An interesting approach I had never heard of. I can see how it would work great on heavier rifle barrel threads, It would take a while and more finis with 36 to the inch threads, but should work and once complete a very permanent fix. I have a piece of tool steel I tapped and hardened when making some N frame taps Unlike a normal die it has no reliefs. I am thinking that if I supported it ran a barrel in it a couple threads and then gave the muzzle a good pop with a brass hammer, then ran the barrel in a couple more threads and gave it another pop and continued until I was out of threads, I would accomplish the same thing.
I am going to try it if I run into a loose fit again
It'll be interesting to see if the no relief die would do the same work. Probably (maybe) if the die threads only engage 2 threads at a time on the bbl shank so it doesn't take much force to swage them forward (?)
I have used this method for yrs on everything from Colt SAA and Ruger bbls to Mauser and other CF rifle actions.
Yes it can take a bit of time on the smaller tpi, but not as much as you would expect.
If you do the complete thread (swage it the entire length & twist) and not try and do a quick job of it and do just a couple threads,,it will stand up to anything the orig thread was expected to do.
You can expect to gain about a 1/4 turn hard draw up needing a wrench & vise of some sort with this method. Sometimes a little less.
Swage the entire standing V of the thread forward, not just the tip of the V.
The latter will give you the same effect but not as strong obviously.
I've never had one 'un-do' itself as far as tightness once re-assembled. Firing a solid assembly doesn't unwind it.
What it does not stand up to is a constant take apart & reassemble over and over again. Thats something not normally done anyway.
The only exception may be the TD joint threads
So it's use in tightening up the Win LA takedowns is generally for putting them back nice and tight.. but then leaving them assembled and using them as a solid frame gun.
The Winchester TD take up is sort of a folly in it's use of the 3 set screws dimpling out the bbl extension flat plate to press firmer against the front of the recv'r.
Really bad ones will push the bbl upwards noticably and even increase HS a bit. Seems like they could have come up with a better soln.
This method of swaging or peening the threads forward was very common when I got interested in gunsmithing in the eary 60's..(peening being probably a bad choice of descriptive language for this as people think you just hammer the theads down flat maybe to tighten the fit)
I was shown the methods by oldsters I worked with over time in different shops and even in one factory setting.
Not so anymore I guess.
I've shown it to some people interested in the trade and they look at me sideways.
I did show it to one 'Restoration Specialist' who had a 92TD in for work that was loose and the customer wanted it tightened up.
I told him it was not a permanent TD fix up, but rather to tighten the joint and leave it a solid frame set up.
A permanent fix would require much more work.
But this was fast and he liked that.
He ran with the idea as his own. Proclaimed his great knowledge and experience. 'Fixed' more than a few with the method and then had most of those customers complian that the TD joints were loosening after repeated use again.
You can't fix stupid.
I never bothered to lend him much experience again.
I reclock screws with just a hammer, like the trigger plate screws on SxS's and such. Forend cap screws, etc.
But that's another story.
