6.5 WSM reamer with extended pilot?

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Hey guys, looking for help on sourcing a 6.5 WSM reamer with an extended pilot. My local smith was worried that the reamer from 4D would fail to support the reamer. Unfortunately, the reamer arrived, and the pilot is indeed too short. Does anybody have a contact or smith they know that may have run into this issue and have a solution? The two options on the table right now are:

1- I try to use a boring bar to open the chamber up a little. This isn't easy as he has to try and match the taper to the new case and open it up just enough to get the reamer down it.

2- cut most of the old chamber off and basically start fresh.

Thank you in advance for your support!

 

[BBob]

and the pilot is indeed too short.

Why is it too short?

sourcing a 6.5 WSM reamer with an extended pilot

Again why is this needed? Never heard of anyone "needing" an extended pilot. What purpose does this serve and what problem does it solve?

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

For context, I'm have a Tikka 6.5 PRC re-chambered to 6.5 WSM. My understanding from the smith's comments is the pilot is not out far enough on the rented reamer to make contact with the rifling. The outside size difference between the prc and wsm is definitely noticeable when trying to ream the chamber.

 

[BBob]

For context, I'm have a Tikka 6.5 PRC re-chambered to 6.5 WSM. My understanding from the smith's comments is the pilot is not out far enough on the rented reamer to make contact with the rifling. The outside size difference between the prc and wsm is definitely noticeable when trying to ream the chamber.

Is the original chamber concentric to the bore? If so run the reamer in and it will follow the existing hole. The pilot isn't needed in this case. If the existing chamber is not concentric then you have to decide how far it's out and if a short ish setback will fix it. If not proceed to your number 2 option below.

2- cut most of the old chamber off and basically start fresh.

Me? I'd probably do what I do with a barrel blank. I'd dial in the bore where the new throat would be, pre-bore just like I would for the WSM case dimensions and run the reamer in.

If your guy can't figure out how to do this with a std reamer I'd find a new guy. Sounds like he's old school and wants to run the reamer in from the start using the pilot for guidance the whole way with no pre-bore.

 

[PathFinder]

He's probably best off using the boring bar. It's not necessary to match the body taper, just to open it up at the rear enough to get the WSM reamer in to where the pilot will engage, without going larger than the diameter at the rear of the reamer.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

 

[Castle Rock]

As above, find someone else, that reamer he is seeking doesn’t exist

 

[TaperPin]

The stream of thoughts I had reading your post went something like this:

“How cool, the WSM cartridge would be a neat upgrade.”

“Why would a gunsmith not know there is no such reamer?”

*checked SAAMI*

“Shouldn’t even be able to get the WSM shoulder in the existing chamber - it has to be single pointed to get the reamer to work. Hmm…”

“Why is the relatively easy process of single pointing the chamber enough to get the reamer pilot into the lands a holdup?”

“Is the lathe he’s using so small he can’t get the barrel into the headstock, or the compound is too small or worn out to single point?”

“Is it a really young, really old, or non gunsmith doing the work?”

“Maybe I should WSM a PRC…how cool.”

“Maybe the guy doesn’t have a deep reach test indicator to set up the barrel for single pointing?”

“Maybe the smith just doesn’t want the work for some reason?”

Then my brain just looped all those thoughts a couple times through. lol

 

[TaperPin]

On the chamber drawings there is a 1.300” long body taper measurement. The WSM diameter tapers .0150” over that distance, while the PRC diameter taper is very similar at .0154”. The amount to single point the chamber is half that taper, so it’s cutting .0075” every 1.300”. That’s pretty straightforward to setup, like really easy, so based on that alone I’d say you’re better off with a different guy.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Thank you for all the feedback. I won't name the smith as he is a local guy, and I know many people that have been very happy with his work and custom rifles he's built. There are several guys on here that shoot his guns and I've seen them in the classifieds as well. He's been in the business for at least 15 years, but I don't know how often he gets rechamber requests, and I appreciate his level of caution.

I have 2 factory Tikka 6.5 PRC barrels, one that came with the rifle and one I got off of here for $100 he's starting with. As a result, I won't be out too much if he can't make it work and can either scrap the build or take it elsewhere. It wouldn't be too big a hardship to get "stuck" with a factory Tikka in 6.5 PRC either.

Thanks again for the comments

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Smith figured it out and the rifle is ready for pickup. Now to determine some starting powders/loads for the 147 ELDM. Supposed to be similar to .264 mag and there is 270 WSM load data out there a guy should be able to use for powder selection. Thanks again guys!