stuck jag??

[frogwalking]

Go to Home Depot. Buy a steel rod that is a close fit into the barrel. I am assuming the entire end came off your ramrod. If the jag just unscrewed from the ramrod end, countersink the threaded hole in the end of the ramrod tip, push it down the bore and screw it back onto the jag. Now back to the original story. measure the end of the rod where the tip came off. Now you know the size of the hole you need to get into. Find a large sheetmetal screw or lag bolt that looks like it will jam into the end of the hole in the ramrod tip. Cut the head off. Turn it down in your lathe, or drill press with file, or in your vice with clamped hand drill. Drill a hole in the end of your steel rod of the same size, tiny bit bigger and solder the reduced screw shaft into the hole. If the final result is not straight, bend it straight enough so the screw doesn't hit the bore. Slide this thing down the bore and screw/ram it into the end of the jag and pull out. Ask me how I know this absolutely does work.

 

[M. De Land]

I can't think of a faster way to bugger the crown.
Brass will swage barrel steel even thought it is softer.
A better bet is to do the wD-40 wetting then remove the stock and thump the barrel muzzle down on a good heavy block of wood. This will probably drift the jag up barrel enough to get some powder behind it through the flash hole.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I can't think of a faster way to bugger the crown.
Brass will swage barrel steel even thought it is softer.
A better bet is to do the wD-40 wetting then remove the stock and thump the barrel muzzle down on a good heavy block of wood. This will probably drift the jag up barrel enough to get some powder behind it through the flash hole.

OK, I'll accept that possibility. Actually, if I were doing it in my shop I would use an osage orange mallet I turned years ago. Handy tool.

 

[M. De Land]

There you go, that would safely do the job!
I've learned the hard way using my own brass hammer for various projects.It will most definitely move steel around from pounding on it although I don't really know why it should.
My guess is it has something to do with load compression.
Your idea is working the same as a kinetic bullet puller which I use all the time.

 

[mooman76]

A good solid chunk of soft lead might do the trick better. That's what I use to tear down center fire cartridges with an inertia hammer. Works better than wood because it is more solid yet yielding.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Did you get that thing out yet Bryon?

 

[M. De Land]

The reason I think the wood is a good idea is because of the shock along with inertia to move the jag.
Lead dampens shock which is what gets the jag moving and the inertia carries the momentum on.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Yup, Byron took it to his local gunsmith yesterday, pulled the breech and got the jag out. Byron and his gunsmith still had time to swap stories and make a pleasurable experience out of it.

 

[Zonie]

Did you get that thing out yet Bryon?

:rotf:

He said in a post 8 above your last one that he took his gun to a gunsmith and the breech plug and the offending jag removal was rapidly done. :grin:

I suspect he wandered off, leaving a bunch of crusty old muzzleloaders sitting in the room talking about the best way to get the jag out.

:rotf:

 

[mooman76]

The reason I think the wood is a good idea is because of the shock along with inertia to move the jag.
Lead dampens shock which is what gets the jag moving and the inertia carries the momentum on.

Lead works better than wood with an inertia hammer which is basically the same idea. Wood has give to it also and lead does but not so much yet it will have enough give not to do damage.

 

[kingsax26]

well said zonie, however with everything comes alearning experience. Do not use a 8/32 thread in a 10/32 rod end

 

[hoochiepapa]

I wasn't trying to insult.
So why was a patch on top of the jag?

 

[mooman76]

My guess is the patch was large and folded over the threads.

 

[kingsax26]

the patch was not on top...but it was folded around the end. I was using a button jag.....never again. I will only use a jag with a long neck from now on

 

[Zonie]

While your checking out your jag, be sure it has steel threads or you may end back in the same predicament.

Some cleaning jags have the thread machined integral with the body of the jag so it ends up with brass threads.

Good brass jags have a separate steel screw installed in them so the are steel threads engaging the ramrod/cleaning rod.

If yours have brass threads I suggest buying a 1/2 inch long setscrew with the correct threads on it.

Also, buy a tap to thread a hole and buy the right size tap drill for the tap.

Cut off the old brass threads, drill a hole with the tap drill, thread the hole with the tap and screw the set screw in place.
Using a drop of epoxy on the threads to keep the set screw from unscrewing is a good idea.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Can't dispute that steel is stronger than brass. But, fact is, in decades of use, I have never broken, or even seen a broken, brass jag thread. Brass is plenty strong for normal usage.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Been there, done that, pulled the breech when my all brass jag broke off. I had used for several years but the brass threads finally gave away.

The threads is on this forum.