CW45 Threaded Barrel Options

[spirit]

Okay guys I need you help. When my tax money arrives I will be submitting my Form-1 and preparing to fit my CW45 with a suppressor. I will be designing and constructing the suppressor myself. I'll get much deeper in detail later on once the Form-1 request is accepted and I start CG modeling the designs.

For now I have got to get this threaded barrel dilemma straightened out.

Okay so...

The CW45's barrel is 3.64"
- I need approx. .75" of threads for my comfort
- The end of barrel and the guide rod are offset when the slide is at it's end position. By eye this looks to be about .25"
- 3.64"+.25"+.75"=4.64"
So I want a barrel length of at least 4.64".

These are the longest of Kahr's .45ACP barrel lengths:
+TP45 4.04"
+CT45 4.04"

So that puts me .60" shorter than I would like IF the barrel lugs are identical.

So basically the most I am going to see is 3.64"+.25"=3.89"-4.04"
(.15"threads)
This is unacceptable.

I really want to move forward with a suppressor for this CW45 but it's looking like I'm dead in the water aside from sending the barrel off to be extended. I really don't want to have the barrel extended because I will be spending $180 on the extra barrel anyway plus however much to have the extension.

I need some help here fellas.

Many thanks and best regards,
Michael

[CJB]

Here's what you do.... and since you're building your own suppresor, you can do it.

Get the longest barrel you can find, like a 6" 1911 barrel, thats threaded already. I'd look for a straight barrel, not tapered, and make sure its diameter is as least as fat as the Kahr barrel. I've not compared diameters... so I cannot speculate as to fit.

But, if the 1911 barrel (or Glock or whatever) is fat enough to be turned to the size needed to fit the Kahr slide, then you can turn the threaded barrels hood and locking parts right off it, to make a straight barrel out of it.

Then you need to cut the Kahr barrel off its chamber area. Leave about a tenth inch sticking out. Figure out the sizes... again, I know this is done, but have not worked the exact sizing. The idea is to drill and ream the existing hood and chamber area, turn down your straight barrel, and insert it into the reemed hole, and silver soldered it in place. Many 1911 barrels are made this way, btw. In fact, some are just brazed in place, not solver soldered. You may need to make a small relief cut to wick braze/silver solder into the seam. Then you trim things up, cut a new (match) chamber and you're good to go.

My Springfield Armory barrels are made this way. Never an issue with them as far as the seam and chamber go. The hood material they used is ... not the best in fit, but the barrels are ok for shooters, and require the usual weld up and recut to make them match ready. IOW, the idea of fitting a barrel into a prepared hood and locking section is not new. If you can get the sizing to come out ok with Kahr stuff, I'd go down that road.

Or, you can account for the guide rod in your design, with a nice little slot for it to ride into.

[CJB]

Forgot to add, for the nay sayers, start inspecting 1911 barrels. If you see a hairline "seam" or machine mark that does not polish out and is semi circular, its a two piece barrel, and made just the way I described. You'll see that seam on the feed ramp of evey two piece barrel.

[spirit]

Oh well wow! Thank you man! Okay!

That is outside of anything I have been contemplating but I silver solder at work all the time( more than I ought to really but it's just such a great way to permanently fix things ).

Okay! I'm feeling better about this. I've got a game plan. Okay so one question though; with the intense heat required to properly silver solder, will the hardness of the barrel's steel be affected? I don't see how it could not be affected.

Thank you man,
Michael

[CJB]

I can't say, except to say that barrels are usually fairly soft steel. The steel files easy. You can remove pits and tool marks from a ramp real easy with a Cratex wheel. You can buff and polish with a small felt wheel real easy too. You can thread a barrel real easy too. So, I'm gonna say you're probably ok, and that barrels are soft to be able to take some shock without bursting, as they might if they were hard (embrittled).

Also can say that shotguns have silver soldered ribs all the time... 45acp isn't all that high a pressure as things go either. You probably need to check out a kahr chamber hood outer sizes as compared to a 1911 ... see if you can find a Springfield or other inexpensive barrel to approximate the diameter of the chambered "shank" portion. If you get stuck on that, PM me and I'll see what I a can do on this end.

On 3rd thought.... I seem to recall early (if not all) SigSauer P220 barrels are made this way too.

[spirit]

Thank you CJB I'll keep you posted as things progress.

[muggsy]

You might want to contact Springfield Armory. I believe that their two piece barrels are a pressed fit and silver soldered.