Inovatec MachineryYour Best Gun Barrel Automatic Polishing Equipment & Solution Provider in China

Gun Barrel Polishing – Definitive Guide

Are you in a business that involves guns and rifles?

It can be the manufacturing or assembly of guns and rifles using various parts.

If yes, then your business will be involved in the process of polishing gun barrel parts too.

Are you still using the age-old method of manual polishing?

If yes, then consider switching to an automatic gun barrel polishing machine.

In this guide, I will explain the whole process of gun barrel polishing in detail. I will also list the different solutions from Inovatec machinery for polishing gun barrels.

1. What Is a Gun Barrel?

A gun barrel is an essential part of a gun or rifle.

It is basically a tube that is in the front part of a gun.

A high expansion of high-pressure gases happens inside this gun barrel.

Thus, it pushes out the projectile in front with a high velocity.

2. Why Polish Gun Barrel?

Let us have a look at the various benefits of polishing gun barrel parts.

2.1 For Best Appearance

The barrel part of the gun quickly draws the viewer’s attention. So, you need to ensure that they are in the best shape.

You can achieve the best possible appearance only through proper finishing and polishing.

2.2 For Accuracy

The front end of the gun barrel is called the muzzle.

It is the last point of contact for the projectile before the release.

So, you need to ensure that there are no irregularities in the muzzle surface.

Otherwise, it can affect the trajectory of the projectile. So, accuracy may get compromised.

So, you need to ensure that the muzzle is finished and polished correctly.

2.3 For Symmetry

You need to ensure that the gun barrel has the right symmetry for the proper working of the gun.

Otherwise, the projectile will miss the target, even if you have a good aim. Polishing helps to maintain the barrel symmetry.

2.4 Strengthens the Part

A weak gun barrel can prove to be disastrous.

So, you need to ensure that the part is sufficiently strong.

Manufacturing of gun barrels may result in marks and pits on the metal surface.

These are weak spots.

So, you need to remove them before assembling the gun through the finishing and polishing process.

2.5 To Prepare the Gun Barrel for Bluing

Bluing is the process of creating a thin layer of coating on the gun barrel surface.

It applies to steel gun barrels. Here, the red iron oxide is converted to blue-black iron oxide.

Polishing gun barrel for bluing is essential to ensure that the coating is uniform across the surface.

Otherwise, the protecting layer will not be effective.

2.6 To Resist Oxidation & Tarnishing

There is a tendency for the metal surface of the gun barrel to get oxidized.

It happens when it is exposed to moisture. It will tarnish the gun barrel.

A proper finishing and polishing ensure that the oxidation effect is kept to a minimum.

3. What Is the Traditional Way of Polishing Gun Barrel Parts?

The traditional method of polishing gun barrel parts is a mechanical process.

It makes use of the wheel grinding technique. There are two ways of doing it.

In the first method, the grinding wheel is stationary.

It is fixed to an immovable surface.

You need to switch on the wheel and move the barrel surface along the edge of the wheel.

Thus, the wheel polishes the gun barrel.

There will be multiple wheel heads of different abrasive strengths.

You need to use these heads to get the desired finish.

In the other method, the gun barrel is made stationary.

Here, the person needs to move the wheel grinder along the barrel surface for polishing.

4. What Is a Gun Barrel Polishing Machine?

A machine that is capable of finishing and polishing gunmetal barrel surface is called a gun barrel polishing machine.

The whole process of cleaning, finishing, and polishing happens automatically.

The person operating the machine has to load the machine with the gun barrel parts and the cleaning media.

The time duration for polishing varies for different machines. It also depends on your final finish quality.

5. Why Use a Machine for Polishing Gun Barrel Parts?

A gun barrel polishing machine offers many advantages over the traditional polishing methods. Let us have a look at these benefits.

5.1 Saves Time

A gun barrel polishing machine can polish large quantities of barrels together at the same time.

It will take lots of time if you use the grinding wheel method to polish the same quantity of gun barrels.

So, use a machine to save time.

5.2 Cost-Effective

A business is profitable when you can bring down the operational cost.

Investing in an Inovatec machine to polish your gun barrels requires only a one-time investment.

You can select a cleaning media with a higher lifespan.

So, it will be cost-effective in the long run.

In the manual method, you have recurring costs on laborers and cleaning materials.

5.3 For Perfect Finish

Some gun barrels demand a mirror-like finish. Few others need a matte finish.

Whatever be the finish, you need to ensure that the finish is perfect.

Only, a machine can guarantee you a consistent and perfect finish across all the gun barrel parts.

So, go for the machine polishing process.

5.4 Damage-Free Polishing

There is no room for error when it comes to guns and rifles.

So, you need to ensure that there are no damages to the gun barrels after polishing.

The traditional polishing method is prone to damages due to human error.

But, the machine polishing of gun barrel parts ensures zero damage.

You need to ensure that you select the right tumbling media for each type of gun barrel material.

5.5 Batch Polishing Ability

Most of the Inovatec gun barrel polishing machines come with batch polishing capability.

We also offer the facility to prepare custom fixtures to hold multiple rifle barrels inside the finishing and polishing machines.

5.6 Not Labor Intensive

The manual gun barrel polishing using a wheel grinder is a labor-intensive process.

You need to employ many laborers to polish different barrels at the same time. Otherwise, the yield will be an issue.

The barrel polishing machine requires only one labor to control the entire operation.

The machine will polish multiple barrels simultaneously.

5.7 No Skilled Labor Requirement

You need to employ skilled laborers if you are using the traditional barrel polishing method.

You will have to give specific training on barrel cleaning and polishing.

The polishing process of a gun barrel is not dependent on human skills to get the perfect finish.

5.8 Low Machine Maintenance Cost

You need to follow the instructions in the user manual for machine maintenance alone.

It doesn’t require any extra investment in equipment or tools for maintenance.

All the maintenance task can be quickly executed using the basic maintenance tool kit.

6. What Are the Different Types of Machines for Polishing Gun Barrel Parts?

Inovatec offers two types of machines for polishing gun barrel parts. You can select any/both of these based on your rifle barrel polishing requirements.

6.1 Tub Vibratory Finishing Machine

Inovatec machinery offers a tub vibratory finishing machine as one of the solutions to polish gun barrel parts.

They are available in different sizes. So, you can choose one according to the size of your gun barrel.

It also offers batch processing capability.

But you need to ensure that the different barrels do not hit against each other.

Otherwise, it will damage the barrels.

You can get customized clamping devices from Inovatec for holding multiple barrels separately inside this machine.

Thus, you can avoid a part-to-part collision.

6.2 Centrifugal Barrel Finishing Machine

Centrifugal barrel finishing machine from Inovatec is best suited for high-end barrel finishing.

It does the job of deburring, degreasing, finishing and polishing at the same time.

You can use it for dry polishing as well as wet polishing.

High speed and high precision finishing make this machine the most favorable choice for many customers.

They are available in four different variants. One variant comes with an automatic unloading feature.

There is another variant with a removable barrel. You can use it for small gun barrels.

Centrifugal barrel machine with tilt barrel is suitable for gun barrels which have carvings or designs on the surface. This machine helps to clean and polish deep slots and holes.

7. What Types of Vibratory Tumbling Media Are Used for Gun Barrel Polishing?

You need to feed the gun barrel polishing machine with suitable vibratory tumbling media for polishing.

Vibratory tumbling media are substances that have varying abrasive strengths.

They are used for deburring, cleaning, degreasing, finishing, and polishing gun barrel parts.

You can use it alone in the machine with the gun barrel parts for dry polishing.

Otherwise, you can mix it along with the cleaning compound for wet polishing.

8. What Are Different Types of Vibratory Tumbling Media for Polishing Gun Metal Barrel Parts?

Inovatec Machinery recommends three types of vibratory tumbling media for polishing gun barrel parts.

All these tumbling media are available in different sizes.

Inovatec also supports custom size and shape based on customer requests.

The choice of shape depends on the geometry and complexity of the gun barrel.

8.1 Ceramic Tumbling Media

Ceramic media is an excellent choice to remove machine marks, loose burrs, and flashes from the gun barrel surface.

It is a mixture of kaolin clay and abrasives.

Inovatec offers a wide variety of shapes in ceramic tumbling media. It includes triangle, cylinder, cone, wedge, star, ellipse, tristar, and ball.

We also offer these shapes in six grades.

They are General cutting, Light cutting, Fast cutting, Very fast cutting, and P grade polishing media.

If you want aggressive material removal, then go for higher cutting grades.

8.2 Plastic Tumbling Media

Plastic tumbling media is a mixture of abrasives with polyester resin. It is best suited for gun barrels made of soft metals.

Thorough cleaning, no workpiece damage, and long life make plastic tumbling media the preferred choice for many customers.

Inovatec offers plastic tumbling media in different shapes. It includes a pyramid, triangle, tristar, paraboloid, lens, tetrahedron, and cone. Five cutting grade options include fast, medium, light, ultrafine, and zirconium. Plastic tumbling media from Inovatec has lower wear and tear rates.

8.3 Porcelain Tumbling Media

Porcelain tumbling media is made up of aluminum oxide. It doesn’t apply too much pressure on the gun barrel surface. So, you can use it in the final polishing stage of gun barrels. It helps to bring the shine on the gun barrel surface.

You can get two types of porcelain media from Inovatec. The standard type comes with 30-40% alumina content. The fine porcelain media has 70% alumina. The four commonly used shapes include ball, tristar, triangle, and cylinder.

Inovatec recommends using porcelain media with wet polishing. You can use it with water or any other shining liquid.

9. What Different Types of Gun Barrel Parts Are Supported for Polishing?

Inovatec gun barrel polishing machines are capable of polishing a wide variety of gun barrel parts. This list is based on the gun barrel material, type of guns, and barrel manufacturing processes.

9.1 Pistol Barrel Part

Piston barrels come in different types of metals and metal alloys. It includes aluminum, stainless steel, carbon fiber, etc.

9.2 Gun Barrel Blank

Gun barrel blanks are long metal parts. You need to use a tub vibratory finishing machine for polishing these parts because of their long length.

9.3 Double Barrel Shotgun Barrel

Double barrel shotgun barrels are long tubes made mostly of alloy steel.

9.4 AR15 Gun Barrels

AR15 gun barrels come in different lengths. The smallest one is around 4 inches and the largest being 24 inches.

9.5 Rifle Barrels

Rifle barrels are made using different grades of steel.

9.6 AK 47 Gun Barrel

The tub vibratory finishing machine is good enough to finish and polish the famous AK 47 gun barrel.

9.7 Chrome Molybdenum Steel Gun Barrel

Chrome molybdenum steel is another popular material used for manufacturing gun barrels.

9.8 Stainless Steel Gun Barrel

Stainless steel is commonly used to produce centerfire gun barrels.

9.9 Cut Rifling Barrel

Cut rifling is the oldest technique used to make gun barrels. Here, spiral grooves are made in the barrel by removing the steel.

9.10 Broach Rifling Barrel

Gun barrels made using the broach rifling technique are called broach rifling barrels.

It is a modern barrel production technique that overcomes the issues of the cut rifling process.

9.11 Button Rifling Barrel

Button rifling is another type of manufacturing process used to make gun barrels.

9. 12 Hammer-Forged Rifle Barrel

Hammer forging is the most modern method of making rifle barrels adopted by large scale commercial manufacturers.

9. 13 Carbon Steel Barrel

Carbon steel is another superior material used for gun barrel manufacturing.

They are easy to machine.

9. 14 Columbium Gun Barrel

Excellent resistance to heat and corrosion makes columbium a good option for making gun barrels. They are rare and expensive.

9. 15 Aluminum Gun Barrel

Aluminum is a soft metal. So, aluminum gun barrels come with a steel liner to improve their strength and stability.

9. 16 Titanium Gun Barrel

Titanium gun barrels are solid barrels made out of titanium cobalt alloy.

They are very expensive and difficult to manufacture.

9. 17 Barrels with Polygonal Rifling

Gun barrels with polygonal rifling offers the advantage of higher projectile velocity.

It is due to the small gap between the bore and projectile.

9.18 Carbon Fiber Barrel

Lightweight, long life, higher strength, and no rusting make carbon fiber a popular choice for making rifle barrels.

Conclusion

Inovatec gun barrel polishing machine supports almost all of the types of gun barrels.

You need to ensure that you use the right tumbling media with the right barrel material to get the desired finish.

Strict manufacturing and quality standards of Inovatec ensure that the tumbling media is of very high quality.

So, you can consider investing in this gun barrel polishing solutions offered by Inovatec.

It will take your business to new heights.