Does anybody know who sells a set of aluminum jaws to fit in a vise to hold an oct barrel, I need to remove the breech plugs from a couple of barrels, I know Rice Barrel sells one but haven't been able to find anybody else, just want to compare prices, I've tried Bronnels and Midway and googling it, maybe the problem is I don't know the proper name for them thanks
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Aluminum jaws for vise to hold oct barrel
- Thread starter TNTraveler
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Rice barrel Co.
Get some aluminum sheet metal. Cut and bend to fit... or better yet, make yourself some wooden jaws out of scrap oak.
Also, I see you are a ".32", so kinda new here. Why are you intending to remove breech plugs?
With traditional side-lock guns they aren't meant to be removed and really need to be sent back to the factory for that sort of operation if it absolutely HAS to be done. It will almost certainly void the warranty if the gun still has one. Most of the time there is no reason for the final user to remove breech plugs. The factory will remove them if they need to be replaced, but that's about the only reason I can come up with.
Cleaning is accomplished without removal, and if you got a stuck ball or something, there are other methods to remove it.
Also, I see you are a ".32", so kinda new here. Why are you intending to remove breech plugs?
With traditional side-lock guns they aren't meant to be removed and really need to be sent back to the factory for that sort of operation if it absolutely HAS to be done. It will almost certainly void the warranty if the gun still has one. Most of the time there is no reason for the final user to remove breech plugs. The factory will remove them if they need to be replaced, but that's about the only reason I can come up with.
Cleaning is accomplished without removal, and if you got a stuck ball or something, there are other methods to remove it.
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I recommend the vice jaws from Rice. I tried a cheaper more cost effective set for round barrels from ebay and sent them back. They were poorly made, narrow as not the fit the width of vice jaws and so thin that they would have likely broke the first time used.
First off I spent 20 yrs selling guns, we where the largest T/C dealer in TN, so not new to ML, I have several T/C barrels that I acquired from when we had our business that the barrels look good but the breech plug where the nipple goes in is all rusted, I believe someone might have cleaned the barrel but not the bottom of it, saw this alot, thinking if barrels are good ill just convert to flint and build me a full stock Hawken, im aware of the difficulties of removing and even more so realigning the breech, we had one we never could get to line back up, I tried making a set of jaws out of pine but wouldn't hold, barrel still spun in them, we had a set of aluminum when we had our store that worked great, thanks
I was going to tell you to make sure the drum was out if it has one, but I see there's no point in telling you that. I've seen a couple of disasters involving drums and dummies.
Sorry, no insult was intended... just wanted to make sure you didn't wreck your barrel. I worked in gun sales for about as long as you did. I could tell you some stories...
Can you clean the threads in situ?
Many years ago I removed the breech plug from a T/C Cherokee because I was young, stupid and had something stuck down the bore. It eventually worked out, but I'll never do it again.
I used a vise with oak jaws and a pipe wrench with jaws that were not very well padded. Every so often, I take a black marker and color over the marks.
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I won't own a ML with a drum, poor design, I have the breech plug wrenches, thanks for the advise
The vise jaw set from Rice Barrel Co is very nice, I doubt you'd be disappointed.
no offense taken, sorry if I came across like I was, your advise was spot on, I've read where people wanted to remove the plug for unnecessary reasons, and I also have seen some stupid things people have done, on one barrel I think the threads are to far gone, one they might be salvageable, might have to try to make a set out of oak and see if that works, thanks for the input
Let us know how it goes. I have a 32 I built in 1976 using a TC breech. I don't like the work I did and am thinking about redoing the whole thing, including using another patent breech. Problem is the TC breech is stuck pretty tight and I couldn't get it to budge last time I tried.
sometimes we had to heat the barrel to remove them, but unfortunately this will damage the finish
Hatchet-Jack
54 Cal.
I use two thick sheets of brass in a bench vise. My friend has the Rice tools.
longcruise
70 Cal.
I made pads out of sheet lead. They have worked fine for installing plugs but never tried removing a tc plug.
E-Bay
I have built rifles for many years and have used lead, copper and aluminum. I finally bought a set of Rice barrel clamps and the difference is amazing. The design for holding octagon barrels is perfect.
Barry
Barry
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For a tight plug, using sheet stock in a vice is a gamble. The barrel is going to spin with anything more than moderate pressure. For a loose plug it is fine. There is no reason to fit plugs so tight as to require gorilla strength force to unscrew them.
I would suggest maple blocks fitted to the barrel dusted with powdered rosin for those who are short on tooling.
I use machinists steel V-blocks with rosin and card stock. A tight barrel-plug goes in a hydraulic press. The plug wrench will need to be equally well fitted and stout in the case of TC or other chambered breech cap guns. For ordinary plugs I use a large crescent wrench.
On TC plugs you have a can of worms. I have had to put over 500 foot pounds on one, AND wacked the wrench with a big hammer to make it budge. That kind of force required specialized wrenches, blocks and a real barrel vice.
IF taking the plug out is marring the finish on the plug or barrel something is wrong.
I would suggest maple blocks fitted to the barrel dusted with powdered rosin for those who are short on tooling.
I use machinists steel V-blocks with rosin and card stock. A tight barrel-plug goes in a hydraulic press. The plug wrench will need to be equally well fitted and stout in the case of TC or other chambered breech cap guns. For ordinary plugs I use a large crescent wrench.
On TC plugs you have a can of worms. I have had to put over 500 foot pounds on one, AND wacked the wrench with a big hammer to make it budge. That kind of force required specialized wrenches, blocks and a real barrel vice.
IF taking the plug out is marring the finish on the plug or barrel something is wrong.
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I wonder how Bobby Hoyt would go about it.
Any time I've run into a stuck BP, I cut the tang off the BP, then drill and re-tap the breech. Takes about 15 minutes and saves a lot of aggravation. Scota is correct. A BP only needs to be decently snug. There's no reason to hammer slug a BP into place. Semper Fi.
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