Building your own rifle barrels requires expensive steel cutting tools.
There are several methods for making steel barrels for a gun or rifle. The method you use depends on your budget, your access to heavy machinery, if you want your barrel rifled or not and to which steel manufacturing school of thought you are partial. Alternatively, you can make your own steel gun barrel by using a steel water pipe of a similar diameter to the caliber you plan to use. Steel water pipes work well for a shotgun barrel or a short gun but are not effective for a rifle barrel.
Instructions
1. Choose the type of steel you want to use for your barrel. The 4140 chrome-moly is usually cheaper and is easier to cut.
2. Stress-relieve the steel before drilling. There are several schools of thought on which type of steel-relief is best.To illustrate, some manufacturers claim steel needs to be heated and then cooled slowly, while others feel it is best to cool it to near absolute zero and then warm it.
3. Drill the barrel by inserting the steel bar into a hammer forging machine. This is the method used by big rifle brands such as Remington, Winchester and Ruger. Make sure the bore diameter is several thousandths of an inch smaller than your desired finished caliber. If you don't have a hammer forging machine (they are expensive), you can use a solitary steel cutting tool and drill the bar by hand, one groove at a time. Another option is to drill it in a single pass with a boring button, also expensive but not as much as a hammer forging machine.
4. Attach a polished carbide button tapered with the rifling grooves you want and pull it through the barrel. The button imprints the rifling into the barrel by directly ironing the steel into shape. You can also choose to cut the grooves of your rifle instead of hammering them. This is slower but allows you to choose your own twist rates and groove depths.
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