BrightCandle Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 http://www.air-lab.co.uk/products/tools.html They got level 2 and level 4 kits in.
team flex Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 what exactly is lapping a barrel etc? what does it mean? Never come across it beforehand...
BrightCandle Posted November 7, 2014 Author Posted November 7, 2014 If a barrel is actually straight then the second most important aspect in its performance is the internal finish. Its not uncommon looking into a barrel to find that its got obvious rings and other artefacts from its manufacturer. Cutting apart a barrel and looking at the insides show they aren't anywhere near as smooth as you might think by looking down them. These rough points, inconsistencies in the barrels internal texture generally cause the BBs to head off in different directions depending on which little edge they hit. So to improve accuracy you can lap the inside of the barrel to improve the consistency and make the barrels internal quality much higher. Its just a way of polishing away the imperfections inherient in the creation of the barrel itself and it can be used to improve stock barrels or less than perfect aftermarket ones. team flex and straffham 2
team flex Posted November 8, 2014 Posted November 8, 2014 oh ok. So is it just a piece of metal, or does it provide a coating which then smooths out and becomes the inside diameter? And how do they hold up, if you have ever used one? thanks, it's quite an interesting topic, one I never knew about.
BrightCandle Posted November 8, 2014 Author Posted November 8, 2014 oh ok. So is it just a piece of metal, or does it provide a coating which then smooths out and becomes the inside diameter? And how do they hold up, if you have ever used one? thanks, it's quite an interesting topic, one I never knew about. Its a series of different grits (like sandpaper) and things to insert these uniformly into the barrel. Takes a lot of repetitions through the barrel with different grit sizes to gradually smooth it out until its perfect. team flex 1
Supporters Lozart Posted November 10, 2014 Supporters Posted November 10, 2014 gradually smooth it out until its perfect. Or screw it up completely if you don't know what you're doing...
NH Shooter Posted November 10, 2014 Posted November 10, 2014 Stuff like this really needs a jig if your not familiar. Lozart 1
Tacitus Posted December 15, 2014 Posted December 15, 2014 The kit comes with an alignment block which makes it easy to keep the same orientation throughout the lapping process. Although the laps themselves are designed to lap evenly all the way around the bore. It's difficult to screw up your barrel because the material removal rate is very slow - as long as you used the lapping compounds supplied, or of equivalent grit sizes. The amount of metal removed is miniscule, just enough to take the high spots off the surface.
Undieing_Lust Posted December 15, 2014 Posted December 15, 2014 Am not really sure I could be assed to lap my barrel unless I was doing a super DMR build. But that AR Latch clip looks handy. (Edit) I would use the latch on a build using a powerfull spring that you need to use all your strength to get the spring in. and if the AR latch poped out from you moving the gearbox shell while installing the spring, but you got the gearbox closed that is the point were I would just give up on life.
Tacitus Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 The ARL clip is super helpful! Lapping is always an improvement to a barrel. Yes it can be time consuming, but it doesn't have to be - you can do as little as you like. It's also really easy and quite therapeutic. You can watch a film or something while you work as it doesn't take much concentration.
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