Hello,

I've had passed to me a pellet gun with a barrel of some metal or other
(presumably a steel 'coz it's grey and considering what it's being used
for). The barrel is a tube, and at the back, the breech block screws in.
The whole thing is on a spring; you pull back the spring, unscrew
breech, insert pellet, screw in breech, release spring, pow.

However, there's a mangled pellet or two (a blockage of about an inch in
length!) in the barrel near the back, which I have been tasked to
remove. From shavings pulled out with a pointy stick it appears to be
lead or a similar alloy.

I have some brass rods which are a loose fit in the barrel - so my plan
is to follow the guidelines in Tubal Cain's "Drills, Taps, and Dies" and
make a spade bit out of the brass rod by flattening and sharpening the
end, then proceeding to hand-drill into the blockage. The brass
hopefully won't scratch the interior of the barrel, but I'll test it on
the outside first just in case.

This will still leave a lot of lead on the sides of the barrel - so I
plan to heat my brass rod in the blowtorch until it glows, use it to
melt the lead inside (storing some heat in the barrel too to keep it
molten while I faff about), then use it to push a bit of wire wool
through to soak it up.

So... does anyone have any better ideas?

I have (that I think will be relevant):

1) Torches galore. I can melt the whole thing down if needs be.
2) Brass rods and wire
3) Various files (none small enough to fit in the barrel though)
4) A Dremel with a wide range of accessories
5) Coathanger wire

I don't think I can really seperate the barrel from the spring and the
rest of the gun, so I'm a bit nervous of just heating the whole thing up
to 350 degrees and melting out the lead; this might make the spring rust
or anneal or temper or something bad like that. There's a plastic part
in the safety catch but I can remove that.

TIA,

ABS

Alaric B Snell wrote:

Hello,

I've had passed to me a pellet gun with a barrel of some metal or other
(presumably a steel 'coz it's grey and considering what it's being used
for). The barrel is a tube, and at the back, the breech block screws in.
The whole thing is on a spring; you pull back the spring, unscrew
breech, insert pellet, screw in breech, release spring, pow.

However, there's a mangled pellet or two (a blockage of about an inch in
length!) in the barrel near the back, which I have been tasked to
remove. From shavings pulled out with a pointy stick it appears to be
lead or a similar alloy.

I have some brass rods which are a loose fit in the barrel - so my plan
is to follow the guidelines in Tubal Cain's "Drills, Taps, and Dies" and
make a spade bit out of the brass rod by flattening and sharpening the
end, then proceeding to hand-drill into the blockage. The brass
hopefully won't scratch the interior of the barrel, but I'll test it on
the outside first just in case.

This will still leave a lot of lead on the sides of the barrel - so I
plan to heat my brass rod in the blowtorch until it glows, use it to
melt the lead inside (storing some heat in the barrel too to keep it
molten while I faff about), then use it to push a bit of wire wool
through to soak it up.

So... does anyone have any better ideas?

I have (that I think will be relevant):

1) Torches galore. I can melt the whole thing down if needs be.
2) Brass rods and wire
3) Various files (none small enough to fit in the barrel though)
4) A Dremel with a wide range of accessories
5) Coathanger wire

I don't think I can really seperate the barrel from the spring and the
rest of the gun, so I'm a bit nervous of just heating the whole thing up
to 350 degrees and melting out the lead; this might make the spring rust
or anneal or temper or something bad like that. There's a plastic part
in the safety catch but I can remove that.

TIA,

ABS

Make and model? A replacement part may be available cheap. Crosman and
Daisy parts are silly cheap. This info can also be used to find a parts
diagram of the airgun, to give you some idea as to it's disassembly.

If the barrel can be removed from the rest, use your brass rod as a
drift,and knock the pellets out. If you feel the need, drill a hole
through the mass, then drive the remainder out with a close fitting
punch. Try it with the unit assembled, driving from the muzzle end of
the obstruction. You would do well to check from the muzzle end by some
means (drill, light,?) to ensure that your "client" has not already
jammed anything in there in an attempt to clear it out. As someone seems
to have attempted to load many projectiles into it, this may be worth
checking, too.

You will waste a lot of time trying to get enough heat into the mass to
melt lead, if you try to do it by heating a rod and pushing it down the
barrel. You will waste even more, if you think you will be able to soak
up any molten lead with steel wool. (hint: you will need to apply direct
heat, and a fair bit of it, to melt the lead. The lead will pour out
quite cleanly. It won't stick well without some form of flux. The amount
of heat this requires WILL cause oxidation issues as well as melting
plastic and ruining springs.)

Drilling is probably your best bet. Personally, I would not bother with
brass for the drill. I have drilled obstructions fron barrels on old
rimfires with no ill effect. U0se as close fitting a bit as you can
find.

Cheers
Trevor Jones

"Alaric B Snell" wrote in message
...

Hello,

I've had passed to me a pellet gun with a barrel of some metal or other
(presumably a steel 'coz it's grey and considering what it's being used
for). The barrel is a tube, and at the back, the breech block screws in.
The whole thing is on a spring; you pull back the spring, unscrew
breech, insert pellet, screw in breech, release spring, pow.

However, there's a mangled pellet or two (a blockage of about an inch in
length!) in the barrel near the back, which I have been tasked to
remove. From shavings pulled out with a pointy stick it appears to be
lead or a similar alloy.

I have some brass rods which are a loose fit in the barrel - so my plan
is to follow the guidelines in Tubal Cain's "Drills, Taps, and Dies" and
make a spade bit out of the brass rod by flattening and sharpening the
end, then proceeding to hand-drill into the blockage. The brass
hopefully won't scratch the interior of the barrel, but I'll test it on
the outside first just in case.

This will still leave a lot of lead on the sides of the barrel - so I
plan to heat my brass rod in the blowtorch until it glows, use it to
melt the lead inside (storing some heat in the barrel too to keep it
molten while I faff about), then use it to push a bit of wire wool
through to soak it up.

So... does anyone have any better ideas?

Don't put anything that's glowing red hot into that barrel. Knock out what
you can with a brass rod, then get an ounce of mercury (you probably can
find an industrial supplier in Thomas Register that will sell you a small
quantity; I bought 4 oz. that way a few years ago). Cap one end of the
barrel with a wooden plug; pour in the mercury to fill the barrel; wipe out
the sludgy amalgam in a week or so.

If you don't whack it too hard, tapping on the end of a brass rod will do no
damage. You may get lucky and all of the lead will come out just by tapping.
The mercury is for stubborn cases. I used it to clean out 40 years of lead
accumulation from the muzzle brake on my Hi-Standard Supermatic.

Ed Huntress

Ed Huntress wrote:

Don't put anything that's glowing red hot into that barrel. Knock out what
you can with a brass rod, then get an ounce of mercury (you probably can
find an industrial supplier in Thomas Register that will sell you a small
quantity; I bought 4 oz. that way a few years ago). Cap one end of the
barrel with a wooden plug; pour in the mercury to fill the barrel; wipe out
the sludgy amalgam in a week or so.

If you don't whack it too hard, tapping on the end of a brass rod will do no
damage. You may get lucky and all of the lead will come out just by tapping.
The mercury is for stubborn cases. I used it to clean out 40 years of lead
accumulation from the muzzle brake on my Hi-Standard Supermatic.

That's *very* handy - thanks!

I'll tell you all how I get on... it looks like there's multiple pellets
in there, though, from the size of the obstructed region (I stuck one of
my many brass rods in from each end and compared).

FYI, it bears the inscription:

THE GAT
J.101 (letter F in a pentagon)
4.5MM

Made in England
T.J.Harrington & Son
Walton
Surrey


Ed Huntress


ABS

Alaric B Snell wrote:
Ed Huntress wrote:

Don't put anything that's glowing red hot into that barrel. Knock out what
you can with a brass rod, then get an ounce of mercury (you probably can
find an industrial supplier in Thomas Register that will sell you a small
quantity; I bought 4 oz. that way a few years ago). Cap one end of the
barrel with a wooden plug; pour in the mercury to fill the barrel; wipe out
the sludgy amalgam in a week or so.

If you don't whack it too hard, tapping on the end of a brass rod will do no
damage. You may get lucky and all of the lead will come out just by tapping.
The mercury is for stubborn cases. I used it to clean out 40 years of lead
accumulation from the muzzle brake on my Hi-Standard Supermatic.

That's *very* handy - thanks!

I'll tell you all how I get on... it looks like there's multiple pellets
in there, though, from the size of the obstructed region (I stuck one of
my many brass rods in from each end and compared).

If you have it available, then you might consider simply warming the barrel
in an oven to 180C or so, then pouring solder down it.
Also lead will soften greatly at this temp, so you may just be able to push
it out.


--
http://inquisitor.i.am/ | | Ian Stirling.
---------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------
"Give a man a fire, and he's warm for a day. Set him on fire, and he's warm
for the rest of his life" -- Terry Pratchett-Jingo

"Alaric B Snell" wrote in message
...
Ed Huntress wrote:

Don't put anything that's glowing red hot into that barrel. Knock out
what
you can with a brass rod, then get an ounce of mercury (you probably can
find an industrial supplier in Thomas Register that will sell you a
small
quantity; I bought 4 oz. that way a few years ago). Cap one end of the
barrel with a wooden plug; pour in the mercury to fill the barrel; wipe
out
the sludgy amalgam in a week or so.

If you don't whack it too hard, tapping on the end of a brass rod will
do no
damage. You may get lucky and all of the lead will come out just by
tapping.
The mercury is for stubborn cases. I used it to clean out 40 years of
lead
accumulation from the muzzle brake on my Hi-Standard Supermatic.

That's *very* handy - thanks!

I'll tell you all how I get on... it looks like there's multiple pellets
in there, though, from the size of the obstructed region (I stuck one of
my many brass rods in from each end and compared).

FYI, it bears the inscription:

THE GAT
J.101 (letter F in a pentagon)
4.5MM

Made in England
T.J.Harrington & Son
Walton
Surrey


Ed Huntress


ABS


I'll bet you can drift it out with a brass rod, unless there's something
else jammed in the middle. You might try soaking it in one of the strong
bore cleaners that claim to loosen lead deposits (I think they contain
ammonia) before drifting out the lead. But bewa I soaked the barrel of
one of my pistols it in some of that stuff made by Hoppe's (not Number 9)
for a few days, and the bluing wound up being half stripped off. It was a
classy old pistol, too. d8-(

Ed Huntress

You didn't mention a lathe. But anyway here goes. I would make a
bushing to guide a regular hss drill. Just pick a drill slightly
smaller than the barrel id. Use it in the lathe to drill into a bit
of copper or brass that is bigger than the barrel id and then turn
that bit to the barrel id so you have a bushing that will keep the
drill centered. I would turn the drill by hand maybe using a drill
chuck to provide a better handle on the drill. After it is drilled
the rest can probably be pushed out with a brass rod and a paper wad
in front of the rod.

You could make the bushing on a drill press using a file to reduce the
outside diameter and the drill as the arbor.

I would not use any heat.

Dan


Alaric B Snell wrote in message
I have (that I think will be relevant):

1) Torches galore. I can melt the whole thing down if needs be.
2) Brass rods and wire
3) Various files (none small enough to fit in the barrel though)
4) A Dremel with a wide range of accessories
5) Coathanger wire


TIA,

ABS

I would make a bushing to center a drill a lot smaller than the bore, and
drill thru. Then go thru with drills of increasing size, relying on the
previous drilled holes to keep things centered. When you get really close,
chances are you will get a broken thin lead sheet out, and you're done. If
you have to clean out the last little bit of lead, I think pouring in hot
solder is a good idea. It will alloy with the lead and flush it out.

On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 12:09:40 +0100, Alaric B Snell
wrote:


Hello,

I've had passed to me a pellet gun with a barrel of some metal or other
(presumably a steel 'coz it's grey and considering what it's being used
for). The barrel is a tube, and at the back, the breech block screws in.
The whole thing is on a spring; you pull back the spring, unscrew
breech, insert pellet, screw in breech, release spring, pow.


If the barrel is indeed steel, Simply put a bit of rag at the ass end,
and pour a bit of mercury down the barrel. It will sublimate the lead
out in short order. Tipping the barrel forwards and backwards with
both ends so plugged with do the job.

However, there's a mangled pellet or two (a blockage of about an inch in
length!) in the barrel near the back, which I have been tasked to
remove. From shavings pulled out with a pointy stick it appears to be
lead or a similar alloy.

I have some brass rods which are a loose fit in the barrel - so my plan
is to follow the guidelines in Tubal Cain's "Drills, Taps, and Dies" and
make a spade bit out of the brass rod by flattening and sharpening the
end, then proceeding to hand-drill into the blockage. The brass
hopefully won't scratch the interior of the barrel, but I'll test it on
the outside first just in case.

This will still leave a lot of lead on the sides of the barrel - so I
plan to heat my brass rod in the blowtorch until it glows, use it to
melt the lead inside (storing some heat in the barrel too to keep it
molten while I faff about), then use it to push a bit of wire wool
through to soak it up.

So... does anyone have any better ideas?

I have (that I think will be relevant):

1) Torches galore. I can melt the whole thing down if needs be.
2) Brass rods and wire
3) Various files (none small enough to fit in the barrel though)
4) A Dremel with a wide range of accessories
5) Coathanger wire

I don't think I can really seperate the barrel from the spring and the
rest of the gun, so I'm a bit nervous of just heating the whole thing up
to 350 degrees and melting out the lead; this might make the spring rust
or anneal or temper or something bad like that. There's a plastic part
in the safety catch but I can remove that.

Lead softens at 575 F. G A spade bit or even a regular drill bit
brazed to the end of a rod works pretty well, I like to spin the sides
of the bit a bit on a soft wheel, to dull the sides of the flutes.

Gunner


TIA,

ABS


"Anyone who cannot cope with firearms is not fully human. At best he
is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe and not
make messes in the house."
With appologies to RAH..

In , on 09/22/03
at 12:09 PM, Alaric B Snell said:

Hello,

I've had passed to me a pellet gun with a barrel of some metal or other
(presumably a steel 'coz it's grey and considering what it's being used
for). The barrel is a tube, and at the back, the breech block screws in.
The whole thing is on a spring; you pull back the spring, unscrew
breech, insert pellet, screw in breech, release spring, pow.

Sounds like a GAT to me? If that is the case, you won't damage it by
sledging out the pellets if you like!! There's no rifling to worry about &
no accuracy to lose either. Every GAT has at some stage been filled with
sand wadded by mud, small stones, pins pushed through bits of cork, nails
sealed with wool, rolled up bits of paper etc etc. Some of these have
actually been discharged as well, none within a yard of the aiming point,
& certainly at less velocity than a peashooter. In short, however you
clear the "barrel" you are unlikely to worsen its shooting
characteristics.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Lloyd - Cymru/Wales

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And lo, it came about, that on Mon, 22 Sep 2003 20:29:51 GMT in
rec.crafts.metalworking , Gunner was inspired to utter:

On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 12:09:40 +0100, Alaric B Snell
wrote:


Hello,

I've had passed to me a pellet gun with a barrel of some metal or other
(presumably a steel 'coz it's grey and considering what it's being used
for). The barrel is a tube, and at the back, the breech block screws in.
The whole thing is on a spring; you pull back the spring, unscrew
breech, insert pellet, screw in breech, release spring, pow.


If the barrel is indeed steel, Simply put a bit of rag at the ass end,
and pour a bit of mercury down the barrel. It will sublimate the lead
out in short order. Tipping the barrel forwards and backwards with
both ends so plugged with do the job.

Question from the peanut gallery: would this be a Good Idea to do when you
get a "new" gun which is 'way old". Like say, a 1943 manufacture Army rifle
sold surplus? I'm thinking in terms of "It couldn't hurt" more than anything
else.

tschus
pyotr

--
pyotr filipivich
"In this day and age, what used to go without saying because it was
obvious must be said, because so many wish to remain oblivious."

On Mon, 29 Sep 2003 04:40:53 GMT, pyotr filipivich wrote:
Question from the peanut gallery: would this be a Good Idea to do when you
get a "new" gun which is 'way old". Like say, a 1943 manufacture Army rifle
sold surplus? I'm thinking in terms of "It couldn't hurt" more than anything
else.

No. There should be no lead fouling in a Garand. Only jacketed bullets
were used. You might have some copper fouling, but that's removed with
ammonia. The other problem might be chloride residuals from corrosive
primers. Boiling water removes that.

Use of mercury is something you want to approach with some care.
Not only is mercury itself toxic, it also attacks brass and makes it
brittle. So you want to make sure any mercury is cleaned out before
using brass cartridges, and it is difficult to remove every trace of
mercury from a chamber and barrel.

Gary

And lo, it came about, that on Mon, 29 Sep 2003 06:36:59 GMT in
rec.crafts.metalworking , Gunner was inspired to utter:


At a guess..Id have to say you are talking about either a US
Springfield or an P-17 Enfield. What is it?

Turkish Mauser 98. Got it for a number of "emotional" reasons: cost, it's
a mauser, I lived in Turkey, I'd driven a long ways (a lot longer than I'd
estimated) to check out a gunstore and felt like I could not go home empty
handed, and they were on sale.
The usual.

pyotr

--
pyotr filipivich
The cliche is that history rarely repeats herself. Usually she just
lets fly with a frying pan and yells "Why weren't you listening
the first time!?"

On Mon, 29 Sep 2003 13:35:10 GMT, pyotr filipivich
wrote:

And lo, it came about, that on Mon, 29 Sep 2003 06:36:59 GMT in
rec.crafts.metalworking , Gunner was inspired to utter:


At a guess..Id have to say you are talking about either a US
Springfield or an P-17 Enfield. What is it?

Turkish Mauser 98. Got it for a number of "emotional" reasons: cost, it's
a mauser, I lived in Turkey, I'd driven a long ways (a lot longer than I'd
estimated) to check out a gunstore and felt like I could not go home empty
handed, and they were on sale.
The usual.

pyotr

While they are a decent and able arm, have the headspace checked with
the proper 8mm headspace gage. Ive seen a few that were mix and match,
and the headspacing was a bit long, long enough to back out the
primers. The 8mm cartridge was loaded with corrosive primers in nearly
every country, so if you are shooting milsurp ammo, be sure to scrub
out the barrel with some soapy water after every shooting.

A trick to determine if your ammo is corrosive primed. Clean a steel
plate down to bare metal, and pull the bullet and powder from a
cartridge. Hold the barrel in contact with the plate and fire the
primer. Watch the plate for a week, and if the primer was corrosive,
you will see a rust patch growing on the plate where the primer
particulates were deposited.

I shoot a lot of corrosive primed ammo, and its no big deal, but you
do have to clean the stuff out before putting it away. If you can find
some of the old white, milky looking GI bore cleaner, (very poisonous
btw), its good for swabbing the bore out after shooting. It
neutralizes the primer residue.

Here is a link you may enjoy:
http://pub113.ezboard.com/bparallaxs...firearmsforums

There is a very active Turkish Mauser forum down the page

Enjoy, they are fun to shoot.

Gunner


"Anyone who cannot cope with firearms is not fully human. At best he
is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe and not
make messes in the house."
With appologies to RAH..

And lo, it came about, that on Mon, 29 Sep 2003 17:41:55 GMT in
rec.crafts.metalworking , Gunner was inspired to utter:


I shoot a lot of corrosive primed ammo, and its no big deal, but you
do have to clean the stuff out before putting it away. If you can find
some of the old white, milky looking GI bore cleaner, (very poisonous
btw), its good for swabbing the bore out after shooting. It
neutralizes the primer residue.

I have heard that ammonia will do a good job of this. I do know the
patches come out a copper green the first few swabbings.

Here is a link you may enjoy:
http://pub113.ezboard.com/bparallaxs...firearmsforums

There is a very active Turkish Mauser forum down the page

Will check it out. Thanks.

Enjoy, they are fun to shoot.

That they are. Once I remembered to put the sights back where they
belonged. Could't hit the target at 50 yards, I was hitting so low! Arrg!

Gunner

--
pyotr filipivich
The cliche is that history rarely repeats herself. Usually she just
lets fly with a frying pan and yells "Why weren't you listening
the first time!?"

Get yourself a bottle
of Hoppes #9, plug the chamber, fill to the muzzle with Hoppes, and
leave over night.

I've found shooters choice works much better. Use it all the time (I'm a
gunsmith). Just scrub it with a very "wet" brush and leave it in for a day or
2. repeat if necessary. If it's jacket material, it will get it out. If
someone has shot cast bullets and leaded the barrel, it will need more
mechanical meas of removal (& JB Bore paste)
Greg Sefton

"Bray Haven" wrote in message
...
Get yourself a bottle
of Hoppes #9, plug the chamber, fill to the muzzle with Hoppes, and
leave over night.

I've found shooters choice works much better. Use it all the time (I'm a
gunsmith).

Yeah, I've compared Hoppe's copper-removal formula (the heavy-duty version
of No. 9) and Shooter's Choice, and the latter worked better for me on
copper fouling.

Ed Huntress

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 12:52:40 GMT, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

"Bray Haven" wrote in message
...
Get yourself a bottle
of Hoppes #9, plug the chamber, fill to the muzzle with Hoppes, and
leave over night.

I've found shooters choice works much better. Use it all the time (I'm a
gunsmith).

Yeah, I've compared Hoppe's copper-removal formula (the heavy-duty version
of No. 9) and Shooter's Choice, and the latter worked better for me on
copper fouling.

Ed Huntress

Quite true, but Shooters Choice is a bit harder to find, and many
gunshops charge up the yingyang for it. Hoppes is available at Kmart.

I use Sweets 7.62 personally, but...you dont find it at Kmart.

Gunner

"People are more violently opposed to fur than leather,
because it is easier to harrass rich women
than it is motorcycle gangs." - Bumper Sticker

Read last as NH4OH, "ammonium" hydroxide, not as "sodium" hydroxize. Damn,
oldtimers is really catching on here!

Mike Eberlein

mikee wrote:

Barnes CR-10 puts tears in your eyes if you sniff it on a patch. About 10%
NaOH, if my nose still works. Removes any copper/gilding metal residue found in
the bore. Clean with Hoppes #9 or oily patch right away, however.

Mike Eberlein

Gunner wrote:

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 12:52:40 GMT, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

"Bray Haven" wrote in message
...
Get yourself a bottle
of Hoppes #9, plug the chamber, fill to the muzzle with Hoppes, and
leave over night.

I've found shooters choice works much better. Use it all the time (I'm a
gunsmith).

Yeah, I've compared Hoppe's copper-removal formula (the heavy-duty version
of No. 9) and Shooter's Choice, and the latter worked better for me on
copper fouling.

Ed Huntress

Quite true, but Shooters Choice is a bit harder to find, and many
gunshops charge up the yingyang for it. Hoppes is available at Kmart.

I use Sweets 7.62 personally, but...you dont find it at Kmart.

Gunner

"People are more violently opposed to fur than leather,
because it is easier to harrass rich women
than it is motorcycle gangs." - Bumper Sticker