Vent Liner Question - Thread Compound

[user 34300]

The tapered pipe fitting gets tighter as you turn it in further. Teflon tape is wound around the male fitting. As you tighten the joint it fills the threads and lubricates the surfaces. By filling the spaces in the threads it makes a seal.

I see Teflon tap in lots of wrong places. Compression fitting are often wrapped with it. IT has no use there. Compressed gas bottle regulators is another one. The liner is sort of a compression fitting. The threads do not seal anything. The shoulder of the liner mates with the barrel to make a compression fitting. Putting tape on the threads is pointless.

On the other hand, it won't hurt anything.

I have a tube of very thick moly grease for gas stove valves. Since I paid a lot for it, I use it on other things, breech plugs liner and such. I prevents galling and corrosion. I like the idea of filling the threads with grease if they will be exposed to BP fouling.

 

[Ray-Vigo]

Do any of you fill the screw driver slot in the liner to clean up the look and prevent powder and fouling from getting into the slot? I'm thinking of tapping some soft lead into the screw driver slot to give a smoother look, leaving just the open touch hole.

 

[david w]

Do any of you fill the screw driver slot in the liner to clean up the look and prevent powder and fouling from getting into the slot? I'm thinking of tapping some soft lead into the screw driver slot to give a smoother look, leaving just the open touch hole.

On the only liner I've ever installed, the screw slot was ground away. You must be very careful not to file too much, because you can cause a gap between the lock and the barrel.

 

[user 34300]

On the liners I have bought the slot does not bother anything. If you keep the threads greased, having a removable liner is a handy thing when you dry ball.

IF you want an invisible liner get a carbon steel White Lightning liner. After installation they are cut off and dressed down the match the barrel. After finishing it will be nearly invisible.

 

[Ray-Vigo]

Understood. I use the White Lighting on several flintlocks I own and I like them a lot. The thing is that I could not find a White Lightning in 1/4-28. They have a 1/4-32 but the different threads ruled it out. So I went with a 1/4-28 Track of the Wolf type because it matched the hole that was already there.

 

[hanshi]

I'll just say that I've never seen nor heard of a liner falling out of the barrel; this tells me gluing them in is pointless. I never remove a liner except in a case where it's absolutely necessary. Still, I like the option of being able to remove them if it comes to that. If I do remove a liner I use an antiseize grease when I reinstall it. I do the same thing with breech plugs. In nearly 60 years I've never had a breech plug or liner loosen, much less fall out.

 

[toot]

Teflon pipe tape will turn in a goo after being exposed to intense heat of BP, comming into the fire generated against the base of the nipple. jmho.

 

[Robby]

• Resistant to high arcs and performs well in high temperatures, making it ideal for use with capacitors, wire harnesses, and high-temperature coils.

 

[Ray-Vigo]

I would rather not confuse the issue of a percussion nipple and a flintlock vent liner. I treat a vent liner as something to install and leave in until it absolutely must be removed. I would remove a percussion nipple whenever a thorough cleaning is necessary. The difference there being that with the percussion nipple you need access to the drum or bolster to clean every so often. Some of the drum-types have a clean-out screw as well.

I definitely would use anti-seize on a percussion nipple. For a percussion, I have the choke tube grease. I had not thought of teflon tape, but if it works, why not? As long as keeps the nipple from seizing.

With the vent liner, I treat it as part of the barrel once installed. I prefer the White Lightning above all others, but the others can work as well if that's what fits.

On the point of never seeing a gun throw a vent liner - it's a fair point. I have never seen it either. I don't know at what point it would happen (to say, how many threads are too few). An engineer probably could estimate it with enough data. I've always had a certain worry that I'm shooting next to someone on the line and that happens to be the time the liner lets go and it plunks the person next to me. It must be an extremely rare thing with a properly set up liner. It may not be a reasonable worry, but it's one of those things where you don't want to become "that friend of a friend" people talk about having it happen.

People will walk up to the firing line and stand next to you where the vent on the flintlock is. Sometimes to take a picture, sometimes because they are shooting next to you. A few know enough not to do it. But I've had people, even people who are familiar with muzzle loaders, walk up to the line right on the vent side as I'm trying to shoot.

 

[Robby]

I once had a flint blow right out of the jaws, and from the sound of it banging around the shooting shed it probably could have hurt someone pretty good. I don't shoot if there are people on the vent side, lucky for me, there is rarely anyone there at the times I shoot.
Robby