I received my new 33" Barrel today.... it slugged out right at 0.257" groove as requested, with a 7" twist.... I set to work fitting it to the Breechblock which I had previously drilled 1/2" all the way through.... I drilled the front to 33/64" and tapped it to a depth of 2" with 9/16"-18 NF threads, and then counterbored it 3/4" deep to 9/16" to fit the OD of the barrel.... The Barrel was turned down on the end to 3/8" to fit inside a steel Thimble which will carry the barrel port, next there is a 1/2" diameter portion to fit the bore of the Breechblock, and then the threads.... This was all done in a 4-jaw chuck so that it was concentric to the bore.... There is an O-ring which is compressed to seal the Barrel to the Thimble, and simultaneously seal the Barrel into the ID of the Breechblock when it is tightened against the Thimble.... Here is a photo of the Barrel machining, the roughed out Breechblock (made from 1-1/8" OD 2024-T3 round bar), and the two screwed together....





My hand is on the mend, it felt good to get back into the shop today.... Tomorrow I hope to turn the OD of the Breechblock to fit inside the upper CrMoly Monocoque tube.... Once the rough fitting is done, there will be a lot of work required to finish and mount the Breechblock in the Monocoque tube....

Bob