metal powder flask question...

[homerdave]

i was just gven two old metal lyman flasks, they have not been used in years, and my question is how do i fill/open them?
does the brass top unscrew? i don't want to try forcing them open if that is not how they open.
so far all i can figure is unscrew the spout and fill through the little hole...?

 

[mykeal]

Yep, you got it. Unscrew the spout, stick a funnel in the opening to hold the shutter open and pour away.

 

[paulvallandigham]

The brass pipe spout sticking out of the flask screws in and out. Take it out and put it aside. There is a loading gate- probably covered in BP residue now, that should move when the finger lever compresses the spring. You will need to have a funnel with a neck narrow enough to fit down in the hole and block the gate open. Then you can fill the flasks with new powder. If you are careful, and have a set of jeweler's screw drivers, you can unscrew the tiny screws that holds the brass head to the body of the flask. Then you can also take the spring off, and get to the gate to clean it off, on both sides, and oil the pivot pin. That will do wonders for making the gate open easily. Don't leave any oil on either side of the gate. Use a tissue or cleaning patch soaked in alcohol to clean any oil or fingerprints off both sides of the gate. Clean the mouth of the hole that the gate closes, and make sure the gate closes completely, every time you release the finger lever. This is a safety issue, and its your hand, and bod that we are trying to save! That flask is a BOMB! if you are not careful about keeping flame away from the powder in the flask.

Once you clean and lightly oil that pivot point, put the flask parts back together, and put that top back on the body of the flask. you can clean out the inside of the flask when you have it open. Wash it with soap and water, and if you see copper corrosion, put some vinegar in the flask and swish it around. Then use a rag on a stick to rub off any remaining corrosion. Once the inside of the flask is clean, its ready to fill with powder.

I stopped using a flask for powder when I sold my worn out revolver for parts to a dealer. I now use it for Corn meal. It got a thorough cleaning, and oiling, and I put a different spout on it that throws more powder. You can buy different length or size spouts for the flasks from various suppliers. I believe the one sold with my flask threw only about 10-15 grains. I have another now that throws 20 grains, and a third that throws 50 grains( by volume). I use the 20 grain spout to throw corn meals charges for my filler in my .50 cal. rifle, and I use the 50 grain spout to throw filler for my 20 ga. fowler, when shooting PRB.

 

[homerdave]

thanks.
i don't actually think these were ever used.
so when you use these to measure powder, do you just invert them with a finger on the spout while it fills, then dispense the charge?

 

[paulvallandigham]

Basically, you are correct. I found that I had to shake the flask a certain number of times to get a consistent amount of powder in the spout each time, but how much shaking and what kind of shaking seems to vary with the flask.

I was using mine in a .36 revolver, and powder charges needed to be carefully measured, more carefully for my gun that the flask could deliver for me. I abandoned using it for an adjustable Powder Measure instead. I used the flask as a powder container, and simply poured the powder into the powder measure, to charge my revolver.

I would not have as much concern using it to charge a rifle or musket, in the way it was meant to be used. Think about it. In a .36 caliber revolver, the Maximum efficient powder charge it can burn, using the Davenport formula of 11.5 grains per cubic inch of bore, is only 12 grains for a 10 inch barreled revolver. Compare that to a .36 caliber rifle with a barrel length of 32 inches- 37.45 grains! A small difference in the actual amount of powder thrown is less significant in the rifle than in my revolver.

I made the mistake of " Go ahead and fill those chambers up with powder ". The recoil of that kind of load, while not punishing to me, slammed the steel cylinder back into the brass recoil shield, so that after a couple of hundred firings, a round groove was pounded into the brass, allowing the cylinder to set back enough to Fire a second chamber on the right side of the cylinder where the " Loading Gate" would be on a modern SA revolver. Having two chambers fire at the same time was just a little more excitement than I really wanted. And that second shot always blew the group, too! Lacking a lathe so I could cut a steel washer the diameters and thickness needed to move that cylinder forward and protect the recoil shield from further damage, I sold the gun for parts. :surrender: :thumbsup:

 

[bwhoffman]

...From the flask, to the MEASURE, then into the gun.

Never from the flask into the gun.

 

[jtmattison]

...From the flask, to the MEASURE, then into the gun.

Never from the flask into the gun.

:thumbsup: Safety first...ALWAYS!

HD

 

[homerdave]

it had never occurred to me to do anything but flask-measure-gun.
that's why i asked!

 

[paulvallandigham]

Flasks like these were used most often in loading revolvers. Because revolvers have a very short length, and its easy to see if you have anything like a burning ember in a chamber, particularly if you have first cleaned it with a cleaning patch and a jag, you don't have the same safety problems that occur in loading directly from the flask into a rifle or shotgun.

That is where the bad habits begin. What is okay from a safety standpoint for a revolver, is NOT okay in loading even a single shot pistol barrel. You are correct to load from the flask to the measure, and finally from the measure into the barrel. My earliest training with BP and guns came with a single shot pistol. I got rather nervous watching another shooter at a range loading his cylinder directly from the flask, until he showed me that it was always done safely for the reasons described. He was throwing something like 15 grains and filling the rest of the chamber with a corn meal filler.

 

[Swede50]

I used to charge the cylinder from the flask, but never again it only takes one time to make you suffer for the rest of your live. I cut the end of 3 fingers off with a table saw 20 plus years ago while working on a construction job. They have never and never will grow back. That was a small injury compared to the havoc a flask of powder exploding will do to your extremities.

As the others have already said safety first.