Stuck bore brush

[BIGBEAR]

I messed up !
I ran a cleaning patch down the bore of my 50 cal TC Hawken barrel.
The patch came off and got stuck down in Breech .
I couldn’t find my patch puller jag , so I put a brass brush on and ran that down , thinking I could pull the cleaning patch out with that…guess what , next thing happens is my brass brush pulls off my ram rod ! What I didn’t realize is that the threads on the brass brush were a smaller size than my ram rod threads ….that’s why it pulled off
I couldn’t find a cleaning rod with the smaller diameter threaded end , to try and reattach the brush down in the bore
I cut a small piece of monofilament fishing line and put it in the treads of of my ramrod , then when I screwed it on the lost brass jag , it tightened right up with the mono jamming up the threads ..
I carefully pulled the brush out and it worked…Ha
Now I needed to still get that patch out , so I had one of those screw type ball puller jags ,
I ran that down and got it screwed into the cleaning patch and got it pulled out …

I went on line and ordered a nice 50 cal jag attachment kit with the 10/32 threads that my rod has .
Lesson learned , make sure jag tips are proper size for your ram rod thread

 

[Phil Coffins]

Having never made any mistakes yet I’m impressed with your ingenuity.

 

[wiscoaster]

Having never made any mistakes yet I’m impressed with your ingenuity.

Well, I've made plenty and I'm still impressed.

Also, I've bought two of each and every adapter TOW sells online. I sure wish firearm tool makers would standardize. I'm always wasting time trying to screw something onto something else where the threads don't match. Very irritating.

 

[TFoley]

OP, I feel your pain here in UK.

Currently five brands, five different threads, some internal and some external...

 

[Ed C.]

Well, I've made plenty and I'm still impressed.

Also, I've bought two of each and every adapter TOW sells online. I sure wish firearm tool makers would standardize. I'm always wasting time trying to screw something onto something else where the threads don't match. Very irritating.

Ditto, but I only have one each of the adapters.

 

[Codger Craig Wilcox]

I've got a bore brush stuck in an old .45 barrel - the brush actually separated where the twisted wires end at the terminal of the brush part.
Tried the hollow brass tube trick, but my brass tube is neither long enough nor of a sufficient ID to do the job. And the breechplug has been in well over 160 years.
Trying McMaster-Carr and other suppliers (Grainger, etc.) for a 3' piece of suitable tubing. The barrel is not going anywhere, and I am a mostly patient soul.
Heck, I could even solder on a short piece of tube to a solid rod...

 

[Ed C.]

By fixing your own problem you ruined a whole afternoons entertainment of "How to remove a stuck brush" posts. Good job!

 

[BIGBEAR]

I've got a bore brush stuck in an old .45 barrel - the brush actually separated where the twisted wires end at the terminal of the brush part.
Tried the hollow brass tube trick, but my brass tube is neither long enough nor of a sufficient ID to do the job. And the breechplug has been in well over 160 years.
Trying McMaster-Carr and other suppliers (Grainger, etc.) for a 3' piece of suitable tubing. The barrel is not going anywhere, and I am a mostly patient soul.
Heck, I could even solder on a short piece of tube to a solid rod...

Did you try removing nipple , pack some 3f or 4f in the nipple hole , install nipple and shoot it out .?

 

[LME]

I messed up !
I ran a cleaning patch down the bore of my 50 cal TC Hawken barrel.
The patch came off and got stuck down in Breech .
I couldn’t find my patch puller jag , so I put a brass brush on and ran that down , thinking I could pull the cleaning patch out with that…guess what , next thing happens is my brass brush pulls off my ram rod ! What I didn’t realize is that the threads on the brass brush were a smaller size than my ram rod threads ….that’s why it pulled off
I couldn’t find a cleaning rod with the smaller diameter threaded end , to try and reattach the brush down in the bore
I cut a small piece of monofilament fishing line and put it in the treads of of my ramrod , then when I screwed it on the lost brass jag , it tightened right up with the mono jamming up the threads ..
I carefully pulled the brush out and it worked…Ha
Now I needed to still get that patch out , so I had one of those screw type ball puller jags ,
I ran that down and got it screwed into the cleaning patch and got it pulled out …

I went on line and ordered a nice 50 cal jag attachment kit with the 10/32 threads that my rod has .
Lesson learned , make sure jag tips are proper size for your ram rod thread

Glad you got it out! Now do yourself a favor throw the brush away!

 

[smokeum54]

I've got a bore brush stuck in an old .45 barrel - the brush actually separated where the twisted wires end at the terminal of the brush part.
Tried the hollow brass tube trick, but my brass tube is neither long enough nor of a sufficient ID to do the job. And the breechplug has been in well over 160 years.
Trying McMaster-Carr and other suppliers (Grainger, etc.) for a 3' piece of suitable tubing. The barrel is not going anywhere, and I am a mostly patient soul.
Heck, I could even solder on a short piece of tube to a solid rod...

I had that happen once. Took the corkscrew out of a cheap can opener and welded it on a 1/4 inch rod. It will screw around the center of the brush and pull it out.

 

[wiscoaster]

Ditto, but I only have one each of the adapters.

You can count on losing at least one. Better order some more pronto!!

 

[wiscoaster]

Did you try removing nipple , pack some 3f or 4f in the nipple hole , install nipple and shoot it out .?

Shooting out a bore brush doesn't work all that well because there's too much air space in between the bristles.

 

[William Hagewood]

Shooting out a bore brush doesn't work all that well because there's too much air space in between the bristles.

I just put a little extra powder in through the touch hole or nipple and it gets blown out every time

 

[wiscoaster]

I just put a little extra powder in through the touch hole or nipple and it gets blown out every time

Ha ha .... ok, I stand down to superior knowledge gained through experience .... but .... "every time"?!?!? How often do you allow this to happen, anyway?

 

[William Hagewood]

Ha ha .... ok, I stand down to superior knowledge gained through experience .... but .... "every time"?!?!? How often do you allow this to happen, anyway?

Ha! I hate it when it happens but I been addicted to BP for 40 years, so it will happen occasionally with old brushes!

 

[morehops52]

I quit using brushes years ago. Warm water and any soapy solution in a bucket will clean your barrel just fine with just a jag and patch.

 

[SOLANCO]

I quit using brushes years ago. Warm water and any soapy solution in a bucket will clean your barrel just fine with just a jag and patch.

Agreed. Brushes are special purpose tools not necessary for ordinary cleaning. But Hoppes et al make a nice dime selling them.

 

[TrophyGuy]

All of my fiddling and repair work on BP guns, unmentionables, motorcycles, boats, jetskis, and sundry other mechanical doo dads could not happen without an extensive set of taps, dies and thread gauges in SAE, metric and Whitworth sizes. You might have been able to change threads or chase damaged ones to work. Even a cheap Harbor Freight set is invaluable to the home shade tree mechanic.

 

[2 shots]

and i was just about to order popcorn.

 

[Pete G]

Best way to keep a brush from getting stuck in your barrel is to not use a brush in the barrel.