Reviewed by Dale Annis[Image Can Not Be Found]

Skill Level: Intermediate to advanced
Type: Shop Manual
Projects: Several Supporting Tools and Procedures (Lathe)
Units: (in.)
Pages: 304 plus appendices

“The information is only a guide; the final word has yet to be written.” John L. Hinnant

Prophetic words from a book that was meant to be a shop manual. The Complete Guide to Precision Rifle Barrel Fitting by John L Hinnant is just that, a shop manual. As a matter of fact, the author encourages the reader to pull apart the binding, punch holes in the pages and place the book into a 3-ring binder. But don’t let the simple construction paper cover and lack of color illustrations and photos fool you. What this text lacks in “bling” it makes up for in substance!

Anyone considering placing a rifle barrel in a lathe must have this book. I cannot over emphasize the value of this book to a gunsmith considering rifle blueprinting as a service to offer customers. Amateur’s wishing to build their own rifles will fall in love with it immediately.
Broken down into the following sections, the manual guides the reader, step by step through the procedures of building the needed tools, fitting rifle barrels, blueprinting rifle actions, and chambering 22LRs with a special segment on Rugers. I listed the text as intermediate to advanced because it is obvious that some knowledge of lathe usage is assumed by the author. The drawings, while very adequate for anyone with at least some experience with a lathe, would leave the complete amateur wondering how the steady rest supports were suspended in space while holding the barrel. Obviously, Mr. Hinnant is gearing this to a reader with some prior knowledge of lathe operations.

Sections:
1. Accessory Tools for Fitting Rifle Barrels
a. Reamer Wrenches
b. Bolt Lug Lapping Tool
c. Receiver Facing Mandrel
d. Dial Indicator Tail Stock Fixture
e. Barrel Vises
f. Receiver Wrenches
2. Lathe Cutting Tools
3. Lathe Cutting Speeds and Feeds
4. Squaring the Receiver Face
5. The Barrel Turning &Fitting Procedure
a. Facing off the Center Holes
b. Drilling New Center Holes
c. Turning a Relief Cut on the Muzzle
d. The Basic Lathe Set-up
e. Turning the Breech O.D.
f. Marking the Breech and Thread Tenon Length
g. Turning the Thread Tenon Diameter
h. Turing the Thread Relief Groove
i. Facing the Thread Tenon to Length
j. Counter Boring the Breech Face
k. Shaping the Coned Breech
l. Reaming the Chamber
m. Threading the Thread Tenon
n. Determine the Correct Chamber Depth/Headspace
o. Finish Chamber Reaming and Head spacing
6. Chamber Throat Length
7. Crowning the Muzzle
8. Milling the Extractor Cut
9. Assembling the Barrel and Receiver
10. Fitting a Barrel to the Single Shot Action
11. Blueprinting a Rifle Action
12. A Blueprinting Update
13. Chambering for the Twenty-two Rimfire Cartridge
14. The Ruger Models 10/22 and 77/22

Mr. Hinnant offers several options for set-up, taking into consideration that not everyone’s lathe will accommodate a barrel between centers or through the spindle. Set-up processes are explained with emphasis on the pit-falls to beware of and drawing based orientation of information being relayed. Likewise procedures take into consideration some of the hazards involved with regard to what won’t work on certain rifles, such as a warning against over-lapping bolt lugs on certain case-hardened Mauser actions.

In closing, this book is written, printed, and presented by the author as a shop manual. It fills that role very adequately. It is a vast pool of information and reading it will be a joy for anyone who has ever dreamed of barreling their own rifle from scratch or turning that old deer rifle into a F-class trophy winner.

Reviewed by Dale Annis
About the author