Plugging a flintlock vent for cleaning?

[Mickc01]

Works for me;

I like this! I'm going to try it. Thanks, Eric.... :hatsoff:

To me there's noting more irritating than having a path of icky water running down my nice stocks and staining the buttplate. And it will do it before you can get it dry, even if you hurry. I have a couple of small wooden clamps from Harbor freight and this should be a perfect use for then.....Mick C

 

[Eric Krewson]

Ordinarily I would have the paper towel and clamp closer to the toothpick, the picture was staged to add to this post. The spring clamps are really cheap, I think I gave a buck for the one in the picture at a flea market.

 

[hanshi]

I don't have problems with the round toothpicks I use in the vent holes. I drive them in tight, tape a paper towel around the gun at that point and pour in water. I let it stand a while then slosh it around and pour it out. Often I'll do it a couple of times. After that I put in on my cleaning holder and swab it clean. It gets dried thoroughly and protected with Barricade.

 

[Muskeg Stomper]

I keep some round toothpicks and a roll of plumbers Teflon tape in my shooting box. Make a wrap or two around the toothpick with the Teflon tape and use it to plug the vent while cleaning. It works real well for me in preventing leaks.

 

[Semisane]

I do like that approach Eric.

I think I will try it with a modification. Were you to drill a 3/16" hole in the face of a clamp you could put the toothpick in the vent, puncture the center of a square of folded paper towel with the standing end of the toothpick and slide the towel down against the vent so the towel completely surrounds the toothpick. Then you could apply the clamp with the toothpick sticking through the hole in the clamp face, which would apply pressure completely around the assembly.

 

[Darkgael]

1 - coat the wood with a paste finishing wax.
2- ROUND toothpick into vent (never have had a leak)
3 - run a scraper down the bore.
3 - warm soapy water into bore.
4 - wait 10-15 min.
5 - dump water from bore.
6 - put a piece of folded paper towel next to the vent. Close the frizzen on the.
7 - Clean the bore and oil.
8 - buff the paste wax.
9 - apply a coating of type A transmission fluid to the wood, wait a moment and then wipe it off.
10- put the gun away.

 

[MSK]

I was thinking (dangerous thing indeed). What if Eric's method were employed with a small square of rubber (piece of bicycle inner tube) clamped over the vent instead of a toothpick? Has anyone tried something like that?

Smollett

 

[garra]

I was thinking of trying a finger tip from a disposable glove with a small magnet inside, should stick pretty good.

 

[Mickc01]

Interesting step-by-step, thanks. Always interesting to see how others do this job....Mick C

 

[Dphar]

In cleaning my flintlock rifle, I tried the toothpick method to plug the vent, but water ended up seeping out no matter how many times I tried to seal it. I've heard others use a feather but I'll admit there isn't an abundance of those floating around (no pun intended), nor does that sound so promising given my previous failures. Are there other methods that can be shared? My rifle does not have a removable vent and I prefer that.

Thanks, Smollett

Don't pressurize the water in the bore. Don't pour it full. Put in maybe 4-6" of cold to slightly warm water in the bore then slosh it by putting a finger or thumb over the Muzzle and up end it a few times then dump it out. Now run a loose WET patch in and out a time or four then repeat the water slosh. Repeat the process 3-4 times. Once the bore has no great amount of water in it then tighter wet patches can be used. Using a tight patch with water in the bore will force water out the end grain of the toothpick.
This will clean BP fouling really well and prevents pushing a lot of fouling into the breech and vent since it washed out with the water and the loose patches.
Once the wet patches come out clean dry the bore, removing the toothpick after the first couple of dry patches. Its normal to get a little black color on the patches as the bore is dried. If the wet patches are clean this is black iron oxide being rubbed on to the patch. Once dried it will convert to red oxide. Fouling will be grey or maybe dark grey. So set some of the patches with color on them aside and see what they look like the next day. Dry it well then oil it to the face of the breech and stand muzzle down over night to let the excess drain. I never let the water soak in the bore. Only 20 seconds or less for the sloshing is all that is needed.
If pyrodex is used you are on your own.
Dan

 

[Dphar]

PS I have never even owed a "scraper" and have been shooting since 1966. It takes WATER to get the fouling out. If the fouling is set up like concrete the gun was not properly cleaned and the old fouling was oiled and then the gun fired and the same thing repeated. This will put stuff in the breech that may require removing the breech to remove.

Dan