Access Heritage Baker rifle cleaning rod modification

[ArmorerRoy]

Their Baker rifle comes with an incorrect cleaning rod that has a large hump making the rod too thick and heavy. Also the end of the rod is incorrect as being too thick. I belt sanded the hump out of the rod thinning it out to achieve a more accurate look (based on the original rod). After removing the hump I found that the pipes were too large on the inside. A brass 308 case fit perfectly inside so I cut off the base and about 1/2 inch from the front of the case. I glued the brass case inside the pipe with JB Weld. Now everything fits as intended and does not change the look of the gun. The rod is no longer too thick or heavy.

Original rod

Modified rod

Modified pipe

Full rifle

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
That swell in the rod was designed to fill the forward ramrod pipe so the rod did not rattle loosely in the pipe. You can see the proper shapes in Bailey's book "British Military Flintlock Rifles" on page 113. By the looks of your gun, it is supposed to be a pattern 1805 or later. Consequently, the ramrod shown on page 113 labeled "c" is the correct one.

dave

 

[ArmorerRoy]

Interesting. I don’t have that book. All the pics I could find showed a thinner rod. Maybe I did a bad thing but I do like the modification better.