OK, I'm going to remove breech plug, eventually

[dmjung]

I'm going to remove the breech plug to begin inletting. Naturally, it won't budge even though it's never been fired.

My standard adjustable wrench doesn't fit well since the tang sides are not parallel and its too short to get any leverage. My pipe wrench kind of fits, but starts to dig into the metal some. (Barrel plug end is in a vice.)

So, what are the proper ways to do this without destroying everything?

Get a bigger wrench? :grin:

Make some kind of tool that works with the shape?

Soak in Kroil for a couple of days?

Wrap with lead or something (what?) and use whichever wrench fits best again?

--David

 

[tallbear]

I use a 10" cresent wrench.I wrap the tang with a thin piece of brass so i don't damage the edges of the plug.

Mitch

 

[Roy]

use copper or brass sheet to line the jaws of the pipe wrench that will stop it marring the breach plug. I use a big adjustable wrench normally.. you can use a smaller set if you use a cheater pipe. :v

 

[Roy]

good timing :haha: :thumbsup:

 

[tallbear]

:hatsoff: :hatsoff:

 

[Packdog]

I use at least a 12" adjustable wrench. I have two wrenches for breech plugs. One with the jaws ground down to match the taper of the breech plug. I very seldom reach for that one becuase the other works just fine 99% of the time. Use some pieces of brass or copper on the barrel sides when you clamp it in the vice. .032 or thicker. The worst thing that could happen is the barrel spinning in the vice jaws and marring the barrel edges. Make 100% sure not to let the jaws of your wrench go past the top tang edge.
Also, don't clamp the last 1/2" of the barrel in the vice. You are clamping down on the thread portion and making it harder to get the breech plug out.
Make sure there is a witness mark on the bottom flat so you can return the plug to the same spot.

 

[dmjung]

Thanks everybody. It's out now.

I guess its a mixture of not having done this before and not wanting to screw it up. I have a tendency to jump in and I don't think that's going to work well building a flintlock.

Didn't have any brass, copper or lead, but I did have some sheet metal handy, so I snipped off a piece to wrap around the tang. Then just because I wanted one:grin:, I got a bigger 15" wrench. With the extra leverage and not being afraid of scarring the metal, it came out fairly easily.

--David

 

[truckwilkins]

a peice of soda can ought to work if you dont have the copper brass lead youfren truckwilkins

 

[paulvallandigham]

A " Cheater" bar is nothing more than a section of iron pipe that is large enough to fit over the handle of any pipe wrench you may use. It extends the length of the handle, so that you use less torque to accomplish the same work. Based on the scrap my father always seemed to have under his work bench, I have used iron water pipes, fence posts, and all manner of piping I have no idea about what they were intended for use, as a " Cheater bar" when the occasion arose. Cheater bars keep you from having to buy those expensive, heavy, BIG pipe wrenches with the long handles.

When I have removed plugs, I get a friend to work the plug, while I go down on the floor under the vise, and use another wrench to hold the barrel and push against the direction he is pulling the plug. This assists the rather narrow jaws of the bench vise in doing their job of holding the pipe against the torque that is being applied against the tang/breechplug, and keeps the flats from being marred by the vise jaws, even when the jaws are padded with copper, aluminum, brass, plastic, hard wood, etc. You should be able to buy sheet brass at your local hardware store. If they don't carry it, they should know who in the area does. Its commonly used for shims, or for all kinds of minor jobs like this. Machine shops will also either have it in stock, or in the scrap bins, or will know where you can get it locally.

 

[J.D.]

For future reference, I made a coupla V blocks of oak 1 X 2 to grip the barrel. The oak will compress to grip the barrel very well, with no marring of the exterior.

A 12 " crescent wrench or a stilson wrench with padded jaws to grip the tang, is all that is needed to unscrew the plug.

Be sure to avoid tightening the vise on the area containing the threads. Even a little compression on the threaded breech can make it very difficult to remove a plug.

God bless

 

[Mike Brooks]

I use an antique monkey wrench.
Do a round barrel sometime...that'll have you scratching your head. :haha:

 

[LRB]

Hi Mike. I assume you've tried pitch on formed wood blocks in the vise? I've only done that on round barrels a few times, but it worked pretty good. I may have been lucky. :v

 

[Mike Brooks]

Yep, discovered rosin a few months ago...life is much easier now. :thumbsup:

 

[ohio ramrod]

Since I have the equipment I just make a wrench that fits the plug. But you can to with some time and a sharp file. Get an open end wrench just a little smaller ( either english or metric ) and file it to a tight fit. Then since steel expands when heated put the barrel in a vice ( cushin it with brass to prevent marring ) heat the barrel with a propne tourch and the plug should screw right out. If It doesn't; allow it to cool, soak in kroil for a day and then repeat process.

 

[ebiggs1]

kroil

 

[mazo kid]

Here is an adjustable breech plug wrench I made several years ago. As you can see, it can be adjusted to almost any angled plug. I made it out of 5/8" square stock and can use a "cheater" bar on it if needed. I think I got the idea out of Muzzleblasts magazine.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

I use one like it sometimes on a rough unfinished barrel. The only thing I dont like about that design is that it makes contact with the top sides of the breech tang. It can bugger those sides of a finished barrel of 12L14.

 

[mazo kid]

I use one like it sometimes on a rough unfinished barrel. The only thing I dont like about that design is that it makes contact with the top sides of the breech tang. It can bugger those sides of a finished barrel of 12L14.

The barrel is held in a vise; the wrench goes on the sides of the plug tang. No way it can damage the barrel.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

No it cant damage the barrel. I did not write that correctly. Mine is a two handed style. I have buggered the edges of the tang on the top sides (corners where the tang makes contact with the wood on the gun's surface)when taking the plug out.