The reason for this is that if the angle on the end of the barrel is off, one side of the barrel will be thicker
than the other. In turning, the barrel will probably warp. Now that the barrel is squared, put the faceplate
on the lathe. Take a bar of steel that is 24 inches long that has centers in each end and has been turned
true.
You will need a trued barrel for each length of barrel you turn. What this is for is to give you a means to
duplicate any taper that you want. Example, if you found that the old barrel that you wanted to duplicate,
had a taper of .125 from the muzzle, to 12 inches from the muzzle.
Go to the taper per foot chart. In the taper Per Foot column at the top, find 1/8. Follow this column down,
and when you come to where the left column says - Length of Tapered Portion, at 1 foot, or 12 inches.
Where these two meet, find a figure of 0.0104. Now mark the 24-inch bar of steel exactly 12 inches from
the tail stock end, to a point in the middle of the barrel. This is the distance you will need to travel with
the dial indicator.
Set the dial indicator on the carriage of the lathe, set it to 000, and set the tail stock over a bit. Crank the
carriage down towards the head stock to where the mark is on the barrel. Check the reading on the dial
indicator, and if it is not right, reset the tail stock and repeat the process until you get 0.0104.
It would be wise to keep all of these figures on notes, or stamp the barrel with the correct figures, for
future reference.
Having found the correct angle, set the barrel blank between the centers, and clamp a lathe dog on the
head stock end. The tail stock center, I have found over the years work better if it is carbide.