Touchhole liners

[jefair1]

I recently read a statement on a custom builders site that warned against using them as the threads erode and the liner becomes a missile. Has anyone experienced that or are they safe to keep using?

 

[Zonie]

Welcome to the forum. :hatsoff:

I know that some builders like to stick to the way the original rifles and pistols were built but the idea that a threaded liners threads will erode and blow out is IMO, ridiculous.

The only cases I know of where a nipple blew out was caused by the owner screwing a very undersized nipple thread into the breech block.

(A nipple with a 6mm thread in a 1/4-28 threaded hole has very little thread engagement and it can blow out when the gun is fired.)

If your shooting a gun built by a large factory or by a good gunmaker with a matching thread on the vent and in the barrel, your vent liner will be totally safe to use.

 

[jefair1]

Thanks for info. New to flinders, been shooting caplocks for over 40 years. Just acquired a Pedersoli frontier 54 that has a touch hole liner.

 

[jefair1]

Make that flinters

 

[40calFlintlock]

With the exception of my Brown Bess, all of my flinters have touch hole liners. The best liners are the Allen or hex-head liners. On more than one occasion when I've dry-balled or when the load gets wet, I can remove the liner, dump the load, reload with dry powder, replace the liner, lock, seat the ball and fire the ball out. They are also great for cleaning after a day's shooting. :2

 

[Stumpkiller]

Mine both have liners but they are filed flush and not removable without drilling & using an E-Z Out and destroying the liner.

I'm not worried they may blow out. First you'd see gas cutting around the liner edge on the barrel flat if there was that much of a thread "erosion" going on. At least I think so.

 

[Don Steele]

Jeff,
I've seen that same custom builder's website and read his comments about touch hole liners.
He's certainly welcome to his opinion.
A lot of things "could happen" whenever you pack a low order explosive into a confined space and detonate it.
That said, I haven't seen a body of evidence to support an opinion that properly built and properly fitted/installed touch hole liners are blowing out and injuring shooters on any kind of regular basis.
If such a body of evidence exists I hope someone will post a link so we can all learn.
Otherwise...it's just an opinion.

 

[Dane]

Wow, not sure who that builder would be, but I am, and I know at least a dozen others that swear by White Lightning liners.
If your barrel is thin enough at the breech to pop out a THL, you got a lot more concerns than a THL.
And by the way 40cal, pulling and replacing a THL, IS a good way to blow one out. Absolutely no need to pull a THL for cleaning.

 

[mr.flintlock]

Pure Nonsense!

 

[tenngun]

Would not a drum and nipple be exposed to the same pressures a touch hole liner is? The vent in a nipple is much smaller and I would think it would have to stand more blow out pressure, but we don't worry about them blowing out. ???
However I have found a touch hole works well with out a liner.

 

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Are you sure the builder was not accusing the use of a removable liner? I have received counsel to not make it a regular habit of removing a liner (or a nipple for that matter) as part of the regular cleaning routine. The reason being that repeated removal and replacement of these threaded objects can erode the threads.

I have never heard the claim that the mere presence of a liner was an inherent danger.

 

[Col. Batguano]

However I have found a touch hole works well with out a liner.

It may and does indeed work without a liner, but the purpose of the liner is to make it work better.

For most of us, better means 1 or more of the following; (i) ignition speed, (ii) reliability, (iii) ease of preparation for the next shot / less hassle (iv) safety, (v) cleaning ease, (vi) flexibility, (vii) longevity. There might be other reasons too, but those are the main pragmatic ones.

 

[LRB]

Plus one Bat!! :thumbsup:

 

[Trot]

Are you sure the builder was not accusing the use of a removable liner? I have received counsel to not make it a regular habit of removing a liner (or a nipple for that matter) as part of the regular cleaning routine. The reason being that repeated removal and replacement of these threaded objects can erode the threads.

I have never heard the claim that the mere presence of a liner was an inherent danger.

Nope, this builder is very vocal about the use of any vent liner as being dangerous.

 

[TerryK]

Production guns like Thompson Center and Lyman use them. If there was any safety concerns, these companies would be on the hook. Production guns with removable liners are very prolific. Any issues and everyone would know.

 

[Col. Batguano]

[/quote]

Nope, this builder is very vocal about the use of any vent liner as being dangerous.[/quote]

Everyone is entitled to an opinion I guess. They certainly COULD be potentially dangerous if they were neglected, abused, or installed incorrectly I suppose though. But that one unsupported opinion certainly isn't going to stop ME from installing one in my current build.

 

[bender20]

Everything fun in life is potentially dangerous :grin:

 

[Tom Compton]

Ledgends die hard and are repeated often.

No difference between a liner and a nipple.

I explain to doctors, car repair shops, barbers etc that I'm the customer. If I were having a gun built and the builder wouldn't do as I wanted I'd hav a new builder.
TC

 

[Zonie]

Being "very vocal" doesn't make a person "very right".

Everyone has their own opinions. Some good and some poor but I remember the old saying,

"It's better to keep your mouth shut and be thought stupid than it is to open it and prove your stupid."

:slap: Shame on me. :redface:

 

[Trot]

Yup, not saying I agree with him, just clarifying his position.