On 2001-09-03 22:04, dfariswheel wrote:
PRICE. It's cheaper to make the rifled tube and press fit it to the cast rear portion. Making a one piece barrel is harder and more expensive.
Really! I can't see how adding several manufacturing processes, manpower to do them, and more raw material inventory to control reduces costs. Beats me! Below, I will attempt to describe what I mean. Please don't abuse my simplified processes because I know there are several ways to make a barrel and I'm not sure how SA does it, so I just simplified it so it could be any method.
Normal process is start with bar stock. Machine outside shape. Deep hole drill and rifle inside. Cut chamber. Your low cost process.
New low cost process?? Get two pieces of bar stock. Machine FR barrel piece. Rifle this piece. Machine RR part. Precision weld FR and RR pieces together with perfect heat control, fixture alignment, oh yea, and a welder that leaves no bead. Oops there must be a bead. So, machine and blend bead to hide from customer! Result, if slowly and perfectly done, the same quality as the one piece barrels, most of the time.
As a result, more processes adds more variables and therefore more rejected barrels. Rejected barrels or "should have been rejected" barrels sent out only mak warranty and scrap, both of which don't make MONEY!
You USUALLY see two piece barrels only on cheaper guns. It's sometimes very hard to detect a two piece, when it's well made. Some of the late Walther P-38/P4's had two piece barrels that were virtually impossible to detect.
You can be sure they don't make two piece barrels because their better!!
Who makes two piece barrels? I'll tell you who. SSK makes a two piece barrel. It is one of the finest barrels that I own. It is on my Contender and shoot under an inch easily in 375 JDJ at 100 yds. It is two piece because that is the easiest way to make it. The barrel blank is rifled from a custom maker and is about 1" diameter with no taper. JDJones then welds on a lug to the bottom to mount it in the gun. This is some of the finest welding that you will ever see, but you can still see it. Of course this custom smith knows the limits of his abilities and did not try to weld a chamber on to rifling, because it is, in a practical sense, IMPOSSIBLE to make an accurate barrel doing that.