Asking for a friend... Rusty bore issue?

[Steve 1]

Some good suggestions so far. I'll just add my 2 cents in dealing with a rusty .50 cal. bore on an old traditions deerhunter a friend inherited. I plugged the nipple and filled the bore with PB Blaster. I left it overnight and was able to remove the nipple and bolster screw with difficulty. I wrapped a piece the green scotchbrite pad around an undersized brush and brushed the bore a few hundred times. It took out the rust, some pitting was left and the gun tested out to be a good shooter all things considered. About a 2 1/2" group at 50 yards. I was careful with the Blaster but did not notice any damage to the blueing.

A few hundred times, did you alternate arms? A BP workout!

I have an odd 13 gauge ML BP shotgun, a tight 12…Damascus stubb, fluted barrels, possibly Scandinavian, I had to remove 150 years of ‘crud”… Scotchbrite, 0000 wire wool, and Kroil helped…
It’s rough, but goes bang when needed.

Cheers!

Steve1

 

[Ed C.]

A few hundred times, did you alternate arms? A BP workout!

Lol! Not as bad as it sounds. I'd check it every day for a while and kept running the scotchbrite and Blaster over a period of several days until it looked like the bore was as good as it could be.

 

[BigSkyRambler]

Before you pull the plug… plug the nipple and fill the bore with evapo rust. You can get it at Lowe’s, ace hardware or Amazon. Leave it for an hour or so, careful not to get any on the exterior (it removes bluing nicely…) a removing the rust try the Lee Shaver method of smoothing the rough patches. It may need nothing more than that. Sone rifles shoot bery well with nasty looking bores.

Evaporust is great. I then work the bore over with Scotchbrite pad strips on a wire brush - with the rod chucked in a hand drill if possible. With all of the high spots gone, all you have are clean pits which don't seem to affect, well, anything.

 

[Rebel bull]

Hi Bad Karma, thanks for the very fast reply. I am familiar with Evapo Rust, and its ability to strip bluing, thanks for the suggestion and warning!
The posting about using 0000 steel wool is also very interesting, basically burnishing the bore.

Evapo Rust is interesting, it's not acidic, and works by a process called Chellation, I've used it before on old gun parts, and tools.
It looks like the barrel cleaning will be a process of cleaning, bore examination, maybe the burnishing approach, and lots of test shooting... !

I note the caution about pulling the breech plug, maybe we'll leave that until it is finally necessary.

Appreciate the help!

Steve 1

unless you really have nothing better to do DON'T remove the breech it is unnecessary as bad karma stated even the worst bore ever will likely shoot better then you can hold offhand or in field conditions. even if you have a factory T/C wrench the breech plugs are difficult to remove to remove and worse to clock back into the proper location I built a custom wrench handle for mine 3' long and then the 1000 lb bench moved before it came loose

 

[Steve 1]

unless you really have nothing better to do DON'T remove the breech it is unnecessary as bad karma stated even the worst bore ever will likely shoot better then you can hold offhand or in field conditions. even if you have a factory T/C wrench the breech plugs are difficult to remove to remove and worse to clock back into the proper location I built a custom wrench handle for mine 3' long and then the 1000 lb bench moved before it came loose

Thanks, cautionary warning understood, and thanks for the details!
Do they weld the damned things on?

S1

 

[Rebel bull]

Thanks, cautionary warning understood, and thanks for the details!
Do they weld the damned things on?

S1

no but they are stout also the amount of time that you will spend making a wrench from scratch makes the price of buying one off ebay seem cheap. I also found that the factory ones are to loose to use without damaging the plug my solution was to slice and pin them I have used them several tines with excellent results

 

[Banjoman]

This is my “Rawken”, a Thompson Center barrel in a Renegade stock. The original Renegade barrel was in need of more work than I was willing to invest, so I used this old, rough and rusty Hawken barrel. I cleaned the old Hawken barrel with a scouring pad and some WD-40. The bore is as rough and pitted as a Tennessee back road but I can still hit a gallon milk jug at 50 yards with this gun. I almost gave up on it but glad I didn’t, it‘s a fun gun to shoot.

 

[Steve 1]

That's a nice "2.0 minute of Deer" Rifle! My buddy who's gun I asked about, is reading this thread, he saw the comment about a 58 cal rebore... Danger Wil Robinson, Danger! This forum is dangerous, too many good ideas, and too many distractions! As for time, I'm retired, and need to justify the money have spent on lathes, milling machines, tooling and measuring gear! So many toys, so little time.

Cheers!

S1

 

[Bad Karma]

no but they are stout also the amount of time that you will spend making a wrench from scratch makes the price of buying one off ebay seem cheap. I also found that the factory ones are to loose to use without damaging the plug my solution was to slice and pin them I have used them several tines with excellent results View attachment 278083View attachment 278084

And to complicate matters the company never made a wrench for the round barrel guns…

 

[BP Addict]

Before you pull the plug… plug the nipple and fill the bore with evapo rust. You can get it at Lowe’s, ace hardware or Amazon. Leave it for an hour or so, careful not to get any on the exterior (it removes bluing nicely…) a removing the rust try the Lee Shaver method of smoothing the rough patches. It may need nothing more than that. Sone rifles shoot bery well with nasty looking bores.

Doesn't Evaporust eat Bluing if accidentally spilled?

Thanks!

Walt

 

[BP Addict]

My local ML shop sells a course stainless-steel wool. They recommend using that. I’ve found it at the Dollard Tree for less money. I wrap it around a smaller caliber brush.

Otherwise, I start with Permatex Valve Grinding Compound from the Auto Parts Store. Next, I use J-B Bore Cleaning Compound which I think might be finer than the Permatex. Then, I use plain white toothpaste and follow up with 0000 Steel Wool. Each step is 100 strokes. I used water on the patches with the Bore Cleaner and toothpaste. I used Hoppe’s #9 for the steel wool. The patch material was taken from an old pair of jeans and held up very well. I’ve done T/C barrels, and the grooves are very shallow causing me to hammer down the patch. An undersized jag may help but I have never tried one. Clean the bore between steps!

Good Luck!

Walt

 

[tallPercshooter]

Speaking of removing blue finish - I bought a rifle with a bad stock crack and repaired it by opening the crack a little and working in Titebond Ultimate wood glue and then clamping. Strong as ever now BUT I got a little glue on the barrel without realizing it and it took ALL the blue off, looks like that spot hit with polishing wheel. So be careful.

 

[Steve 1]

Although it won't work for rifles, I have used several of those flex hones laps to polish the forcing cones or chokes on old BP shotguns.
Or even the entire bore! They come in various sizes and grit types. They look like a Teazel, keep them oiled and they are great for shotguns or smoothbores.

Here's a 1870's BP 13 gauge shotgun, fluted stub Damascus barrels, and gold inlaid name... the muzzles are brazed with almost zero wall thickness, but it's fine. That old gun used up a lot of steel wool, Kroil, fine emery cloth over a mop... and finally the flex hone. No more rust, but you can see the muzzle pitting. That the stub damascus twist!

cheers! S1

 

[Bad Karma]

Doesn't Evaporust eat Bluing if accidentally spilled?

Thanks!

Walt

Hence my warning…

 

[Rebel bull]

And to complicate matters the company never made a wrench for the round barrel guns…

i believe that by slicing the wrench's i have that i could successfully remove the breech plug from the new englander or the system 1 the trick would be to grip the barrel tight enough to do so

 

[Bad Karma]

i believe that by slicing the wrench's i have that i could successfully remove the breech plug from the new englander or the system 1 the trick would be to grip the barrel tight enough to do so

Maybe. Grip the barrel with a small oak block split as your wrench is with an appropriately sized hole bored through the blocks and liberal use of rosin. It’s been a while since I’ve compared them closely but I don’t believe your wrenches will work on the New Englander blocks. I looked at that option before I sent mine to Hoyt and it became his problem… per usual, he did an excellent job of it.

 

[Bad Karma]

I’ve wondered why TC designed the New Englander… as a side lock it wasn’t different enough to separate from the Hawken, Renegade, Cherokee, and Seneca. Everywhere you looked inlines and fast twist rifles were the rage. I had hoped at the time that they would produce a high quality British Sporter and they did attempt it, kinda, with the High Plains Sporter, at least in form. But then they used the standard 1:48 twist for some reason… a fifty and 45 with 1:24 or so rate of twist and an improved breech giving faster and more reliable ignition with substitute powders might have sold well. Ah well… I bought a couple of those High Plains Sporters and since they are the same breech as the new englander my Hoyt barrels in 40,45, and 50 work fine.

 

[stephenprops1]

Doesn't Evaporust eat Bluing if accidentally spilled?

Thanks!

Walt

YES

 

[Mad L]

Hello Folks:

A good friend of mine recently purchased a used Thompson New-Englander, it's in 54 cal, twist is 1:48 and it's percussion.
It looks nice, albeit a "shorty" at 26"... the blueing is nice, and the wood is also nice. Likely made in the 1990s?
There are numerous comments about them being great guns, accurate and handy to use.
Being 54 cal makes it good for larger game like elk etc, that why my friend purchased it.

However, my friend reports spotty accuracy, and has issues of a very tight spot in the bore when loading.
I took a look at his rifle, and with the aid of a $25 "el-cheapo borescope", actually used for drains etc... we examined the bore.
It's not good news, we saw what looks like patches of rust at various points in the bore. The worst is about eight inches from the muzzle... the tight spot noted above.

Rather than rush in and use something I shouldn't, I thought I'd ask the group for some suggestions of what is best to use to remove the rust.
I have looked at many similar postings, and have suggested to my friend that we pull the barrel, and remove the breech plug.
The breech plug on these rifles is however apparently very hard to remove, requiring a sort of "nut" / breech plug socket" affair... I can make that if needed.

Neither of us wants to damage the bluing, or scratch the finish... but the bore must be fixed.
So I would appreciate any suggestions, it would appear that this gun was used, and likely not cleaned before being stored and sold to my friend.
I have a home workshop with lots of tooling, and can even make lead laps etc if needed.

Thanks in advance for any "been there, and did this" suggestions.

Best to all for the Holidays!

Steve 1 (in Montana)

Regardless of what cleaner you go with; pick up one of these, it looks like a brillo pad but (they say) wont hurt any bluing but Will remove rust.
Now it's not going to 'sand' the barrel but somehow it Does scrap the rust off.
I have used it to recover two barrels now that came to me with soarly rusted barrels, one was pretty bad.
Expect to use some elbow grease, but I didn't have to remove the plug.

I cut a piece and wrap it on a suitable down using twist wire, then just scrub away, adding some cleaner, the oil

https://www.big45metalcleaner.com/

 

[Steve 1]

Thanks Mad L, and to all of you folks with great ideas over the past week or so.
I'll have to badger my friend into choosing one or more, and start the cleaning / derusting process.

We will post some feedback and hopefully pictures of the progress on cleaning up his 54cal.

Happy 2024 to all, let's hope it brings a better year that 23 turned out to be!

Cheers!

Steve