11 degree forcing cone reaming kit

[Yakima Red]

Hello all, Looking to buy a 11 degree forcing cone reaming kit. Brownell's is perpetually out of stock and Manson has quit making them (for now). I seek to buy, not rent as I wish to add this to my bench.

[Tornado]

https://pacifictoolandgauge.com/revolver-forcing-cone-cutters/11244-11-revolver-forcing-cone-cutter.html?search_query=forcing+cone+&results=12
Is this what you need?

[Niederlander]

I'm getting a little fed up with the perpetually out of stock thing myself.

[Sandlapper]

I'm no machinist, but is that reamer designed to be used by hand or on a lathe? Thanks, Sandlapper

[kwilliams1876]

If you have access to a lathe these are easy to make and you can put a pilot on. Use tool steel and hand file the flutes then harden. I had to re cut my Uberti Scholfield this way.

[Niederlander]

It's a hand tool.  Found one on an auction site.  Now I'm just waiting to get the cylinder back so I can adjust the cylinder gap and cut the forcing cone.

[Sandlapper]

What are the main advantages to performing this operation on, say a Uberti percussion (Colt) revolver? Thanks, Sandlapper

[Coffinmaker]

Sandalapper 

Oft, the forcing cone on many, not just Uberti, barrels is very abrupt and short.  this causes (maybe) some projectile upset and leading before the projectile enters the bore.  An 11 degree forcing cone eases this transition and contributes (maybe) to better accuracy and less (maybe) leading.  It can also partially compensate for a slight miss-alignment between cylinder throat and barrel bore.

While not necessarily a necessity, it is a "Good thing" (quote Martha).

[Niederlander]

I intend to do my percussion revolvers, too.

[Coffinmaker]

Oh Heck 

I forgot to include.  An 11 degree forcing cone is just something I have always done, as a little insurance, for most every hand gun I have worked on.  It does no harm and I don't have to go back and do it later.

[Niederlander]

How do you tell if the forcing cone is the right depth on a .36?  I've got plug gauges for .44 and .45.

[Sandlapper]

Thanks for the explanation; that makes perfect sense. Sandlapper

[Sandlapper]

I also, like Niederlander, wonder how far in you should ream the cones on varying calibers and models of percussion revolvers. How do you know how far to go with the reamer? Sandlapper

[Coffinmaker]

Well 

A fair rule of thumb is to cut the Forcing Cone so it extends back to the original cut at the Breach of the Barrel Bore.  All we are trying to do is align the projectile for its trip thru the Tunnel after all.  I don't think I have ever seen a reference stating the forcing cone should be X and Such thou deep. 

[Sandlapper]

That makes perfect sense; you can tell I'm no machinist. Thanks, Sandlapper

[Niederlander]

I like to use the Brownells plug gauges to get the correct depth.  I don't have one for the .36 bore, though.  The one for .45's should work for percussion .44's since the bore size is the same.

[Yakima Red]

Coming back to this, I'm ordering the reamer and the lap which does both the .38's and the .45's. I have all the other tools to make it happen. The dedicated kit would have been great. But alas, they seem to be perpetually out of stock.

[RattlesnakeJack]

I got my Uberti S&W "Russian Model" revolver a few years ago in a private deal from a chap who had never fired it (having gotten it from a friend who didn't like it.)   When I first shot it, I found that it "spit back" quite unmercifully ... so bad that lead tracks were forming back along the outer sides of the cylinder ... 

Upon examining it, I discovered that it had no forcing cone at all ... the literally right-angled rear face of the barrel was shaving lead to an alarming degree and back-pressure was blowing a lot of it back toward me.  I have no idea how much was going sideways ... but I sure wouldn't want to be standing off to the side!

At any rate, I was able to get a forcing cone kit from Brownells, and it has certainly made a world of difference ...

[Niederlander]

Grant, a friend of mine here had the same thing happen with his Schofield.  Fortunately, he already had the kit to fix it.  Makes you wonder who was working QC there.

[Cholla Hill Tirador]

What are the main advantages to performing this operation on, say a Uberti percussion (Colt) revolver? Thanks, Sandlapper

A before and after. I cut the forcing cone with an 11° cutter then fire-lapped the barrel.