A tale of drilling and tapping a blind hole in a barrel and how a bad mistake in the shop turned out for the best.

by Keith Feldhahn

There have been many articles written in both trade and hobby gunsmith literature about drilling blind holes, tapping, extracting broken taps and the like. All readers who aspire to any skill at all with routine tasks in the gun shop are encouraged to read and soak up all there is on this important subject as it is very important stuff. This article begins with the correct way to perform this work in the shop. Following that is a story of what actually happens when things went awry for a well-intentioned gunsmith being just a little too casual in his work methods and managed to mess up such a hole.

Read more in our May 2012 issue. Back issues are available.

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