I think Alden's point is they need to look down that barrel before they start doing all that other stuff. I would not poke my hand in a hole in a tree without shining a light down there first. All the advice given means nothing until we can confirm there is anything down there to remove. I am just as puzzled as to why we have not confirmed that. I had a similar situation, but I put a bore light down there to take a look after my screw pulled through, then very carefully so I would not wreck the rifling used a larger screw from a hardware store to finish the job. I ditched the cheap ball puller for a better one but have not had to use it, lesson learned, powder before ball.
stuck ball 50 cal kentucky
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S.Kenton
58 Cal.
a few grains of powder won't bulge the barrel nor cause any other damage. However if there is a hole completely through the lead ball, the few grains of powder will not budge it anyhow.
Am I to assume the ball is still stuck in the barrel?
It's been there for 5 days now. :hmm:
Seems to me that by removing the "clean out screw" it would be easy to work 8-10 grains of powder down into the breech if a wire was used to "tickle" it in there.
8-10 grains of powder will blow whatever is in there out without a problem. Just be sure to aim the gun in a safe direction after putting the clean out screw back in place and capping the nipple.
For those of you who haven't fired a flintlock, they work very nicely with a big leak in the side of the barrel. Any hole thru the ball won't have a chance of keeping the pressure from getting up to to a level that will blow it over 100 yards.
IMO, as thick as one of these guns barrel walls is, there is no real danger of bulging the barrel.
Even if it does get slightly swelled, so what?
The gun is useless now and if folks remember the original post, the gun had been fired before this problem came up. A few more days of going uncleaned is going to make enough rust in the bore so the barrel isn't worth anything anyway.
82abn: Put in the powder in there and shoot the ball out.
It's been there for 5 days now. :hmm:
Seems to me that by removing the "clean out screw" it would be easy to work 8-10 grains of powder down into the breech if a wire was used to "tickle" it in there.
8-10 grains of powder will blow whatever is in there out without a problem. Just be sure to aim the gun in a safe direction after putting the clean out screw back in place and capping the nipple.
For those of you who haven't fired a flintlock, they work very nicely with a big leak in the side of the barrel. Any hole thru the ball won't have a chance of keeping the pressure from getting up to to a level that will blow it over 100 yards.
IMO, as thick as one of these guns barrel walls is, there is no real danger of bulging the barrel.
Even if it does get slightly swelled, so what?
The gun is useless now and if folks remember the original post, the gun had been fired before this problem came up. A few more days of going uncleaned is going to make enough rust in the bore so the barrel isn't worth anything anyway.
82abn: Put in the powder in there and shoot the ball out.
From the original post;
"i ran hot wated through the barell into a pot and flushed no problem all the water came out."
He drilled a hole through the ball, no powder and no CO2 discharger is going to move it.
:idunno: :idunno:
"i ran hot wated through the barell into a pot and flushed no problem all the water came out."
He drilled a hole through the ball, no powder and no CO2 discharger is going to move it.
:idunno: :idunno:
If you pour water down the barrel it will run out the nipple hole if the ball is pierced.Bigger the hole,faster it will drain.I never had luck with pullers so always shoot then out now with a trickled in charge as zonie says. Try it.
There sure wouldn't be anything wrong with trying a small charge.
If it were me, I'd use my air compressor to try and force the ball out (while having a safe backstop!). That's how I got a jag on a separated ferrule unstuck.
At that point I might try melting out...
Another option would be to stuff a patch in via the nipple/drum to try and plug the ball hole before pressurizing, but you are risking making the situation slightly worse for options like melting it out.
You should really shine a light in there and see what you can find. I recently bought a 2-meter long lighted endoscope camera on eBay for stuff like this, cost was $17. It has a 7mm head so should fit inside most barrels. You can get an up-close look at the breech with that.
If it were me, I'd use my air compressor to try and force the ball out (while having a safe backstop!). That's how I got a jag on a separated ferrule unstuck.
At that point I might try melting out...
Another option would be to stuff a patch in via the nipple/drum to try and plug the ball hole before pressurizing, but you are risking making the situation slightly worse for options like melting it out.
You should really shine a light in there and see what you can find. I recently bought a 2-meter long lighted endoscope camera on eBay for stuff like this, cost was $17. It has a 7mm head so should fit inside most barrels. You can get an up-close look at the breech with that.
I know there is a hole thru the ball.
That is why I mentioned flintlocks. They also have a hole between the powder charge and the outside air.
With a 8-10 grain powder charge behind the ball I fully expect to see a breech pressure of well over 1000 psi, even with some of the gas leaking thru the hole in the ball.
Course, as you say, water was poured down the barrel. If the barrel wasn't heated to dry it out the new trickled in powder will probably become wet and useless.
Come to think about it, if the breech wasn't dried immediately, the bore is not much better than a rusty tin can by now.
That is why I mentioned flintlocks. They also have a hole between the powder charge and the outside air.
With a 8-10 grain powder charge behind the ball I fully expect to see a breech pressure of well over 1000 psi, even with some of the gas leaking thru the hole in the ball.
Course, as you say, water was poured down the barrel. If the barrel wasn't heated to dry it out the new trickled in powder will probably become wet and useless.
Come to think about it, if the breech wasn't dried immediately, the bore is not much better than a rusty tin can by now.
jamesthomas
70 Cal.
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I just thought of something to try :hmm: , Get the ball puller an stick it back in the ball, then unscrew the ball puller off the ram rod leaving it in the ball. Then try the co2 to blow the ball out. You need a back stop so you could recover the ball puller.
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While I favour the suggestion above to get a larger diameter screw from the hardware store, there is an alternative I have heard of but not tried for a stuck ball.
Mercury. It will form amalgam, and soften the lead or dissolve it all the way.
But the gas axe should be fun. Don't combine the mercury with the heat, okay? :thumbsup:
Mercury. It will form amalgam, and soften the lead or dissolve it all the way.
But the gas axe should be fun. Don't combine the mercury with the heat, okay? :thumbsup:
Another possibility.
There is a hole in the ball, and the OP says that his ramrod goes through it. Hopefully the hole in the ball isn't much larger than that.
Buy a long dowel (6" or more longer than the barrel length), of the right OD so it can fit snugly through the ball. It would be best if it took a slight tap with a hammer or shoving to get it to the breech.
Stick the dowel through the barrel & ball so that the end is sitting on the breech plug. Use something made of plastic or wood to reasonably center the dowel in the barrel at the muzzle end. I would probably use a large plastic bolt anchor that fits snugly in the barrel with the center drilled out. Loosely tape it in place.
Now, flip the barrel over and stick the dowel into firm ground. Not too hard, not too soft, just enough to hold it firmly in place. You might want a helper to hold the barrel down against the dowel.
Attach a short, tight-fitting piece of aquarium hose or tubing to the nipple. Charge up an air compressor (higher pressure = better). Stick a nozzle blower into the tubing, hold everything tight (including the dowel pressing against the ground), and give it a shot of compressed air.
Hopefully the dowel seals against the ball enough that enough pressure builds to shoot the ball out the barrel, riding along the dowel, and into the ground.
I think that's what I would try at this point.
There is a hole in the ball, and the OP says that his ramrod goes through it. Hopefully the hole in the ball isn't much larger than that.
Buy a long dowel (6" or more longer than the barrel length), of the right OD so it can fit snugly through the ball. It would be best if it took a slight tap with a hammer or shoving to get it to the breech.
Stick the dowel through the barrel & ball so that the end is sitting on the breech plug. Use something made of plastic or wood to reasonably center the dowel in the barrel at the muzzle end. I would probably use a large plastic bolt anchor that fits snugly in the barrel with the center drilled out. Loosely tape it in place.
Now, flip the barrel over and stick the dowel into firm ground. Not too hard, not too soft, just enough to hold it firmly in place. You might want a helper to hold the barrel down against the dowel.
Attach a short, tight-fitting piece of aquarium hose or tubing to the nipple. Charge up an air compressor (higher pressure = better). Stick a nozzle blower into the tubing, hold everything tight (including the dowel pressing against the ground), and give it a shot of compressed air.
Hopefully the dowel seals against the ball enough that enough pressure builds to shoot the ball out the barrel, riding along the dowel, and into the ground.
I think that's what I would try at this point.
Huh? Using 80-150psi to blow the ball out is the equivalent of dynamite?
I used 80psi from a compressor on a percussion rifle to blow out a stuck jag when the ferrule separate from the ramrod with the jag at the bottom of the barrel. It didn't even go through one side of a cardboard box.
I used 80psi from a compressor on a percussion rifle to blow out a stuck jag when the ferrule separate from the ramrod with the jag at the bottom of the barrel. It didn't even go through one side of a cardboard box.
I think 'armakiller' has the best practical idea so far. Now that's thinking outside the box. Screw the ball puller back in the ball (assuming the ball is still there) to seal the hole. Now one can use the CO2 (or grains of black powder through the nipple area) to free the ball. I hope the original poster gives an update. I'd hate to not have an end to this.
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:rotf: The gun is ruined for sure. he should just give it to me so he won't be tortured by it anymore. that's how I got my last gun :rotf: I have stuck everthing you can think of in a barrel over the years and have gotten them all out.Removing stuck objects is a simple proceedure that is usually complicated and compounded by poor tools, poor technique, poor execution and improper proceedure. :rotf: 
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.Barrows said:
End? END!? Never! There are even more, let's say, "ingenious" approaches that haven't even been suggested for the actually unidentifed status of the problem -- remember, we still don't know if the ball is even there anymore!!!
Missing from the answers so far that might be explored:
- Application of JB Weld
- Drilling a new touchole and moving the lock up on the barrel/stock
- Cutting the barrel open and welding it back up (or just shortening the whole gun which may actually now be necessary anyway)
- X-Rays
- Black (Powder) Magic
PS: I LOVE the mercury on lead, and steel, idea -- just brilliant!
I take it since we haven't heard from the OP for some time, he has fixed the problem(one way or another) and moved on.
He was talking about sending it to the manufacturer last we heard.
Something else that could be tried would be to start with small breach scrapers and ream the center of the ball out via progressively larger scrapers. You could even grind the scrapers into somewhat of a cutting profile.
On the inspection topic, I recently purchased a 2 meter long endoscope on eBay for $17 (shipped). It connects to your computer via USB, has 4 white leds for lighting, etc. The head is 7mm in diameter. Anyone interested in some photos in another thread? I was thinking of carefully rolling an unpatched ball down to see what it looked like...
Something else that could be tried would be to start with small breach scrapers and ream the center of the ball out via progressively larger scrapers. You could even grind the scrapers into somewhat of a cutting profile.
On the inspection topic, I recently purchased a 2 meter long endoscope on eBay for $17 (shipped). It connects to your computer via USB, has 4 white leds for lighting, etc. The head is 7mm in diameter. Anyone interested in some photos in another thread? I was thinking of carefully rolling an unpatched ball down to see what it looked like...
I PM'd him last night and now word back yet. maybe is embarrassed by some of the comments and just left?
