Grease to force out bore obstruction - LONG

[roundball]

I've seen references to use a grease fitting in the nipple or vent seat so grease can be pumped in to force out a bore obstruction. I can now speak from personal hands on experience that it does indeed work and only took about 30 minutes...the astounding wonder is that I somehow happened to even have a grease fitting in a scrounge box...AND...that it was 1/4" x 28...anyone care to calulate the odds on that???

Anyhow I learned way back in ML-101 not to use ramrods unless their ends were pinned, and not to use bore brushes that were crimped on; Sometime in the past, probably at a Walmart, I stumbled across a sale and picked up a couple of TC Universal Lightweight tubular aluminum ramrods...I saw the telltale ends of the silver pins on either side of the black aluminum shaft, so I bought them and stuck them aside.

Gearing up for my new .40cal, I pulled out those two new rods, put a patch retriever on one and a bore brush on the other. Cleaning the .40cal today I pushed the bore brush down, expected it to be snug, turned the shaft clockwise to loosen the bristles like I always do and when I began pulling the brush back up, the rod pulled right off the accessory adapter..

THE ENDS WEREN'T PINNED AT ALL...THE TWO TINY SILVER PIN ENDS ARE JUST "SPOTS" MADE TO LOOK LIKE THE ENDS OF PINS...TOTALLY FALSE !!!!

Turns out the accessory adapter was simply a press fit into the hollow tube and actually stops 1/8" shy of where the two make-believe pins ends are marked on the ramrod!!!!!

Anyhow, my first thought was run to the hardware store and get a thin walled piece of tubing but seeing how small the .40cal bore was I was worried I wouldn't be able to find one that small and waste a lot of time looking.

Dug around in a scrounge box and to my absolute shock not only did I find a greas fitting but it had 1/4" x 28 threads...so before screwing it in, I cut up small pieces of patch material and packed them into the vent so the grease wouldn't just ooze past the bristles, screwed in the fitting, and pumped that thing right up out of the bore.

Dry patched the bore with a half dozen patches, put the barrel right back in the hot soapy water, and recleaned the barrel normally.

Summary:
1) Don't trust a cheap hollow aluminum ramrod to have pinned ends unless you have a way of actually proving to yourself that they are pinned;

2) Go buy yourself a 99 cent grease fitting now;

 

[bramble]

Roundball,
I'm sorry for your problem
I'm happy for your success :grin:

And I'm ecstatic about your reducing the chances that I'll do that and not have a solution :rotf:

Thanks,
bramble

 

[Big John]

I wonder, if after jambing the vent hole with patch material if a co2 discharger would have done the same? Regardless, good use of what is between your ears!

 

[roundball]

I wonder, if after jambing the vent hole with patch material if a co2 discharger would have done the same? Regardless, good use of what is between your ears!

No...not enough power or volume...I have a big 5HP Sears shop air compressor with 30 gallon tank and it wouldn't budge it until I got it pumped up to within a few inches of the muzzle then it finally popped out...

 

[wszumera]

Your air pressure at max doesn't come close to what a CO2 cart puts out.

A CO2 cart at room temperature with liquid still in it puts out about 850 PSI.
[url] http://wess.freeshell.org/mlf/co2pv.gif[/url]

I think the ultimate in a CO2 discharger would be one of those bottles the paint ballers use instead of a 12 gram BB gun cartrige.

Clutch

 

[roundball]

Beats me...I always thought if they were so great everybody would have one...

 

[greenneck]

Clutch is right, and everybody SHOULD have one.

My buddy had a load down his barrel and tried to blow it out with his CO2 thingy - wouldn't budge. I had just put a new cartridge in mine and it did the trick just fine. Shows that pressure does matter.

Steve

 

A comment on the missing roll pins. It really rips my britches when I read about the marks made to represent the presence of pins. It probably took almost as much time to make the marks as it would have to actually have the pins inserter. That, to my mind anyhow, is dothing short of deception and it would be great if you could somehow retaliate against them. I am a firm believer in getting even when someone or some thing purposefuly makes my life miserable - or costs me money.

 

[Mulebrain]

I have had this happen more than once! I will not use anything but a tough brass rig I bought!

Breaking rods, and ends coming off will make your blood boil and spoil the fun!

Wood ramrods are only for looks with me anymore!

 

[Deadeye]

I like solid brass but I sometime use hollow brass to save weight then I solder the ends in and also drill and pin them.

 

[MercerLake]

:bow: :grin: What a great TIP!!! I've used a bunch of CO2 cylinders trying to get a REALLY STUCK rusted in prb blown out of a fint gun and not had much luck. Somebody had run a ball down bore, no powder, left it there in disgust for several years. The "Grease Gun Express" would have made short work of it. I'm off to the auto parts store for a New Years gift to myself! Thanks!!!! :thumbsup: Happy New Year to ALL

 

[howdydoit]

well Roundball im in the same boat with ya.

Just 2 weeks ago I ran one down the barrel of my cva squirrel rifle and it stuck. I pulled on the cleaning rod handle with a little more pressure and pop.

well i dont have a grease fitting or a co2 cartridge so I pulled the drum bolt out and squeezed a little 3f under it and pulled the trigger.

It sounded like a pop corn fart :rotf: but the damn thing came out (thank God).

Now it also had the little pin marks your talking about. So I guess we can trust what we see.

 

[kjmillig]

I have a solid brass rod that has never failed me. The guy that made it for me aslo made a "T" handle for the end for when something gets stubborn. On one occassion with an un-powdered ball I got the puller screwed in good, hooked the t-handel in the Y of a small tree and leaned back. Came right out. I swear by that rod!

 

[roundball]

:bow: :grin: What a great TIP!!! I've used a bunch of CO2 cylinders trying to get a REALLY STUCK rusted in prb blown out of a fint gun and not had much luck. Somebody had run a ball down bore, no powder, left it there in disgust for several years. The "Grease Gun Express" would have made short work of it. I'm off to the auto parts store for a New Years gift to myself! Thanks!!!! :thumbsup: Happy New Year to ALL

Just to be clear, I didn't invent the idea, read about it on forums a few years ago myself...

 

[rabbit03]

Greetings Roundball,

Good to hear you got your obstruction out!

I learned several things from your story,

1) TC can fool some of the people some of the time, but only once!

2) Wal Mart still sells cheap manure, even way back then.

3) A new way to get out an obstruction, I'm on he way to the hardware store to get my fitting!

4) Divine intervention must have played a part in your having a fitting on hand that would work.

Thanks for sharing

:hatsoff:

rabbit03

 

[roundball]

I will say this on TC's behald after dealing with them for 16 years...I don't believe for a minute that TC knowingly marketed this product (which I'm sure was made by some vendor) with an awareness that it's design included false indications of the end being pinned.

For example, TC's lifetime warranty is second to none and impacts their bottom line every time they have to react to something like this, so I can't believe they knowingly allowed this to go out...if they did, they would have been setting themselves up for dealing with these failures.

If I was a buyer for TC and some salesman stopped by and showed me the ramrod, there probably wouldn't even have been a conversation about whether or not it was pinned...just a casual glance would have satisfied me that it was...a good looking rod in a see through clear plastic tube, I'd have probably said yeah, send me 5000, I'll get them out to the distributors.

1st photos show how it appears to the eye with the ends installed...looks pinned, right? As a customer, you'd look this over, note that it's pinned, and buy it.

2nd photo shows the accessory end that slid right out...not even long enough to go back to where the fake pin spot is located.

Now that I know what I'm dealing with I can drill and pin them (and use epoxy)

 

[Pork Chop]

It could have been made by TC. I don't know, so I won't speculate.

I do have a theory on the "pin" marks. In looking at the accessory end, it appears that it is turned with a recess around the body that inserts. Could it be that the pin marks are actually where the tube was punched to try to secure the ends? The manufacturer could have miscalculated and punched it too late.

No, the punchings would not have prevented this like pins would have, but that is not my point.

 

[roundball]

It could have been made by TC. I don't know, so I won't speculate.

I do have a theory on the "pin" marks. In looking at the accessory end, it appears that it is turned with a recess around the body that inserts. Could it be that the pin marks are actually where the tube was punched to try to secure the ends? The manufacturer could have miscalculated and punched it too late.

No, the punchings would not have prevented this like pins would have, but that is not my point.

No...there are no holes...those are just little silver dots or spots of aluminum showing through the black...none of the 4 points are holes at all.

 

[Pork Chop]

I don't mean holes - I mean punch marks used as their attempt to attach the end to the rod. Are the spots depressed?

 

[ldykeman]

Roundball, just out of curiousity, have you contacted T/C about this ramrod? If I was running a business and did this sort of deception on purpose, I would deserve all the badmouthing I deserved. If, on the other hand, they were misled by the faux pins (as I believe), I would imagine they would be most interested in finding this out so they could 1) refund/replace the product for the customer, and 2) take action against the supplier. They might replace it with their power rod. I bought one of them and they look pretty rugged.
Just a thought,
Larry