Breaching a .54 barrel

:hmm:Ok i'm new at this and have my first ? will the flat part of the breach plug hit the shoulder of the barrel or will the first thred make the seal????? :hmm: ::
Thanks for your help
Jeff

 

[C_Laubach]

Jeff,
You shouldn't rely on the threads to seal the breech. You want the internal shoulder to be sealed by the face of the plug. The breech plug should be timed so that the face of the plug seats up snug against the internal shoulder. The back of the barrel should also seat up snug against the tang part of the plug.
This should all be done leaving the makers maker on the bottom flat.

 

C.
thats what i thought but it almost seem impossible to do.
My first thread is hitting the shoulder and the flat is not hitting anything. My thinking was and a quick meassurment showed that that the flat is smaller than the bore of the gun. As far a shoulder its not very big at all.
I deal with a great gunsmith "Dixons in PA" i have to go talk to Chuck yet but i wanted to talk to other gun builders first and get their opinion.
::Thanks Jeff

 

[Packdog]

You will have to remove material from the breech plug face until the tang shoulder matches up to the barrel. Then the fun begins. Linning up the tang with the flat opposite of the barrel makers mark. To do so you will be removing material from the breech plug face and the barrel at the same time.
1)Bottom out the breech plug
2)remove material from the breech face till the tang shoulder meets the barrel
3)slowly file away the breech plug face and from the breech end of the barrel till your flats line up the way you want.
4)Make sure you keep the threads clean and clear of filings as you work at it.
5)I used a permenant magic marker on the breech face to show where you need to file. It will rub off the breech face where it is making contact with shoulder inside the barrel. You should have 100% contact all the way around the face of the plug when you are finished.
6)Be prepared to install your breech plug more times than you can count and taking the barrel in and out of the vise. It is a very slow process to get right. You have to mark it, take a little off and go thru the process over and over. On the last 1/2 flat you should be sanding the face of the plug rather than filing. That way when you get it tight the face will be polished. You don't want it rough where it will hold crud or trying to polish after it is tight and ending up with a gap.

What type barrel is it?

The best advice I can give you if you are close to a gunsmith is have him do it. Normal charge is only $10 to $15. I spent hours doing mine and would have been happy to pay had it not been for shipping back and forth and delays waiting for it.
Good Luck and I hope that helps some. If you decide to proceed then ask lots of questions. A barrel is a terrible thing to waste.
Packdog

 

One other point. Some barrels, Green Mtn. to name one, aren't threaded full depth to the shoulder. Your breech threads will jam before the breech face makes contact with the shoulder. Get a bottoming tap, grind about 1/4 in. off the end so it's actually bottoming with full threads to the tip and cut the breech threads all the way to the shoulder. This is quick and easy to do - if you have the tools to do it. Why the manufacturer doesn't do this on an other wise fine product baffles me. Breeching the barrel is time consuming. It takes me 2 hours unless I get lucky and I've been doing it for more than 25 years.

 

P.S. Say hello to Chuck for me. And Gregg. ::

 

[BLAHMAN]

That's solid advice. You may also wish to "tin" the face of the breech plug. That is, put some soft solder on it. When you screw it into the barrel, that thin coat of solder will act as a gasket, helping to form a better seal.

 

Why the manufacturer doesn't do this on an other wise fine product baffles me. Breeching the barrel is time consuming. It takes me 2 hours unless I get lucky and I've been doing it for more than 25 years

Looks as if you may have said the answer to that question with in that statement.
Or maybe not enough people have contacted them and complained about their method of installing the breech plug.
I do agree that it is a piss poor breech plug application.

WWoody

 

Thanks Guys
i'm learning alot and have alot to learn any and all advise is helpful. I know i'm new and slow but i have 4 or 5 hrs on this dam plug already. :curse: but i'm bigger and think i can take it. :crackup:
Jeff