A question of possible rust

[Flinty Scot]

Update on using the flintlock flushing rig. Key to it is a small o-ring, set in the face that clamps over the touch hole.

If you get one, I advise immediately finding a spare o-ring.

I was fitting it to the breech of a .75 musket, which meant filing about 3/16' off the opposing clamp face, to fit the fatter breech. On the final fit, I realized I no longer had an o-ring. it's still hiding, under something.

I fell back on a match stick and being VERY careful filling & rinsing the barrel.

1st thing in the morning...at least 3 spares.

 

[Sidney Smith]

Best way to use the clamp on device is with the gun upside down with the muzzle slightly lower than the lock side. Any water that gets around the O-ring on the clamp, and trust me it will, will drain downward onto your table and not down between the stock and barrel. A little grease on the O-ring helps to seal it.

 

[Flinty Scot]

Good idea. Thanks. Even the best system glitches eventually.

 

[Grenadier1758]

One other thing to consider is that a slotted for a screw driver touch hole liner can not be sealed by the o-ring on the clamp.

 

[Flinty Scot]

Good point.
It does work, very well, on an Allen wrench socketted liner. The socket acts as funnel, to make filtering in 4F easier (in those embarrassing pinches).
Maybe worth looking into replacing the slot.

 

[FlinterNick]

You can do a few things, which many have already mentioned.

You can unpin the barrel for a more thorough cleaning, this of course comes with some risks to the stock pin locations, wood can chip and dent and pins do drift off center. If you’re going to do this I recommend first steaming the area with a damp rag before you unpin, this unseizes some of the wood that may have stuck to the pin. I put chapstick on my barrel pins, this helps the pins move more freely. Otherwise I wouldnt unpin a barrel to often as it will simply wear away the barrel tenon and forearm wood.

You can wax under barrel channel with a mixture of bees wax, pine Rosen and linseed oil. This is an old type of waterproofing method 18th century gun makers used.

You can also wax finish the underside of the barrel. This is done by coating the barrel with wax and then hitting it with a torch, to finish off the wax. A thin coating will stick to the steel barrel, this will water proof it And also keep the barrel nice a firm in the stock.


Another method is to Apply epoxy resin to the barrel channel, expoxy generally provides for a very tight seal But is much more complicated to work with

 

[FlinterNick]

For the barrel channel I use a mixture of Beez Wax (1 small bar), (1/4 tablespoon) and Walnut Oil. I apply this while its warm inside the barrel channel and rub it in and then finish off the barrel channel with a high grit 1000 - 2000 papaer, this makes the finish nice and even. This helps to displace any moisture that would run beneath the barrel and protects the wood from fungus and mold that might cause dry Rot.

 

[tenngun]

tenngun, do you remove the barrel for cleaning? If not is that why you only wax your stock every couple of years?

No my guns are all pinned and fore stock is pretty thin. I always have a bad set of ‘puckers’ when my barrel is out. So I only pull a barrel once every few years to rewax the barrel channel. I clean with barrel on stock. So far I’ve not found any hint of rust on a barrel bottom. Even my barrels are in the white.... which is really gray.