Sleeving a pistol barrel?

[awp101]

I'm thinking of picking up a Remington 1858 Navy (.36 cal) and doing some modifying/tinkering.

I can get a conversion to fire .38 Special/.38 Colt (and I bet .38 S&W would work as well). IIRC the .36 cal bp barrels are actually closer to .375" so to get the best accuracy without using a hollow base or heeled bullet, the barrel should be sleeved to .357 so the bullet isn't just rattling down the bore.

I've never seen the process of sleeving a bore in person but as I understand it, the old barrel is drilled out to accept the sleeve. Could a sub-8" pistol barrel be done in a 16" drill press? Is it more involved than what I'm thinking?:think2:

And before anyone asks "Why?", the reason is because I bloody well can!:bigsmilebounce:

[slamfire51]

I have seen people who have sleeved rifle barrels. The process would be the same I suppose.
The original barrel is drilled out to the proper spec. and the sleeve is coated with a slow drying epoxy and the sleeve pressed into place. Some gunsmiths use solder to secure the sleeve.

Interesting project you are planning. Have you found a sleeve yet? Brownells may have what you're looking for.

[mriddick]

I've seen people do this but they use a 44 cal barrel as the sleeve barrel donor instead of the 36 cal barrel.

[awp101]

I've seen people do this but they use a 44 cal barrel as the sleeve barrel donor instead of the 36 cal barrel.
Interesting. No issues getting the larger caliber barrel to line up properly with the smaller cylinder? At least I think the .36 cylinder is smaller...:think2:

I used to have an 1860 .44 and 1861 .36 (both Piettas) but never tried swapping the barrels to see.

Kirst offers sleeving as an additional option when you buy a conversion cylinder and I think a couple of the CAS 'smiths do as well. I figure if it will fit in my drill press, I should be able to do it myself.:bigsmilebounce:

slam, last time I looked, Track of the Wolf sells barrel liners in a bunch of calibers. Not too pricy either from what I recall.

[WB!]

The S&W 38 is slightly larger then the 38 special, and won't interchange. You should be able to reline the barrel. You need to make sure the blackpowder frame will withstand the higher pressures of the 38 special.