Milling bit

[mudd turtle]

Can A milling bit be milled on a 5ft piece of brass rod to remove a hard lead ball. Need ideas on how to make this item or best idea for removeing lead ball from 45 cal flint lock. Mudd Turtle

 

[riverrat43]

Have you tried a CO2 discharger or pouring a few grains of prime in the touch hole?

 

[rebel727]

If your ramrod is threaded you can get a ball worm for it. Or braze a wood screw onto a piece of rod stock.

 

[user 2647]

I agree with Riverrat-43, Try a little priming powder after useing a pick to open up a small cavity for the powder. It may take 3 or four tries but this will work most of the time. If not try a co2 charger or an air compresser if you have access to them. Good luck.

 

[mudd turtle]

I have tried all of your suggestions except brazing a wood screw on to brass stock. What I am dealing with is 1- I dryed balled the gun.-2- it is a flint lock 3- It does not have a removable vent liner.I thought that since brass is harder than lead and that it is softer than steel it would be ok to use in the barrel if a cutter could be milled in the end of a 5ft brass rod. I could cut out the ball. Anyone eles have any idea how I can solv my problem. Thanks to all who responded to my post. Mudd Turtle.

 

[Rebel]

Even without a removeable liner you should be able to work some 4f in through the vent hole. If you have a flat breechplug and not a pattent breech you may have to try to get the ball forward a bit with a piece of steel rod small enough to go in the vent hole. If you can only get a few grains in at first it should move the ball forward enough to get some more in behind it. Just be sure to reseat the ballon the powder before trying to shoot it out.

 

[loophole]

All ML shooters need a ball puller--a steel screw with one end threaded 8-32 or 10-32 to fit on the tip of the ramrod. Push it down the barrel, thread it into the ball, have a friend hold the rifle firmly while you pull out the ball. Just remember you're going to be down muzzle from a weapon which at least has a ball in it----How sure are you ther'e no powder under the ball?

 

[WRussell]

I'll go in with the screw on the end of a brass rod. Use a dry-wall screw (hardened, thin, coarse pitch).

I had an antique that was loaded with what turned out to be two balls. They'd been in there a very long time and were really stuck. I was lucky that it was a 50 caliber and I was able to use a drill bit (dull the edges of the flutes). I started out using brass tubing with teeth cut in the end, like a hole saw, because I thought it would be fun to get the lead out as intact as possible. That didn't work out because of the rust in there, which ate up the brass teeth.

I'd say in your case, take a 3/8 or 7/16 brass or steel rod and do the screw on the end bit. You could use a smaller diameter rod and put wood or brass slugs on the rod, at least a couple on the end, or one long one, that are close to bore diameter so the rod can't wander and let the screw go off to the side. If you use a dry-wall screw (also called trumpet head?) it will start pretty easily.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

If an end mill got off center even a little, the stuck lead ball might become least of the problems, as in a ruined barrel.

In MHO. if all else has failed, I would remove barrel from stock, unscrew breech plug, and drive the ball out.

 

[Zonie]

Assuming you can't buy a CO2 discharge ball remover (which is the best way), you might have good results trying the following. Before you do this, measure the inside of the barrel. Some ".45 caliber guns have less than a .45 caliber bore. If the bore is .440 or larger then read on:

Go to a Automotive shop or store and buy a straight length of 5/16 diameter steel brake line tubing. Make sure it has a 1/4 inch inside diameter (.032 wall tubing).
If given a choice, buy the steel tubing, not the stainless. (This could also be done using brass tubing of the same size, but the brass will be much weaker).

Buy a 7/16 inch twist drill bit with a 1/4 inch shank on it. These are made for folks who want to drill a 7/16 inch hole but they only have a 1/4 inch chuck on their electric or hand drill.
Also buy some solder and flux. The kind which is called "silver bearing" is stronger than common solder so look for it.

Degrease the inside of the tubing using acetone or your wifes fingernail polish remover.
Gently heat the tube and apply the flux to the inside. Also degrease the shank of the drill bit and flux it as well.

Now "tin" the inside of the tube and the shank of the drill bit by gently heating them until the solder flows over the entier surface. Reheat as needed, assemble the tube and bit and solder them together. Adding a little solder at this point is a good idea.

You now should use a whet stone to dull up the sharp corners of the drill bit a little and proceed to drill out the lead ball(s).
Although the lead is soft, go slowly. The soldered joint will not be strong enough to allow using a lot of force.

This should remove all but about .006 of the ball(s).
The remaining lead can be removed with steel wool wrapped around a cleaning jag and a lot of elbow grease and profanity.

 

[bwhoffman]

mud turtle,
I have heard tell that you can adapt a grease zerk,possiple by way of an adaptor and push it out with a grease gun. developes a lot of psi.
You might have to tap your vent and then go to a liner.

just an idea,

brett

 

[Gary]

Panic bar hardware. You see those long brass bars that move such that the latches disenage and allow the door to be pushed open? See if you can find a supplier to sell you one of those bars. Drill & tap it for a stuck ball remover. It won't hurt your barrel and doubles as a super-duper lifetime ramrod. I've got a couple of them.

Start poking around buildings and if you spot the bar (no, you don't take it), ask for the superintendent and then get his contact info for their supplier. Hotels and offices are good starting places.

BTW, all comes to worse, you can always pull the breechplug and drive the ball out the backend. But I'd use a muzzle protector as I hate steel against steel.

 

[paulvallandigham]

A ball jag is made of softer steel than your barrel and will not scratch it. Brass is too soft for the job, as it will twist off before it pulls the ball. Put some oil down the barrel and through the touch hole to wet the cloth patching in the barrel. Give it some time to soak in. Then use a standard ball jag on a steel cleaning rod, and run it down, and then put as much pressure as you can while turning the screw into and through the ball. Then get someone to hold onto the gun stock while you pull the ball out.

I have used a pick and a hardened metal scriber to move a lead ball forward by putting it through a touch hole, but this obviously depends on the size of the touch hole, and the bore of the gun. The smaller the hole, the lest movement per insertion and levering you are going to do. If you can move it forward enough to get flash powder behind the ball, you can fire the powder and it will push the ball forward enough that you can put 5 grains of priming powder under the ball, then seat the ball back down on the powder, and fire it in a safe direction. The ball will exit the barrel and travel only a short distance.

You probably will have to move that ball forward some to be able to use that CO2 device to blow it out. If the ball is right back against the touch hole, there may be almost no place for the compressed air to go. Again, with a hardened metal scriber, you can go through the touchhole to move the ball forward mechanically, with lots of patience. I would rather use the ball jag and just pull the damn ball out, as I have had to do this on more than one occasion, and I know how to do it, and what it feels like to get the ball moving. BTW, that jag will misshapen the ball and patch, and in doing so, loosen the contact between the barrel and the PRB that got it "stuck " in the first place. With the oil poured down the barrel, its surprising how easy that ball comes out on the jag. If I had fired the gun before I dry balled it, my barrel was always clean with lots of crud visible in the patch that I pull out. To lap a barrel once, I took one of those balls that had been stuck in my barrel, wound it back down on my ball jag, and then used a piece of patching with JB bore Cleaner on it. to lap the barrel. It took a couple of sharp blows to get the patch and ball started in the barrel, which I had oiled again, but once it got it started it sent down the barrel easily, and I could actually feel the rough spots as I worked the lapping compound over it until it was gone. Most of the time, I just use a couple of thick patches on my cleaning swab, covered in JB Bore Cleaner, and depend on lots of strokes and lots of sweat to get the job done.

 

[musketman]

Can A milling bit be milled on a 5ft piece of brass rod to remove a hard lead ball. Need ideas on how to make this item or best idea for removeing lead ball from 45 cal flint lock. Mudd Turtle

Is the gun still loaded?

 

[wszumera]

A piece of 1/4" steel rod, sliver brazing rod, and a
screw of your choice, maybe a self drilling / self tapper might make you a tool for the job.

I've silver brased those hex screwdriver bits to long pieces of rod to drive 4" wood screws before.

Clutch

 

[John Taylor]

Best way is to remove the breach plug if you have tried the screw. A zerk fitting for a grease gun uses 1/16"pipe thread which is so close to a 1/4"X28 that it will work if you want to put a vent liner in your barrel afterwards. Another thing you could try if you are sure there is no powder, heat the barrel to 600 degrees and pour the lead out.

 

[user 2647]

NAPA sells zerk fittings in the 1/4 - 28 pitch so you could drill and tap for a liner and use the grease gun method.

 

[bwhoffman]

mud turtle,
I have heard tell that you can adapt a grease zerk,possiple by way of an adaptor and push it out with a grease gun. developes a lot of psi.
You might have to tap your vent and then go to a liner.

just an idea,

brett

guess this didnt get read first time up.

 

[rebel727]

Grease would push it out alright enough but it would be a lot of grease to clean up afterwards. Pulling it would be faster and cleaner.

 

[Zonie]

I've pulled a few in the past 35 years, and during that time I've come to the conclusion that almost anything is easier than using the ole Ball Screw method.

Most of those who have written about pulling a ball have said, in so many words, "just get two teams of horses pointed in opposite directions..."

The problem with the ball screw as I see it is, you know those wonderous little lead plugs you use to hang up drapes and heavy pictures? Ya, the ones you push into the hole in the wall and then run a screw into it. That screw expands and tightens the lead plug up so tight that dam near nothing will pull it out.
IMO, the screw going into the lead ball in your barrel does the same thing. That's why I suggest that you use Draft Horses for both teams. :grin:

I've seen posts where the guy said "...then hook the handle of the cleaning rod into the crotch of the oak tree branch and pull the rifle back away from the tree."
I expect at any time to read
"Man Killed by 400 year Oak Tree"
Harvey Dutemeigher was trying to remove a stuck ball from his muzzleloader when a 400 year oak tree fell on him, crushing him flatter than a bug.
The last words Harvey said is "You just stand over there and I'll just hook this ramrod handle into that big old tree and have this ball out in a jiffy." :rotf:
When asked about the incident, Harveys friend said: "Sure is a shame! That Curly Maple Stock was so pretty too!."

Seriously, if one wants to pull a stuck ball out using a ball screw, they should pour some water down the bore first and give it a half an hour soak time to loosen up the patches grip on the bore.
That half an hour will give them time to come up with a better way of getting the ball out. :grin: