Question about cleaning a weapon

[Remise]

I have a Model 1842 Springfield rifle musket that I have been happily using for 12 years (a repro, of course). Lately, I have had a cleaning issue. Some sort of residue remains at the bottom of the barrel, despite my best efforts. I have a bore scraper, but its thread is not compatible with the ramrod I got from John Zimmerman. Of course I pour hot water down the barrel repeatedly; use a steel brush and cleaning rags, etc., but when my weapon is inspected, I still get that embarrassing dull thud which means something is down at the bottom, instead of a reassuring clink.

I suppose I could wander around Gettysburg with my three ramrods until I find another bore scraper, that fits one of them, but in the meantime, does anyone have any thoughts on the concept of pouring a little acetone down the barrel and letting it sit there for 24 hours?

This is how I clean my fencing weapons, which are also steel, but on the other hand, I don't normally add gunpowder and a spark to these.

Thanks very much for any suggestions.

B.C. Milligan
Company K, First Penna. Reserves

[jharold587]

The acetone would probably work. You could also put a peice of windshield wiper hose on the nipple, drop it in a can or bucket then you can use suction to pull the water back and fourth from the bucket back up the barreluusing a cleaning jag and ramrod. This will clean the face of the breechplug. This method is not authentic, so should not be used at re-enactments. I have used this method to deep clean muzzle loaders for years and have never had a problem with buildup on the breechplug.

JH Harker chaplain 4th OVI

[Remise]

...for your speedy reply. I am most concerned about inspections at NPS events, and the beginning of a large reenactment, as -- rightly or wrongly -- these usually only happen at the beginning of the first day. I know my weapon is always clean, but there is still something caked on the bottom which I want to remove. I will, of course, only try first the acetone, and then your other suggestion, at home.

Touch the elbow.

B.C. Milligan
Company K, First Penna. Reserves

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

IMHO, it can be hard to diagnose the patient when he is not in the office...

I would guess or suspect that your issue has less to do with your ability to clean away blackpower residue, but rather is a larger issue of two things:

1. Blackpowder fouling that has built up across the angles of the breechplug face and the face itself that not being removed has now been baked by all of the heat of charges to be concrete-like coke deposit. And has grown and thickened. (I have pulled breech plugs to find some guns kept "meticulously clean" by the owners with teh bore completely sealed off by a wall of coke.)

2. Your tools are not adequate for the problem or for preventing the problem. Putting a relatively "round" ended brush or cleaning jag into the breech tends to miss the 90 degree angles between the barrel wall and the breechplug face. Even a bore scraper is not 100% as in order to be small enough to fit inside of the bore, it still leaves a very gap at that 90 degree junction.
BUT, it certainly helps a great deal.

Many lads have spotless, bright bores everywhere except at the 90 degree junction that they cannot see until the breechplug comes out. (And some lads have older guns with no breechplug but rather a patent breech- and some of those have a cupped "chamber" at the breech that tools are too larger to into to.)
I would recommend considering what some lads call a "range rod" or a range "cleaning rod." These are like wooden ramrods with a brass ferrule threaded for NUG male tools to be added.

Many lads clean, in the field, with their metal ramrod and wiper. Then come home and do more thorough cleaning with the range rod and better tools like a scraper.

If you or a pard have taps and dies. You could use a piece of brass rod stock, and male and female its opposite ends to fit the metal ramrod and the scraper. I think it is just easy to have a wooden range rod for use at home.

Curt

[Tom Scoufalos]

In order to clean the breech face and the breech thoroughly in general, I got one of those little metal wire bushes that you find at the obiquitous junk tool dealers at flea markets. There is a little metal tip on the bottom of these things which is where you'd put it in a drill chuck, rotary tool, etc. I took a tap and die set to it and threaded it to my cleaning rod, and viola, works like money. For lack of a handy picture, the profile of the kind of brush I'm talking about is something like this:
\iiiiiiii/
\iiiii/
II
II
II with the slashes and lowercase "i"s representing the bristles (I'm not very good with emoticons, etc). Won't fit too much smaller than a .58 without the bristles bending back when introduced into the muzzle, at least with the size I've found and used.

Addendum: well crap, that didn't work out at all. Anyway, it's a small wire brush with forward facing bristles, about 0.56 inches across the greatest dimension!

[Boyd Miles]

It took me forever to find a breech face brush, I didn't think of threading a brush for a rotary tool but that would be about the same thing and for less money, might even get the corners better with the angle of the bristles. Good idea.

[Remise]

I appreciate these great suggestions. I do have a black powder cleaning kit which includes a wire brush, but I suspect I do indeed have caked powder that has collected over the years. I will try the acetone first, as in my other world, that works like magic in removing all unwelcome substances, and if that does not work, will look into more mechanical solutions. I am fairly sure that whatever is down there isn't coming out when I fire, but just to be absolutely sure -- and to make the inspecting officers happier -- I will keep trying.

If I have any spectacular results, I may report back here, for others who may be similarly affected.

Touch the elbow,

B.C. Milligan
Company K, First Penna. Reserves

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

Just a Quick Aside...

Many/most bore cleaning brushes are actually designed for modern breechloaders. The common design is NUG a twisted wire affair that holds the nylon or metal bristles in place.



As a result the "tip" of the brush sticks up higher than the bristles. While it is a decent design for going through a barrel and getting its bore's barrel walls, the "tip' gets to the breechplug face first and keeps the brush from cleaning the bottom and bottom corners of the breech and breech plug face.

So, be careful what style brush you use if you are after cleaning the breech end.

Curt

[Remise]

I need something that cleans the bottom of the barrel, not the sides. I have one of those things, and while I am sure it does a jolly good job cleaning the insides of the barrel, it does not clean the very bottom, where le ramrod doth fall during morning inspection.

B.C. Milligan
Company K, First Penna. Reserves

[USMCSkipper]

Once you successfully get the coke out of the bottom of your barrel, then use windex (the formula with ammonia in it) at the end of each event to clean the barrel. I have been amazed at how well it cuts the powder and gets everything out plus it is easier to use than hot water. Just like using water, you need to wipe everything down real well and hit it with a light coat of oil before storage. I didn't believe this the first time someone told me but I watched them do it and I have been hooked ever since!

Chris