q for mr. nap

E

elvenbladesmith07

Joined
Jul 29, 2004
Messages
663
hey peter i was on the general forums asking about getting rust out of a muzzleloader barrel, and they said you were the authority on blackpowder here, so i figured id ask you.
i just bought an old kentucky long rifle its about 20-30 years old and in good condition. the problem is the guy must have shot it then put it away and didnt clean it, so its got a rusty bore and the outside is a little rusty too. the rust hasnt pitted the bore yet its just kinda coroded the rifleing grooves. i got alot of it out with a bronze brush and hot vinagar but id like to do a better job, any hints?
also it had a few cracks in the stock from humidity changes i believe. should i replace it or just refinish the stock and put wood glue or filler putty in the cracks?
and my last question is will birch dowel rod work for a ramrod? that looks to be what it has now just badly warped. i figured id just buy some dowel and put the brass tip on it from the old ramrod. what do you think? i paid $80 for it you think i got ripped off?
 
I don't know about being an Authority but I'll try to steer you in the right direction.

De rusting them is a long process. Once you think you have it all, more shows up. I'd stop using the vinegar for right now. It will etch the bore. The next thing I'd do to the barrel is plug the vent/nipple hole and fill the barrel up with Marvel Mystery Oil. It contains a lot of Wintergreen oil and is one of the best rust removers around. You can get it at any Auto Supply store.

Soak it for a couple of weeks and then clean it with the bronze brush and more Marvels.
I traded for a BP revolver a while ago. The darn thing looked new in and out.....until I cleaned it. The last owner had done a poor job cleaning it before putting it away. Every once in a while he would run a patch through that smoothed over the corrosion inside. It had some horrible pits....still shoots OK though.


If the cracks aren't bad, I'd just leave them. I always recommend against filling with anything solid like glue. The cracks formed to relieve stress and at some point, the stress will come back and for m new cracks or worse. If you have to fill them (Sometimes I can't stand it) use colored Beeswax or if you are not concerned with being PC, Min wax filling sticks.

No, Birch is no good for ramrods and Dowels are dangerous. If one breaks while loading you could really hurt yourself with the jagged end. Get a stainless or Aceital field rod for the range and a Hickory rod to keep on the gun.
 
I assume being 30 years old its a slow twist barrel, probably 1 in 66 or something similar??? If so that makes it a round ball barrel. If you can lube and load patched balls in it with out a great deal of trouble, shoot it out. The old round ball barrels always shot better after a couple hundred shots, smoothed out the bores a little and kept the rifling from tearing patches. I have an old 54 cal. thats 1-66 and its terrible for rusting, it doesn't matter what you do with it, it develops rust. Must have been made from 0-1, LOL just kidding. I can run a patch and it comes out almost red, load it up with a good heavy lubed round ball, shoot, and it cleans it out. A piece of steel wool will smooth it up some too if its bad rough, but take it easy with that. it will work on the riflings also.
What caliber is it??

Have fun

Bill
 
thankjs peter!
its a a .45, good for the deer around here. .54 or a enfield .68 would tear up these deer! the vinagar worked pretty good i didnt it a few more times and i think all it needs now is to be shot to clean it out.
vinagar etches the barrel? what if i clean the vinagar out right after?
 
Guys....I hate to be a stick in the mud but this is OT. I'm trying hard to follow the new policy. If you will email me at aaav@xruninc.com , I'll link you to a site that has a firearms section as well as knife making. We can discuss it at length then.
Thanks
 
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