Breech plug question...

[Russell420]

My new .54 cal Colerain barrel arrived today from TOW and the breechplug is already installed and match marked. Do most of you pull the plug and make certain it was properly installed at the factory or am I being too paranoid? Thanks.

 

Colerain knows what they are doing.

Do you tear the engine down on your new car as soon as you get in the driveway?

:hmm:

 

[rayb]

Quote:"Do you tear the engine down on your new car as soon as you get in the driveway?"

well, on the other hand some of us come pretty close...... :winking:

rayb

 

Russell, there have been people recieve Colerain barrels with ill fitted plugs. If you intend to install a touch hole liner, you will have to pull the plug eventually anyway. May as well do it now and check if it is properly fitted. otherwise, if you discover that the plug isn't fitted quite right after the barrel and tang are inlet, and either the plug needs to be replaced or the barrel set back, it become a much bigger job. :imo:

 

[Darkhorse]

Its much easier (for me anyway) to inlet a barrel without the breech plug, so thats a good reason to pull the plug.
Before you do, take a ramrod and put it down the bore until it stops against the plug. Now mark the ramrod at the end of the barrel. Later on, when you are inletting the lock and "thinking ahead" (very important thing to do, think ahead) to installing the liner, you simply lay the ramrod against the outside of the barrel and line the mark with the bore end and you will know precisely where the plug will be in relation to your lock and liner.

 

Its much easier (for me anyway) to inlet a barrel without the breech plug, so thats a good reason to pull the plug.

Good point Darkhorse. I wasn't thinking that far back in the process. For determining the TH location, I put the plug alongside the barrel with the front of the tang butted against the breech and mark the location from that. Just another method to the same end. Your point about useing the breech plug face to determine TH location is the important part, either way work well. Unless of course you are useing a German lock and want the fence lined up with the breech. That's a whole nuther topic. ::

 

[Darkhorse]

Another couple of reasons I like to remove the plug;
One, I like a Colrain but I have found a lot of metal chips and pieces in the breech area and on the plug threads. When its out the first time I take the opportunity to clean all the trash off of and out of, the threads. This will help prevent cross threading later, among other things.

Two, depending on the lock there will probably some interference with breech plug and touchhole. As Cody mentioned this is a whole other ball game and good for a thread of its own. If/when the plug comes out for notching and polishing I take the opportunity to clean the barrel from the breech end pushing all junk out the bore (metal chips) and deburr if needed the inside threads where I tapped for the liner. Then I give it a good heavy oiling all the way through.
Because, next on the list, for the barrel anyway, is browning time. Since the barrel may be exposed to high humidity, hot water and other corrosion causing things, I want the inside clean and oiled real good before I plug the bore and vent. This way I am assured when the browning is done and I remove the plugs, there are no nasty surprises waiting for me.

 

[flinttim]

Another reason to pull. I like to coat the breech plug with some anti sieze compound in case I have to pull it down the road for various reasons. You can buy it at an auto parts store or make your own with some petroleum jelly and powdered graphite.

 

[Herb]

I got a .40 cal B weight (swamped) Colerain from Track and did some work on it before I pulled the breech plug for some reason. That was a bad time to find that the plug lacked about .020 of bottoming. I sawed off the back of the barrel and had to turn the plug in two flats to bottom. Pull it now and check, and if it ain't down, send it back.

 

[Russell420]

OK, the consensus is to pull the plug. Can anyone please explain how to do it without tearing anything up? I've heard that the breech plugs are normally very tight, and since I don't have an actual breech plug wrench, I'd like to do it without marring or damaging the barrel in any way. Also, when reinstalling the plug, how tight should the plug be? Thanks for your patience.

Russell 420

 

[Darkhorse]

Russell,
Put your barrel in a vice. Be sure and pad it substantially or use wooden vice jaws to keep your barrel from being scratched. The vice must be tight enough to keep the barrel from turning but not tight enough to squeeze your hollow barrel into an oblong bore.
For a wrench I use an adjustble "Monkey Wrench" or "pipe wrench". You will notice that due to the slop in the threads of the wrench the jaws open in a slight taper. Note this and place this taper on the corresponding taper of your breech plug. Wrap the wrench jaws with several tight wraps of duct tape. Again, this is to prevent your breech plug from being scratched. The serrated teeth on the wrench can also be ground off first, then taped. Be sure the wrench is tight and fits as close as possible before you start trying to remove the breech plug.
Turn the wrench counter clockwise to remove the plug.

When reinstalling the plug place your barrel in the vice with the "witness mark" facing up. Be sure your plug is not crossthreaded. It will help to clean both internal and expternal threads of any metal residue. Turn clockwise to reinstall. When the gap between the plug and barrel is almost gone then turn until the two marks line up. That is as tight as it needs to be and it should butt tight against the barrel with no gaps and the flats should be lined up.
When reinstalling the plug for the last time it is a good idea to use anti sieze compound on the threads. This will help if it ever needs to be removed down the road.

 

[Darkhorse]

One other thought. You didn't mention whether or not your barrel already has a touchhole liner installed? I am just assuming you are starting with a new barrel.
If there already is a liner then it may be neccessary to remove the liner before you can remove the plug. Depending on how it was installed it could be into the plug and will act as a thread locker.

 

[Russell420]

Darkhorse,

Thanks for the information about removing the plug. The barrel is new with no touch hole liner installed yet.

Russell420

 

[Herb]

Some breech plug tangs are tapered, but that Colerain I think is parallel sided. I put my barrel in the vise TIGHT, with maybe thin cardboard shims, bottom flat up, close to the vise. I use a 14" crescent wrench, get it fit just so and give the wrench a good hit with the heel of my hand, or maybe even a plastic mallet. It then usually unscrews easily. Clean the threads inside and out afterward. I usually don't grease the threads, because this will bleed out and prevent browning (or bluing) the joint. When you get near the witness mark, give the wrench an appropriate jerk to align the marks. It is easy to do. Since the plug came fitted (you hope it is down), all you have to do is align the flats when it comes up snug, if there were no witness marks.