1911 Conversion barrels

This may prove to be a dumb question. Are the barrels of the main conversion manufacturers the same? I know they are all based off of the same design, but didn't know how similar they are? I have an advantage arms marvel custom pro. I am looking to get a threaded barrel for her. Wasn't sure which manufacturer I would even look at. I'd love a marvel steel slide with a threaded barrel, but it's not in the cards right now. Thanks for any help.

From your post not sure what you are really looking for but here is a link to purchase a Marvel threaded barrel: 

https://www.shopfcwguns.com/marvel-precision/marvel-accesories-3470/marvel-unit-1-tested-barrel-threaded-1756968

If you are not sure about fitment then call or email Marvel/FCW. Travis is very helpful.

toddcfii wrote:From your post not sure what you are really looking for but here is a link to purchase a Marvel threaded barrel: https://www.shopfcwguns.com/marvel-precision/marvel-upcharges-3470/threaded-barrel-upcharge-2075239

If you are not sure about fitment then call or email Marvel/FCW. Travis is very helpful.

Yes, I am essentially asking about fitment. My conversion is strange in that it was a limited run of 50 that marvel did with advantage arms. The advantage arms marvel custom pro is what it was called. So I am uncertain which company's barrel I would use. Looking at pictures of AA, Nelson, and Marvel, I do not see any differences. Figured I'd ask for first hand experience here.

OK makes sense. No matter what advice you get here I would call or email Travis at Marvel/FCW. He answers the phone and is very knowledgeable even about the older units.

I think I would pose the question to both Marvel/Frerking and also to Advantage Arms. In doing so you may find that you have a choice to buy either one, in which case price and availability can be factors in your decision.

Emailed both. The outcome is that Marvel's barrel will not fit. AA said their's  will fit, but will not come close to the accuracy of my current barrel. Guess I'm saving my pennies for now. Thank you to those that responded.

The accuracy problem might be solved by having David Sams reline any of the Marvel barrels. I was recently very lucky to acquire a Sams built Marvel - it is very accurate indeed.

I doubt the barrels can be relined. I did re-barrel a Nelson for a member here. The barrel is threaded and screwed into the larger section that holds the barrel onto the frame via the slide stop pin. If my memory is correct the thread is 3/8-40TPI, Might be 32. Definitely Left Hand Threads. Putting a liner in 3/8 threads will make it so weak it will crack off! Only option is to remove the old barrel, thread a replacement and insert it as I did to the Nelson. I still have the Nelson Barrel and can confirm thread size if wanted. I also have a .22 sleeve from Brownells if dimensions are desired.

Frank, Dave Sams has been lining conversion barrels for many years with no issues except shooting tiny little groups. They are phenomenal.
Jon

Jon Eulette wrote:Frank, Dave Sams has been lining conversion barrels for many years with no issues except shooting tiny little groups. They are phenomenal.
Jon

Thank you all for the other option. I'll have to reach out and see if it would be more economical to buy a threaded barrel and send it to Sams vs just buying a whole new conversion.

I'm sure Sams has lined some conversions BUT if the Nelson I had to re-barrel were lined it would fall off. As I mentioned the threaded section is 3/8" X 40TPI. At 40TPI the thread dept is .0125 per side or .025" so .375-.025 = .350". A tap drill 23/64" will cut slightly larger than .3594", Letter T drill will cut slightly larger than.358" or 8.9mm will cut slightly larger than .3503 depending how accurate the tap drill cut and how sharp it is. However the sleeve is 5/16" in diameter (.3125")
.350" - .313" = .037" or . 018" per side and maybe slightly less especially if a 23/64" or Letter T tap drill were used. I don't think .018" wall thickness is enough! Much better to thread a replacement barrel! 018" is ideal calculated amount not considering any tolerance or thread perfection!
 I'll make a photo of the barrel I removed from a Nelson Conversion and post it here.

Frank,
I’ve owned 3 Nelson barrels that Sams relined. No issues. More than one way to skin a cat as they say. His liner diameter steps down for the chamber. No problems.
Jon

I screwed up a conversion barrel recently………
Sent it to Alex Hamilton and he happen to have one Hammerli liner left and put it in for me. 
Shoots very well. He said his next batch of liners was hung up in Germany and probably will not be here until the end fall.

I am a shooter with a benchtop mill, I can screw up a lot of stuff, lol

Anything is possible. A skinned cat is a skinned cat but if I intend to do something I do it the best way possible. Getting a high quality .22 barrel blank, turning it to size (.625"), stepping it down to .375" and single point threading it 40TPI is quite easy. In my thinking it is far better than sleeveing especially when there is little material to work with. Drilling and tapping the holes for the scope mount into the barrel is easy too. Thought I have the top of the line mill (Cincinnati ToolMaster) I use a Moore Jig Borer that is accurate to .00005" I use it to drill and tap the holes.
Better yet would be to re-tap the hole 10mm X 1mm and turn the barrel 10mm on the end and single cut the thread 1mm. 11mm and 12mm taps are available with 1mm threads also.
 However it's my way of doing things, others will do it their way. If it works it's a good skinned cat!

I sold a SAMS relined Nelson, held 1/2 inch with good match ammo and 3/4 with Eley Target no problem. I shot a 98 9x SF with that Nelson. Yeah it was a windy day and I has one ill timed shot on round number 7. 

That AA should be real good. Clean it real good and maybe it will group better , if Marvel used a Micro Grove on that they tend to need cleaning more often. 

I would check the crown just a tiny imperfection can make a an x ring gun into a 9 ring gun.

rich.tullo wrote:I sold a SAMS relined Nelson, held 1/2 inch with good match ammo and 3/4 with Eley Target no problem. I shot a 98 9x SF with that Nelson. Yeah it was a windy day and I has one ill timed shot on round number 7. 

That AA should be real good. Clean it real good and maybe it will group better , if Marvel used a Micro Grove on that they tend to need cleaning more often. 

I would check the crown just a tiny imperfection can make a an x ring gun into a 9 ring gun.

The barrel I have shoots perfect. I'm trying to get an additional threaded barrel for it. The new barrel is what AA told me wouldn't have the same accuracy as the one currently on the conversion.

Jwhelan939 wrote:

rich.tullo wrote:I sold a SAMS relined Nelson, held 1/2 inch with good match ammo and 3/4 with Eley Target no problem. I shot a 98 9x SF with that Nelson. Yeah it was a windy day and I has one ill timed shot on round number 7. 

That AA should be real good. Clean it real good and maybe it will group better , if Marvel used a Micro Grove on that they tend to need cleaning more often. 

I would check the crown just a tiny imperfection can make a an x ring gun into a 9 ring gun.

The barrel I have shoots perfect. I'm trying to get an additional threaded barrel for it. The new barrel is what AA told me wouldn't have the same accuracy as the one currently on the conversion.

For sure, if the lower has a rail for a light I have something that might work even better for you than a comp.

I'm sure the re-lined Nelson barrels will shoot good. I can't comment on others due to the fact I have never disassembled one. But with only a 3/8" threaded hole the material remaining is much less than 3/8". In perfectly machined barrel that is single point threaded it will be .350". If a die either hand or self-opening type it could be less. Metal fatigue happens over time so that a tightly screwed in barrel will loosen. Ammo discharge pressure creates shock and as the metal fatigue increases sharp areas can develop cracks. I would be far better if the barrel threads were roll formed rather than cut.
 When removing a barrel from a Nelson conversion I attempted to unscrew the barrel as if it were right hand threaded. When after applying quite a bit of force I was surprised to find how easy it unscrewed when the opposite was applied.
 Simply put from and engineering point of view a barrel liner is not the best! I suspect it will fail over time due to the above conditions. In other type barrel mounts I don't see that problem.
 The barrel I made for my conversion was cut from solid S2 tool Steel (barrel and attachment is one piece) a liner from Brownells used. After getting the conversion to work I plan to get a high end barrel blank in large enough diameter and copy dimensions from the test unit so that it too will be one piece!
 In my opinion the OP will be better off getting a new barrel threaded and fitted to the gun than spend money relining!

Frank,
I’m sure your barrel will be nice, in scheme of things a screw in is top notch, but after bazillions of rounds fired through lined barrels with ZERO failures they are here to stay. 208 relined barrel is top notch and in the same boat as conversions with no issues. 
Jon

Re-lining a 208 and others is not the issue. I know 41 barrels that were re-lined and shot great for years. 208 barrels can be unscrewed too but most have been relined. I have never unscrewed a Hammerli barrel so I don't know what threads were used. 10mm possibly 11 or 12mm I'd guess. Of the other conversions made over the years I'm not familiar with how the barrel was attached so I can't say much about them. Nor am I saying re-lining a barrel is a bad thing, I know guys that had relined barrels in rifles that shot great. I was given one by an old friend that stopped shooting. My point is putting 5/16" liner in a 3/8" threaded barrel end does not leave much material. Also I can't say anything about any other conversion because I only did a Nelson!
 As to what I'm doing in my conversion was only for reference, probably a bit of over kill but it's a place to start.
 I do have a Nelson, never fired a round with it but if ever I need to replace the barrel I'll thread another 10mm or larger and rethread the attachment.