machine from Sunnen Products Co. (St. Louis). The ma- chine has all but eliminated Pac-Nor’s pre-rifl ing lap, which is the more diffi cult and time-consuming of the two laps. Pac-Nor is also producing as many custom barrels as ever, but with a slightly smaller staff. “Our objective with the hone was to build a better product with less labor, and the honing machine has exceeded my expectations,” said Pac-Nor Production Manager Casey Dichter. “The hone pro- duces a consistency in bore diameter that is head and shoulders above lap- ping, within two to three millionths of an inch end-to-end when it’s really dialed in. This, in turn, improves the consis- tency of the rifl ing process by minimizing variation in the depth of the grooves. We still fi nish lap after rifl ing, but it’s easier because we just polish off the fi ne cross- hatch fi nish that may be left after honing and rifl ing,” said Dichter. Pac-Nor Barreling is a true custom manufacturer catering to bolt-action rifl e shooters. The company’s prin- cipal markets are law enforcement, military, competitive shooters and hunters. Started in 1984 by avid shooter and company President Chris Dichter, Pac-Nor is now in its second generation under his son, Casey. In addition to barrel manufacturing, the shop will rebarrel and install the barrel on a customer’s action, or add features such as muzzle brakes or fl uting on bolts and barrels. The shop runs two shifts per day. A day shift of 10 people produces 30 to 40 custom barrels of different calibers in 416R stainless or chrome-moly steel. A night shift of three people produces one type of barrel—about 50 AR-15 barrels per day for a rifl e OEM. Pac-Nor’s process starts with cut- ting and facing premium bar stock, followed by gun drilling, done by four Pratt & Whitney twin-spindle machines


and an Eldorado CNC twin spindle. After reaming, the bar- rels are gaged for size. Depending on the condition of the reamer, 0.0004–0.0007" (0.010–0.018 mm) of material is left in the bore. This must be manually lapped out or honed


July 2016 | AdvancedManufacturing.org 43


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