Safty Question

[urdubob]

I Bought one of the Indian Made Baker Rifles. When I drilled the flash hole... I dilled into the BREACHPLUG! The breach plug had eight threads. To clear the flash hole I will have to grind off 2 or 3.

Can I do this?...Is this safe?


Please help me with your thoughts.

Urdubob


P.S.
I have bought 4 Indian Made muskets and all were easy to make fire. Two I had to re-harden the the pans..this was no big deal.

I know that some importes have better quality controll than others.

 

[john12865]

I've never dealt with one of these Indian manufactured guns. I myself have read reports of them blowing up. Here's a link http://www.sutlers.co.uk/news/jan2002.html
Where are you buying these from if you don't mind me asking?

 

[urdubob]

The one with quality issues come from DB curio out of florida. My Blunderbuss was nice I only need to re-harden the frizzen.

The good ones came from Military heritage.

 

[xbowman]

I would not cut off the threads you mentioned.
Put the Breech Plug back in and mark where the touch hole is located. Take the Breech Plug back out and use a high speed coning bit from the Touch Hole to the end of the Breech Plug threads. If you do this properly you will still be able to run a pipe cleaner in the Touch Hold and into the breech area. Just make it nice and smooth. If you look in Builder's Bench you will see a great article of this by one of the members great members here.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Would like sources of those reports you have read.

 

In answer to your questions, "can I do it?" yes. "is it safe?" maybe. I've seen guns 200 years old with no more than 5 threads on the breech plug. However, that doesn't guarantee safety with your gun. There are however, other things to consider. If you just shorten the plug you will have 3/16" or so of exposed threads in your bore. That will make cleaning a major PITA. Not only will it hold lots of fouling but will grab your patch and prevent you from being able to pull the cleaning rod out. SO, that means you would have to file down the breech of the barrel (about 3/16" or so) and re-index the plug. Of course, this will move your TH out of position as well as any barrel tennons or whatever the piece has to secure the barrel to the stock etc etc. What you could do perhaps, is drill the breech plug face. If the gun is a .62cal, drill the center of the plug say, with a 1/2" bit just far enough to get past the TH. Then install the plug and drill and tap through the barrel and the side of the plug into the small chamber you just made and put your liner right through the barrel AND plug. You just need to remember that the liner has to come out before you can remove the plug. If the hole needs to be very long, use a smaller bit, say 1/4". You don't want too big of a chamber or, when useing real light loads you could end up with a gap betwixt powder and ball :nono: . before installing, fill the chamber in the plug face with powder and then dump the charge into an adjustable measure, adjust the measure 'till it shows full and read how much powder you have. Then you will know the safe minimum charge.

Cody

 

[Zonie]

Cody stole my thunder.

I like the idea of drilling into the center of the face of the breech plug, just a little deeper than what is needed to get to the touch hole location. What you are making is, in effect, an English (modified Patent) breech.
If I were doing this, I would use a 5/16 inch bit. Something small enough that there is no chanch of a ball ever being rammed into the cavity but large enough to accommodate the 1/4 tap for the vent liner. (This assumes you are installing a vent liner).
If you don't want a vent liner, then I would size the vent in the barrel at 5/64 dia and drill that size into the breech plug about 1/8 inch.
After you remove the breech plug to drill the center hole, you then can use the 5/64 diameter hole for location and drill perhaps a 3/16 inch hole to intersect the 5/16 dia hole coming in from the face of the plug.
That larger hole will allow the powder to flow out to meet the actual touch hole when you are loading the gun.

This solution leaves almost all of the breech plug threads engaged with the barrel so it doesn't really weaken the area. It also keeps the breech plug face seated tight against the back of the bore like it is supposed to be.

Assuming your using a vent plut, the idea of the vent plug being threaded into both the barrel and the nipple isn't new, or dangerous. You may have read about the gunsmith twisting off the rear of a breech plug on a factory rifle because he didn't remove the nipple drum first. the nipple drum was screwed into the barrel and the breech plug.

 

[WRussell]

My two cents is to cut a tapered ditch like Xbowman suggested. This will leave the full threads everywhere but in a small area. This was pretty commonly done, I think, and doesn't make the cleaning that much more of a pain.

Even on the cheapest repro, the steel is almost certainly better than most originals, and I've seen originals with only three or four threads on the breechplug.

The rule of thumb, if I recomember correctly, is seven threads make the screw engagement stronger than the screw body. So if you lose 2 threads over say 3/16 of an inch with the cone/ditch, and you started with 8, you've got nothing to worry about.

Worry anyway, and PROOF TEST the thing before you put it back in the stock. A breech plug in the forehead would hurt.

 

[xbowman]

If your still trying to decide about your Touch Hole, look in Builders Bench, Touch Hole article by Erzulis Boat. GREAT ARTICLE with pictures.

 

[CrackStock]

If you drilled the vent/flash hole in the center of the pan, it should have lined up close to the breachface in most standard MLs.

However, this is ASSUMEing that the gun was properly designed.

Before drilling a vent hole, most people will put a ramrod in the barrel until the end hits the breachface. They will then mark the ramrod. (I use tape) Then they put the rod along the barrel and see where the breach face compares to the pan. This permits you to drill the vent hole close to where you want it in relation to the breachface.

If this is not lined up properly, then you have a defective product and it should be returned in my opinion.

A patent breach as mentioned above is an interesting solution, but it is not correct for that rifle IIRC. It also extends the flash channel farther than should be necessary. The only good news is that the hole already drilled is covered by thread.

I really believe that this sounds like a poorly laid out product and should go back to the manufacturer.

CS