What is hand lapping?
A. The hand lapping process, that all of our barrels undergo, ensures that you will receive a rifle barrel that has the very best and most desirable type of internal finish that we can provide. The lapping operation brings the final internal dimensions up to size and also improves the finish. No production barrels are hand lapped, only the finest custom barrels receive this very important operation. And it is partly for this reason that hand lapped barrels cost more than lower grade production barrels. In practice, a molten lap is cast around a rod placed inside the barrel. The profile of the rifling is cast into the lap ensuring a very precise fit with that individual barrel. The lap is then “charged” with lapping compound, oiled, and pushed and pulled repeatedly through the length of the barrel. The lap is “recharged” and oiled many times and several new laps will be cast before the lapping procedure is completed. The man doing the lapping judges when the barrel is finished by a very
