is another person's "safe to shoot."
Precise wall thickness measurements is the only thing we can base our opinions on, not someone else's declaration of "thin" and "not safe to shoot." At .730" and original finish , I would shoot your barrels sight unseen.





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[edgarspencer]

A friend has a Hosford gauge, and I have one similar to Dr.Drew's. If operated as shown in his post, you will get an accurate measurement, though it can be tricky to "zero". Using either, a very light hand is required. A heavy fisted operator will deflect the rods and any reading will be suspect.

[Bill Anderson]

I have never had much interest in barrel wall gauges because I believe for the most part, but there exceptions for sure, that if the bores measure spot on or very close to factory bore diameter specs for a specific gauge, then I assume the barrel wall thickness is safe.

Bill

[edgarspencer]

Originally Posted by Bill Anderson

I have never had much interest in barrel wall gauges because I believe for the most part, but there exceptions for sure, that if the bores measure spot on or very close to factory bore diameter specs for a specific gauge, then I assume the barrel wall thickness is safe.

Bill

This may work very much against you because bore diameters varied greatly from early lifter guns and even later.
.729" may be considered the standard for 12 gauge but I know guns which measure over .750" and have never been touched.
You may err on the side of caution, and pass on a lovely gun that measures .740", assuming it had been honed eleven thous, you will loose out.

[Bill Anderson]

Originally Posted by edgarspencer

This may work very much against you because bore diameters varied greatly from early lifter guns and even later.
.729" may be considered the standard for 12 gauge but I know guns which measure over .750" and have never been touched.
You may err on the side of caution, and pass on a lovely gun that measures .740", assuming it had been honed eleven thous, you will loose out.

Not necessarily, if I know the bore diameter of a certain era of manufacturing states a bore of .750, then my bore gauge will confirm this for me. I said that I do not have much use for a "wall thickness" gauge if I know the bore diameter of the manufacturer at differernt points in production history, such as the lifter gun you mentioned. If I am looking at an American 20 gauge shotgun, for example, and find the bore between .612 and say .618 or .619, and I know they don't vary by .030, I see no use in a wall gauge if no pitting exists. Besides, I wouldn't own pitted guns in the first place. And if I believe I am looking a special "back bored" barrel I can always measure the inside of the bore and outside barrel diameter to give me a general wall thickness. True, not as thorough and complete as a top end wall gauge, but close enough to assess the safety of the barrels. And my collecting is but a couple, few guns a year so my methods will prevail.

Bill

[Leighton Stallones]

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