simple solution for chamber polish and cleaning?

[SidecarFlip]

I have a couple 223's as well and the bore/chamber is a bit tight, in fact, thats the smallest diameter most bore scopes will fit....223/22caliber.

If you are adventuresome, you can 'do it yourself'. Brownell's offers chamber reamers in .223 and you can 'rent' reamers by the day or week online as well.

Of course an engine lathe will a large enough through bore to accept the barrel plus the tooling to run the reamer (on center) is required. You aren't actually reaming a chamber, just cleaning up a defect so the headspace gages aren't needed, what is needed is a good 'feel' for when the reamer bottoms out against the existing angle.

If you lived close, I'd let you use my borescope to look inside. Great tool.

[J E Custom]

Originally Posted by geargrinder

Careful with the polishing. The brass needs something to grab onto. A very smooth chamber transfers that pressure to the lugs and abutments. It will behave the same as a hot or overpressure load.

Very good advice indeed +++++

The best finish for a chamber is the one that a good chamber reamer leaves.

If it is a good reamer and it is cut correctly there are no marks,scratches, rings or chatter marks
and the finish is smooth and almost shiny.

Polishing a chamber is not recomended because if you remove scratches you have to remove
metal and change the original dimensions even if only buy a 100th of a thousandth.

also the cartrige/brass needs something to grip in order to keep from excessively loading
the bolt lugs and abutments as Geargrinder stated.

The best way to clean debris out of a chamber if to use the same reamer that cut the chamber
and make one full turn by hand applying little or no pressure. Obviously this is hard to do if you
dont have the original reamer but it is the best way.(Never use a different reamer because they
are never exactly the same).

All ways inspect the chamber with a good bore scope or make a cast of the chamber using
Cerrosafe and then if nothing is there you don't risk ruining a perfectly good chamber.

I recomend orienting the head stamp at 12;00 and firing the round then after extraction you
can figure out if it is consistantly in the same spot.

Sometimes it is striking something on ejection (Scope base, turret,back of reciever, Etc)

so make sure that it is something in the chamber before even considering messing with
the chamber.

I have had to set back to many chambers that were polished wrong and caused problems
afterwards.

Just some advice for what it is worth.

J E CUSTOM

[RTK]

Originally Posted by J E Custom

Sometimes it is striking something on ejection (Scope base, turret,back of reciever, Etc)


J E CUSTOM

Exactly, I have two Remington's that do this and leave a little ding just below the shoulder. I snipped a little off of the ejector spring and now all is good, it was hitting inside the receiver.

[ajhardle]

My extractor loses the case before it's ejected. I usually pull it out by hand. I don't think that's my problem, especially considering the fact that I can give it reloads with less .002 runout that deliver less acceptable results with each firing, but I will take a good long look to see. If it's dented on extraction, I can test it with a new unfired, right?

[RTK]

Yes, On a fresh fired round push on the cartridge during ejection so it stays parallel with the bore until all the way out (doesn't touch anything).
Mine would put a little nick in the bottom of the dent. It was dragging/bumping on the edge of the integral lugs.

If that is not your problem take a brass shot gun brush, give it a twist and see if that knocks it loose, if not move to a stainless brush.

[J E Custom]

I thought of Something else that might be making the mark.

Load one directly into the chamber very carefully and fire it. Only open it enough to reach in and
catch it not allowing the ejector to kick it out. Carefully remove it from the bolt and inspect it.

If it is a staggered feed, When the round is pushed forward it has to enter the chamber at an angle
and then as the back of the case comes clear of the magazine it has to straighten out to go in the chamber.

If there is no marks on the brass, this may be the problem.

Repeat the process except let the extractor eject the case and then inspect it. If it has the dent/scratch
then it is in the ejection cycle and not the chamber.

I strongly recomend exhausting every possibility before messing with the chamber.

J E CUSTOM

[ajhardle]

Well, I feel foolish. The brass is being dented by the feed ramp.

That means my handloading technique and/or chamber specs are off. The lee collett neck die turns out rounds that measure near perfect on my rcbs concentricity gauge, but less than excellent groups. I see new brass shoot .20's to 40's when conditions are perfect, but by 3 firings, i' not bettering .60 with any consistency. The f/l sizer nets worse results.

Maybe, that's the difference between a factory barrel, and one chambered by a good gunsmith? Any advice and insight is appreciated. Thanks everyone.