Traditions Patent breech cleaning tool DYI

[Road_Clam]

So I was able to come up with a fairly simple tool to scrub the transfer hole from my barrel to the touch hole.

Step 1 was to purchase a pin vice kit off Ebay : https://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Piece-P...717667?hash=item33c84b6a23:g:vRMAAOSwax5Y1r9R

The pin vice that will fit in a 50 cal bore was the 2nd smallest holder with a collet O.D of .400 .

I then used a small 3/16" nylon tube brushes : http://www.aircraftspruce.com/cata...lhrMMfMgBh_e9YKrEsb9KuADK4RTirLhoCo50QAvD_BwE

The handle end of the pin vice is already hollow, so I drilled out the hole to .157" for a #10-32 thread for my ramrod.

Lastly I wrapped the pin vice just below the collet with electrical tape to act as a bore guide:

The pin vice brush assembly :

Fits very nicely in the small passageway that connects to the vent hole. I feel a good scrubbing motion when moving the brush in and out :

Lastly I machined a #10-32 brass screw, cut the head off and machined down to an od of .137 and prick punched the end to help hold a .88" square patch. I secured the patch with an oring and used this to swab the small passageway. Worked very good :

Hope this helps anyone who has the same breech vent hole design. Hopefully now I will be able to keep the small passageway hole clean and free of accumulating crud.

 

[Zonie]

I don't know about others but those Image BB. com pictures don't show up on my computer, even when I try to open them in their own separate tab on my Chrome browser.

Do they offer a address that has the picture name in it complete with "jpg" at the end and without the rest of the "url" stuff?

I did manage to get the pictures to work by modifying to remove the url stuff from the photo addresses.
At least, it's working for me now.

 

[M. De Land]

All the pictures came out fine on my puter. Thanks for sharing a good and practical idea.

 

[azmntman]

I can see em right here?

 

[Road_Clam]

For some reason the 4th pic down is incorrect, it was supposed to be a pic of the nylon brush inside the vent hole, but seems I can't edit my original post. Here's the correct pic :

 

[MSW]

my computer showed the photos, which is unusual - i am frequently compelled to remind the machine that I am the owner, and that i have a short temper as regards poorly performing machinery, and that i have access to a framing hammer, whereas the computer has none of the assets, and need only be unplugged at any time...

at any rate, that's a very clever design, and i hope you don't mind if i filch your intellectual property, but only for one- time personal use (as in, i'm gonna make my own)

thanks for the post, and,

Make Good Smoke :grin:

 

[Road_Clam]

If anyone has the same patent breech design I can machine the #10-32 brass jag as a favor.

 

[hanshi]

I got the photos just fine. That's the kink of cleverness I can't seem to come up with. :redface:

 

[Wes/Tex]

If anyone has the same patent breech design I can machine the #10-32 brass jag as a favor.

That's a generous offer and typical for this tight group. To be honest, I cheated when doing the same with the ones we use for the state sponsored shoot. Just put a small nylon brush on a small rod and centered it in the bore...sometimes it takes a time or two but I'm patient...usually! :haha:

 

[Twisted_1in66]

That Traditions PA Longrifle was the first long rifle I bought. I never used a brush on it to clean the patent breech. Instead I would put a round wooden toothpick in the flash hole to seal it up and pour some MAP down the barrel. Then I'd just let it soak while I cleaned the lock (I'd just put regular water down there if I didn't have any MAP available).

After the lock was clean but not remounted I would wet a patch and start pushing it down the barrel until I felt some decent back pressure. Then, being careful to point the flash hole in a direction that cleaning stream wouldn't hit anything, I'd pull the toothpick out and push the ramrod down hard. That would shoot out about a 6 or 7-ft long stream of ugly black gunk (don't point this towards your tent!). Then I would finish cleaning and oiling the barrel with patches before re-mounting the lock and wiping the outside of the barrel with an oiled patch.

Basically I pressure cleaned it and away I went. Did that every day I fired it and that's the same method I use with my current longrifle, which doesn't have a patent breech.

Never made a special tool (though yours is very nicely done!) and also didn't need to remove the vent liner. I used that same method every time I cleaned the rifle and never got the channel or the patent chamber clogged. And that's with shooting thousands of blank rounds through it over the years at various reenactments.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan

 

[Col. Batguano]

It's interesting to see just how much wood is removed from the lock / breech area in factory guns isn't it?

 

[nwtradegun]

same here.

 

[Road_Clam]

I would put a round wooden toothpick in the flash hole to seal it up and pour some MAP down the barrel. Dan

Dan, what chemical is "MAP" ?

 

[Grenadier1758]

I would put a round wooden toothpick in the flash hole to seal it up and pour some MAP down the barrel. Dan

Dan, what chemical is "MAP" ?

MAP is a homemade cleaning solution made up of equal parts of:
M - Murphy's Oil Soap
A - Rubbing Alcohol 70% or 91% makes no appreciable difference
P - Hydrogen Peroxide The weaker solution works just fine and water can be substituted

This mixture will clean black powder fouling very well. There is a lot of foaming action as the hydrogen peroxide works on the fouling. This is a very active cleaner. Here the activity is brought on by the peroxide and the extra oxygen can react with the steel of the barrel and promote rust. So while this cleans well, extra care needs to be taken to neutralize this cleaner and the bore must be well oiled and checked often a day or two later to stop any rust.

 

[Road_Clam]

Ahh , ok "Murph's Mix" . Great stuff, I use it as well!

 

[nhmoose]

MAP is all I ever used in my bench/buff gun in 10-15 years of competition.

As soon as the bore dried out with a patch or 2 I WD-40 the bore with a patch then dry patch again then RIG grease the bore with a patch and put the gun away till the next match in a week or in the fall till spring. What little bit of rust seen doing that way is moot.

For all the flash rust folk if your barrel was blued by the factory your bores are full of heavy flash rust.

Having blued 50-100 thousand barrels on contract from many companies rust is rust black or red it still needs protection. After rinsing the baths from the bores they get submerged in oil and the first wipe every time will always look red as if the bore s ruined but it's not.

the flash rust that wipes off with a patch and oil when cleaning has done no harm to the bore.

 

[Road_Clam]

MAP is all I ever used in my bench/buff gun in 10-15 years of competition.

As soon as the bore dried out with a patch or 2 I WD-40 the bore with a patch then dry patch again then RIG grease the bore with a patch and put the gun away till the next match in a week or in the fall till spring. What little bit of rust seen doing that way is moot.

For all the flash rust folk if your barrel was blued by the factory your bores are full of heavy flash rust.

Having blued 50-100 thousand barrels on contract from many companies rust is rust black or red it still needs protection. After rinsing the baths from the bores they get submerged in oil and the first wipe every time will always look red as if the bore s ruined but it's not.

the flash rust that wipes off with a patch and oil when cleaning has done no harm to the bore.

I've grown to trust 2 outstanding rust prevention chemicals over the years :

1) Kano Kroil
2) Eezox

I have not shot my Mauser K98 and my 1885 TD in the past 5 years and once a year I pull them out for a quick bore swab inspection and they look excellent.

 

[StewartLeach]

Twisted 1 in 66 taught me about MAP cleaner. it works very well.

A note of caution: try not to get it on your clothing- it will make bleached out spots.

 

[Maven]

MAP is sometimes known as Friendship Speed Juice. Regardless of what it's called, it works and removes BP fouling from your hands ASAP too!