Disassembly of Bess?

[ill Mendham]

Hey all,

I'm hankerin to take my Middlesex Village Brown Bess apart. Any tips or links? Not so sure how to deal with pins.

Ya all taught me how to load it, shhot it, and I thank ya in advance for helping me with this. :hatsoff:

 

[CrackStock]

Tools:
Neoprene tip hammer or whatever is handy
1/16 tip flat nosed punch
pliers or small vise grips
standard screwdriver

Optional tools:
electric drill
sand paper and wooden block or an old metal file
C clamp padded with leather or rubber

I have a second model/short land pattern from Military Heritage, so mine may be a bit different, but I doubt it. As I recall, the Pedersolis that I have worked on were pretty much identical.

Taking apart a Bess is pretty easy. You how to remove foward and rear lock bolts. Leave them in just a couple of turns and tap on the bolt heads to loosen the lock. Do this evenly and it is not a rush. Never pry a lock -- always tap it out. The lock should pop out and you can then loosen the bolts and remove them.

The biggest potential goof on disassembly would be to forget the tang screw and then continue trying to remove the barrel while it is still attached. You will need to remove the tang bolt which goes through the wrist through the triggerplate and threaded into the triggerguard. (I have heard that there is some variation in this, but I have not seen it.) There are 2 screws on the bottom of the trigger guard -- back them out if desired.

There are now 2 pins visible beneath the side plate and also through the lock mortice. The front one secures the front of the trigger guard. The rear is your trigger pivot and it is a bit of effort to get that one lined back up correctly for reassembly, so most people just leave it alone unless they are polishing the trigger. These are best driven out from inside the lock mortice. Tap them out with a light hammer (I use a neoprene end hammer just because I have dinged things and try to make it fool proof.) pushing a thin flat tipped punch and grip the pins lightly with a small pair of pliers or vise grips to pull the rest of the way.

Alway check your pins upon removal. If your pins have rough spots or sharp edges, clean these up so as to avoid damaging your holes on re-entry.

Now for the barrel removal. There is a sling swivel screw which acts as a pin. Back this out. There are then three pins which clearly do not line up with any of the ram rod pipes. Tap them in with the thin flat tipped punch until you can grip them with the pliers or small vise grips from the other side. If you got the right pins out, the barrel should be free.

Some people make marks on pins so that they know which pin goes where. Some scrape the top so that things line up again easily. I just lay them in order and think for a moment about the curve of the pin and the shape of the wood that it lives inside. Then I tap them part way in and adjust with the pliers.

Now, comes a bit of controversy. I chuck my pins into a drill and round off the side plate side just a bit to ease its re-entry into its hole. I leave the lock side of the pin as flat as possible so as to have a flat surface for tapping and for the punch to catch when driving it out. Some do not like my method, but it works well for me. I hide the rounded edges by wiping some darkened bees wax into the pin hole later.

Always check your pins before reinserting them.

IMPORTANT POINT -- Line up all holes so that you can see perfectly round light shining through before trying to tap a pin in there! You can use light pressure on a padded C clamp to hold things in place if the barrel was mounted very tightly or the stock has swollen somewhat.

Somebody that I know well tapped with things being not quite lined up and knocked a chip out of a valuable piece of wood. Then he was so shocked that he did it on the next pin to study what went wrong. Talk about adding great insult to injury. (Don't ever ask my why my Tennessee has inlets at the barrel pins -- it really sets me off)

Hopefully, this will all make sense to you, but if not -- write and I will try to clarify or somebody will chime in where I have messed up. All comments gratefully accepted.

CS

 

[musketman]

Some people make marks on pins so that they know which pin goes where.

Good tip, this is because each hole is drilled differently and pins tend to take a "set" over time...

Marking them with tape or sticking them (in order) into a block of styrofoam will keep them in their proper sequence...

It is my understanding that pins are usually tapped out towards the lock side of the gun and reinserted from the lock side towards the side plate's side...

 

[davy]

Good or bad ... I remove the pins left to right looking down the barrel at the muzzle, reinstalling form right to left.

And not only do I round the entry end of the pin for ease of entry and to limit destruction to the wood ... but I also lube the pins with grease or wax for easy install and future removal on ANY rifle/gun that has pins.

Also be sure to use a drift punch of smaller diameter than the diameter of the pin to minimize wallowing out the wood of the stock and thus loosening the pin hold in the wood. :thumbsup:

Davy

 

[riarcher]

Good info all around.
Removing the pins and disassembly is something left to a really, really most do because of.... situation.
Took mine apart once shortly after recieving it too. Probably wont do it again until something goes terribly wrong.
While it was apart I bee's waxed everything I could,,, heavily. Melted it in to whatever I could come up with to seal the manure out of the wood and undersides of barrel etc.
Then I took about a 1/4 lb. of bees wax, melted it, and added enough walnut alcahol bassed stain to darken the wax and kept melted long enough to try and evaporate the alky base.
With the Bess reassembled, I filled in all the gaps with the melted stained wax to seal anywhere the water/cleaners may enter between pieces (barrel-stock, etc.) when cleaning. After everything (nosecap, pins, guard, side plate, thumb piece, etc.) is sealed I added 1/3 (+/-) olive oil to what was left to the stained wax and poured it into a Altoids tin and let cool. This I use for polishing/preserving the entire piece when giving it a "good cleaning".
Funny how after a couple of "good cleanings" all the seams in wood to metal seem to tighten up and makes the piece look like a more high quality(?) piece.
Now with the cleaners having a hard time getting between wood and steel/brass it's much easier to clean after shooting.
It maybe years before I'll take it apart again.
Just thought I'd mention it.
Enjoy the Bess, she's a good old gal.

 

[CrackStock]

MusketMan is right about the direction of the pins, but since I polish them smooth, it really does not matter aside from the flat or rounded ends. I also like to use a lot of bees wax anywhere that it can go. It can't hurt and it can help.

CS

 

[jerfrark]

I have a pedersoli that i have never taken the barrel off of. Will this be ok for my bess. Will I have problems becouse of it.I've had it for 5 years now.

 

[paulvallandigham]

This is just something else to consider when reassembling that Bess. I have a 100 year old+ Swedish mauser rifle that has a thick water pump grease under the barrel for a water sealant. Depending on how hot it gets where you live, you might want to consider using something like this to seal the wood and protect the barrel from water, either rain, or from cleaning the gun with the barrel remaining in the stock. They make good synthetic greases now for storing guns, and the like, that would be perfect for protecting the wood and the barrel metal. I have always put one coat of stock finish in my barrel channel in the stock to protect the wood from moisture, and I also do the same with the wood in the lockmortises. But adding either one of the synthetic greases, or beeswax will give you added protection. I particularly like the idea of using colored beeswax to fill in the cracks around the lock plate, and along the barrel to seal those parts from rain. My mauser is stocked with 100 year old Walnut, and I am sure the wood is as stable now as it is every going to get! However, I was impressed by whoever the last Swedish owner was who put that grease in the barrel channel to protect both the stock and the barrel. I first thought it might be cosmolene, but it was sticky to the touch, and has the consistency of a water pump grease I bought years ago for a water pump. Good choice.

 

[CrackStock]

My Bess was a bit younger than yours and I have taken it apart a few times and oiled the underside of the barrel. I found a little bit of surface rust after some very wet and humid events.

I pulled apart a couple of Pedersoli Besses after the 225th of Savanah and do not recall any major differences in the take down and reassembly between those muskets and mine.

I would suspect that depending upon the amount of use and the conditions of that use, you may have some rust under there. Pedersoli makes a pretty good product, so there was likely some sort of oil or grease protecting this area, but 5 years is a long time. Pedersoli also makes the Bess barrel with the thickest breach that I have seen, so you should be quite safe.

Flitz on a towel is a modern fix for any minor rust, while brick dust mixed with sweet oil on a cloth is a period correct one. I just do not care to beat on bricks when Flitz is about the same thing.

There are many ways to preserve the underside of your barrel. I like bees wax as a period correct method, but I also like Rig Sportsman's grease and oil for various uses. Others have made and will make suggestions. Most will do the job well enough.

CS