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Clean out screw on Lyman GPR breech?

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I'm not sure what size it is, but if you use RCBS equipment to reload metalic cartridges you probably already have it. I don't remember if it is the small or the large one, but try one of the green-hadled Allen wrenches. If not that, I would bet on metric since the Lyman is from Italy- something like 2mm or 2.5mm is a good guess.
 
It is a small flathead screw. You can get a set of gunsmith screw driver bits. They range all prices. I bought a small $8.95 set at Wal-Mart. These look suspisously like regular hollow ground bits you see with any driver handle set. :hmm: Make sure the blade fits the slot. Make sure it bottoms out and fills the slot well. Regular old one piece screw drivers just don't fit gun screws well. Always be sure to loosen or pull the clean out screw first then the nipple second. The clean out acts as a lock for the nipple and you can mar the nipple threads. When tightening this "snail" screw it needs to be snug not TIGHT. What I mean is don't pull it down to 110 foot pounds. :shocking: Always put a little oil on the nipple and snail screw threads. That way they will always be easy to remove. :thumbsup:
 
it is better to buy a set of gun screwdrivers from brownells,or another gun supplier ,i bought a set from wally world and none of those bits fit the screws properly,
tools are just like guns ya get what you pay for.
goto your local pep boys ,or auto parts house and buy a small tube of anti seize and lightly coat the threads with it each time you remove them and you wont have any prublems removeing it the next time and save you a lot of headaches :m2c: :imo: :peace:
 
the clean out screw on my gpr is allen. maybe depends on the age of the gpr, mine is relatively new
 
Oops, I think you stated in another post your gpr is a 54, mine is a 50, maybe the difference.
 
The new cleanout screws are allen.
I forget what size.
The older screws were slotted and they stripped out easy.
Lyman got smart and now they use the allen and they are great.

Huntin
 
I have a .54 GPR and have never removed the clean out screw, should I be doing that when I clean it? Do you get a lot of junk out thru it? I usually take the nipple out and flush water thru it pretty hard.


Jeff
 
No - there is no reason to remove the screw. There is no real reason for it being there in the first place. IT is not necesary, except to block the hole.
: Nipple out for cleaning is all that's necessary.
 
If fact, if you leave the screw alone and totally ignore it then you'll never do things like rounding out the allen socket or breaking the screw, or stripping the threads. All of which causes a lot of problems you don't really want to deal with.

You never said "Why?" in the first place, you wanted or needed to remove the screw.
 
I thought the clean-out screw blocks the nipple in place, so you have to loosen the clean-out in order to remove the nipple. Wrong?
 
I thought the clean-out screw blocks the nipple in place, so you have to loosen the clean-out in order to remove the nipple. Wrong?

It does on my my .54cal GPR. I'm not sure it is intended to but the hole for the screw is threaded all the way through. The screw will not bottom out and tighten until it hits the threads on the nipple, about 3 threads from the bottom. If you don't remove, or at least back the screw out 1-2 turns, it will bugger the threads of the nipple, if you remove it. Then, if you don't tighten it again, after reinstalling the nipple, it might back on out and eventually blow out while shooting. I had this happen to me.
 
IMO, the cleanout screw should not hit the threads of the nipple. Its only purpose is to block off the cross drilled hole that connects the nipple with the bore or patent breech hole.

Talk about a PITA. Picture this: You forget the powder and ram the ball (it's happened to all of us).
You decide to dribble a little powder into the area under the nipple and into the hole that connects the nipple with the bore and shoot out the mis-loaded ball (a common method of dealing with this problem). (A similar situation is to have loaded the powder and it fails to fire because there was oil or moisture in the breech. A little powder under the nipple will almost always set off the main charge).
You get out the nipple wrench and then remember, Oh, I need a 2mm (just a guess) allen wrench to loosen up the "clean out" screw before the nipple can be unscrewed.
Now where the H did I put that little thing.........

If the screw is actually hitting the nipple, I would suggest that some "Lock Tite" or a similar thread locking compound be bought at the local Auto Supply and applied to the threads of the "cleanout screw".

To do this properly, remove the screw and the nipple.
Degrease the cleanout screw threads and the threads in the hole with something like Brake Cleaner, Acetone, Lacquer thinner, gasoline or alcohol and blow dry.
Apply the Lock Tite to the cleanout screw threads.
Install the nipple. Screw the cleanout screw in to touch the nipple and back it out 1 turn.
Remove the nipple and let the Lock Tite harden.
Then reinstall the nipple and your done.

When cleaning the gun, remove the nipple to allow a good flushing thru the area. As was mentioned by others, there is no good reason for ever removing this screw.
 
Makes a lot of sense. May be it hasn't to do with "clean-out" anyway, but just to plug the horizontal hole/ignition channel.

The thing sells better as "clean-out screw" than as "ignition channel plug" ::
 
The clean-out screw is designed like rebuilding the engine after each 1000 miles. Sure you may need it, but...
Old Bill Large hand made one of my rifles, before modern parts were available, and included a cleanout screw in the drum, but, he cautioned against using it! (He left about 6 inches of ramrod sticking out!)This is a recent phenomenon and ill suited to most ML's.
Sure it's great if you get a ball down on no charge, or get a damp charge, but there are better ways than dribbling powder through the cleanout screw.?
Old Bill Large left the ramrod about 6 inches longer than usual on his builds. These were later cut back by folks who never lodged a patch against the breech. My old rifle has 6 inches of ramrod protruding from the muzzle! Looks weird, but,...
The idea of a clean-out screw is not for everyday removal and cleaning! It is for us old folks who dis-remember to do as we are taught! God-bless the company who builds one that impinges on the drum threads! Who would have thought we would have to caution new owners about unscrewing this to remove the drum of cap-guns?
 
Rob,

The screw has nothing to do with cleaning.

The breech plugs in the Lyman rifles are investment castings. The so-called clean out screw hole is where they ran the drill into the casting to create the passge from under the nipple into the powder chamber of the breech plug. If you section one of the breech plugs in half you can see where the tip of the drill bit just touched the other side of the powder chamber. The threaded plug then simply closes off the hole and really should not be removed.
 
Dutch Bill, this is exactly what I thought. It's a rechnical/manufacturing requirement and has nothing to do with "cleaning". I just hadn't the chance to see a design-drawing.

It's kinda like of "This antique 50's automobile is a beautiful example of perfect design that makes the driveway in front of your house an interesting sight for everyone!"

This way, you can sell a car without motor! :crackup:
 
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