New PSA barrel...these rings on barrel normal?

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wild cat mccane

New member
Hey there,

This is my 3rd PSA upper, but the first time I've seen the tool markings on the barrel. These rings run the entire length of the barrel. It's a little hard to make out, but I can see them in person and can feel them. The light shows the rings in the picture.

Just for info, not a complaint, is that normal or typical?

Thank you!

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stagpanther

New member
Never seen that on any PSA barrels I've purchased--at least not all the way down the barrel. How does it shoot? I would imagine it would be tough to get a good gas block seal.
 
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Scorch

New member
That is just tool marks in the rough turned finish on the outside of the barrel. While unattractive, it is not abnormal or unusual.
 
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stagpanther

New member
Those are cooling ribs for air cooling the barrel. (Sorry, sometimes I just can’t help myself)
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No need to apologize, I was going to say the same thing--PSA's new micro-fluting--but thought better of it. But since you let the cat out of the bag...
 
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wild cat mccane

New member
Yeah…sent them an email about it. :) I didn’t pay blem, but that’s blem in my mind over just a scuff on paint on aluminum.

Appearance, but the thing is only 100 away from the aero upper I just bought. The finish on the aero is more than 100 bucks different. We’ll see what they say.


After returning from a pencil barrel to this a2…good heck this thing is heavy.
 
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HiBC

New member
Its nothing to worry about. Its easy to understand if you have run a lathe.

Yes,traditional gunmaking loves fine finishes. Producing AR's is more industrial.
Cutting tool technology is a big player. A hand stoned high speed steel lathe tool will slice nice shavings off your thumbnail. You can run about .002 chip per rev. It will make a very nice tool finish . The cut will take a long time. $$$ And the chip will be long and skinny. It might wrap up in a ball around the work piece. That ball will gall the surface. The gob of chips will even break the cutting edge. Its pretty much razor wire,so don't let it grab you.
The Semi -sharp cutting edge of a carbide insert might be .002 radius "dull" on purpose. It won't make a .002 feed cut. It will smear and push. The cutting edge has to get under the steel. So,lets crank the feed up to a .012 or .015 chip. That chip can make a tight curl and the "chipbreaker" technology will work. No stringy chips. They come off like popcorn. The cutter is made of material that can take high cutting speed. The blue chips are carrying a lot of heat away.

The high school shop class lathe cut might be .030 deep per pass and 500 rpm with a .003 feed. Feels safe and careful.

That barrel (This is just a guess for illustration. Use feed and speed chart)
That barrel may have been turned with a .150 depth of cut, a .016 thick chip feed,and 2500 rpm. Its moving steel. Time is money.

My high school machine shop class was largely tooled with "War Finish" machine tools. They did not bother with fine feeds. About .003 was the finest feed available.
 
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Shadow9mm

New member
It should not effect the barrel, but it looks shoddy imho. Like ww2 surplus rifles when they were rushing production. If psa cut corners there, where else did they cut corners would be my concern.

Id send them a pic and ask. If they say its normal, personally, id never buy another psa barrel.
 
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HiBC

New member
I have no experience with PSA. No comment in their quality.

I'll agree,a Lilja AR barrel would be prettier.

But those turn marks are a non-issue. What do you want to spend your money on?

Seems silly to me.
 
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kymasabe

New member
It's a subjective thing. I've seen it on other barrels from other manufacturers, and most of the time it doesn't bother me. For others, it's an eyesore.
But...that's why I prefer to build my own uppers and lowers, so if I find a single piece in my build I'm not happy with, I'm returning a single part, not the whole upper receiver.
I've had good luck with PSA customer service. If they feel its defective, they'll refund or exchange it for you.
FYI...I now build with Ballistic Advantage barrels, and haven't run into this with their barrels.
 
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stagpanther

New member
Yep. 5.56.

1:7 stamped in the pic but could have said.
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That's what I figured. Like 44amp says, mostly a money-saving thing (for them). 5.56 barrels (which they probably sell more of I would guess than most anyone else) are sold in many size options of external milling. My guess is they buy their blanks from whoever has the best deal at the time--or maybe even completely milled barrels from "barrels R Us"--and this is simply a minimally milled barrel on the OD. For example, what are commonly called "pencil barrels" will have the OD of the barrel milled in several areas to reduce weight while still step up where the gas block fits. A thicker barrel is not a bad thing other than weighing more. What really counts is the precision of chamber and bore milling. I have about a half dozen PSA barrels, none of them have that external rough-turned look and they are all solid middle-of-the-road good shooters, but none of them are approaching match-quality single-hole all-day long in my sleep accuracy.;)
 
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rickyrick

New member
A little off topic, one of my best shooting barrels is a 75$ anderson unlined carbine barrel on a budget gun I assembled for My wife.
I’ve seen barrels like the op, I just can’t remember which one right now. I wouldn’t think it would be detrimental in any way.
 
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stagpanther

New member
A little off topic, one of my best shooting barrels is a 75$ anderson unlined carbine barrel on a budget gun I assembled for My wife.
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You got lucky--I also bought one of those $75 anderson budget specials (mine is a grendel) and it grouped a reliable shotgun pattern at 100 yds.
 
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