fire lapping

[old timer 1]

im sure i will never be a compitition shooter but i have read about fire lapping a rifle and dont completely understand what i read if someone has time maby they could post a brief explination of the concept thank you i really am an old timer and getting older everyday

[Jim D]

Old Timer,

Fire lapping is essentially nothing more than shooting abrasive coated lead bullets. The way it works is that you roll a lead bullet between two steel plates covered with abrasive paste. You then load the cartridges and go out and shoot. You repeat this process, each time with a finer abrasive. Personally I have tried it a little a few times with little or no noticeable results. Maybe I just didn't do it enough times.

-jim

[Sure-Shot]

Sometimes when they cut the dovetails or stamp the writing on a barrel it can cause a bump on the inside of the barrel. What you are doing by firelapping is polishing the inside and hopefully removing the bump. Generally if you take soft lead slightly larger than the barrel, I use sinkers with the wire cut out, then tap it down the barrel with a dowel, you can feel any constrictions as it will be harder to push through then go back to easier. When your done don't forget to measure the lead to get your bore diameter so you can load cast bullets .002 over that to prevent leading. The firelapping will also remove any small burs that may be scaring your bullets on the way through.

[old timer 1]

old timer

Old Timer, sharpshooter thank you for thr reply i just noticed your from lincoln ne my daughter lives in bellevue ne ill be there 3- 6 small world thanks again old timer

Fire lapping is essentially nothing more than shooting abrasive coated lead bullets. The way it works is that you roll a lead bullet between two steel plates covered with abrasive paste. You then load the cartridges and go out and shoot. You repeat this process, each time with a finer abrasive. Personally I have tried it a little a few times with little or no noticeable results. Maybe I just didn't do it enough times.

-jim

[Four-Eyed Buck]

I firelapped an 1893 that I picked up. The bore wasn't shiney and had a rough spot just ahead of the chamber. i started with valve lapping compound on a patch and jag, then cleaned. Next , I got whitening tooth paste( yes, you heard right), and worked it into the lube/lube grooves of some bullets, then loaded them into cases with the powder charge of choice. These were fired, then the barrel was cleaned. This rifle shoots better than I can hold. It's had a a hundred or so rounds through it since then. The bore isn't mirror, but it's pretty bright now. Whitening tooth paste has a very fine abrasive in it, sort of like jeweler's rouge.........Buck

[Jim D]

Maybe it's a misconception on my part, but my objection to fire lapping is that it wears both lands and grooves down. The bullet has abrasive particles embedded in it, so when it enters the bore, it wears
down the lands as it engages the rifling. I would think that it would tend to round the edges of the lands as well. Hand lapping wouldn't do that - at least as much. Like I say, mabe that's a misconception, and I haven't tried it to any great extent to prove or disprove that belief.

Anyway, I'd like to hear from others that have done it, and what kind of results they got.

-jim

[marlinman93]

I've never done it with real lapping compound, or even valve lapping compound. (big chicken here!)
I have done it by simply coating the tip of a bullet with Flitz metal polish, and then firing 5-10 rounds down the barrel. It did do a great job of making the bore cleaner and shiny, but I didn't notice change in accuracy. That may be because the Flitz is no very abrasive, but at least it looks good inside the bore!-Vall