breechplug removal

[dkephart]

Have any of you fella"s a good method for removing a stuck breech plug?
I have tried soaking in penetrating oil and propane torch heat with no luck.

 

[robinghewitt]

I have a home made wrench made from two iron bars (3/4" x 1/2") and two 8mm bolts, one either side of the tang. If the tang has finish on it I pack it with brass shim.

I wrap the barrel with gaffer tape until I know it isn't going to slip or scratch when I do it up lengthwise in the bench vice, real tight.

I can then apply totally unreasonable and irresistable force. The tang will either shear off or the plug will unscrew.

Only one has chosen to shear off, so far ::

 

[Zonie]

If you haven't already removed the precussion drum or flintlock flash hole liner you should do so.

Sometimes, these will be actually threaded into the breech plug threads. If they are, they will lock the breech plug in place.

Just a thought.

 

[shmrck1]

Zonie,
now that's one i would not of thought of!!!
thanks for that tip
snake-eyes :master: :thumbsup: :master:

 

[Birddog6]

lets go back to point A and start over.

What barrel are you trying to get it out of ?

Some of them require special tools to do so & you will ruin the barrel doing it otherwise.

Is this a Lyman, CVA, T/C, Pedersoli, Custom, Jukar, What ?

 

[rootnuke]

Would it be the right thing to do to avoid this issue to put a little pipe dope on the threads before hand. I don't know, just asking.

 

[Birddog6]

Best thing to put on them is Anti-Sieze or Neverseize. You can get it at any Automotive dealer or NAPA.

 

[dkephart]

This is a t/c renegade .54 barrel,I replaced with a green mountain 1 in 70 barrel.
The t/c barrel is not something I will use in 54 again, thought I would ream it out to a smooth bore.

 

[dkephart]

OK finally got tiried of playing MR. nice guy.
Put a couple large pipe wrenches on the Darn thing.
Had the better half smack the wrench with a hammer while I put all of my weight of it.This after soaking 24 hours in penetrating oil.
Didn't budge. Am ordering new barrel.
The good news is I now have an extra t/c front and rear sight and a pretty fair pry bar.

 

[Birddog6]

I use a 15" cresent wrench that I ground the adjustable part so it fits the taper of the breechplug on most of them. I have a 6' piece of cheater pipe & a BIG vise that I put them in & have only had one I could not remove & it twiste the plug off. Have not had a Grn.Mtn I could not get out, however, sounds like you may have had locktight put on it or something.

 

[musketman]

OK finally got tiried of playing MR. nice guy.
Put a couple large pipe wrenches on the Darn thing.
Had the better half smack the wrench with a hammer while I put all of my weight of it.

First off, if I gave Mrs. Musketman a hammer and told her to hit something I was pulling on, well, she dreams of a scenario like that... :haha:

Does the breech have right or left handed threads, it would seem kind of silly if you were turning the wrong way all this time, your better half would be laughing too hard to hit your fingers with the hammer...

 

[rexdevantier]

If it looks like it is going to get wrecked anyway, you could get it set up in a lathe and a narrow parting tool run in right on the barrel side of the join. If you cannot get the wedge slots to line up if you put the same barrel back in, make a spacer washer up a little over the thickness of the parting tool and when it's all screwed up again, file it to shape.
Rex Dev