cleaning full stock flintlock

[Swampman]

Remove the lock and clean it. Leave the barrel in the stock. Clean the barrel by putting a toothpick or other plug in the vent hole, pour in water, soap, shake, or pump your your Ramrod with cleaning jag and cleaning patches up and down the barrel, and then pour out the water soap and crud. Repeat, then rinse the barrel out with clean water. Dry with clean patches. Then oil or lube. Wipe off the outside of the barrel to remove fingerprints, and dirt, clean your lock with hot water and soap and an old tooth brush, remove the plug in the vent, an put the lock back on dry, checked to see if the screws are down properly, and oiled. Oil the outside of the lock, and wipe the stock down, to remove dirt, soot, fingerprints, and anything that might harm the stock. wax the stock if you think it needs a coat to preserve the wood in wet weather. Done.

That's how I do it. I wouldn't remove the liner. Over time the threads will become worn and dangerous. Liners should be made so they can't be removed without a drill and an eazout IMO.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Ballistol is mainly Mineral Oil that you can buy in hardware, discount Home stores, and in most grocery stores for much less money.

The reason for paying attention to cleaning, and for using Denatured alcohol to clean is to get to all the crud that gathers at the back of the breech and gets down into the threads of the breech plug. Remember that chamber pressure is trying to escape in every direction, and that includes trying to get past those threads!

The alcohol dissolves any substances that are not dissolved by plain water. You don't Need HOT WATER, to clean, but it does speed the process, just as Hot water speeds the process of washing dishes and flatware at home. If you use hot water, rinse with cold or tepid water, so that you reduce the comparative temperature difference between the barrel and the ambient air. That reduces the rate at which rusting will occur, so that you can protect the barrel with lube, or oil and not pull out a cleaning patch that is rust brown.

Many people never learn the proper method of cleaning. Its not in the proprietary best interest of gun shops, and gun smiths to tell customers how to clean guns properly. Dirty guns mean failed parts, and inaccuracy which cause the customer to return to spend more money. Only shooters of modest means seem concerned about truly cleaning a gun so that after 50 years its in just as good a condition as it was the day it came from the store. The very poor don't care, because they can't afford the cleaning equipment needed to clean the gun. The very wealthy don't care, because even an expensive gun that is ruined is just another tool that can be replaced.

So, if you are interested in how to clean your gun, welcome to Middle Class, America!

 

[Desert Rat]

I tried the flush kit again yesterday. I tightened it down real good and made sure it was centered over the touch hole. Had some minor seepage but over all vast inprovment from before. I think I was not tightening it down tight enough.

 

[redwing]

I get Ballistol at Rondys our gun shows. I buy the pints not the spray cans. This is a very good product. I understand the Germans developed this during WW1 to protect their small arms from rust. I think they used it up thru WW11.
Some folks will tell you its the same as mineral oil. Don't buy into that one. The Ballistol will work for years on stored guns, don't try that with mineral oil. You can order it from TOW also.

 

[Swampman]

Olive oil works very well, and it's very cheap.

 

[redwing]

Yes it works great for lubing olives. It does not clean the bore. And don't try long term storage with this stuff. And why look for cheap lubes when you are putting this down expensive barrels. If you are shooting one of those cheap imports pour any thing down it, :rotf:

 

[Jblk]

Paul,I would like to compliment you on your responses to members who are requesting answers to their problems.Your answers are always well contructed and in a logical order.The members of this forem are fortunate to have a person with your experiences and knowledge.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Ah, shucks! I am just happy to help, and apologize for the length of some of my postings. :surrender: :thumbsup:

 

[Bob J]

Birddog6's method works VERY well! I almost gave up on the fullstock flinters trying to get'em clean. The toothpick would allow leakage, and with the deep groove barrels, it took forever to get the crud out.

Birddog 6 sent me this method, so I ordered Dunlap's flintlock EZ Cleaner, mixed up a little Ballistol and water, and gave it a try. It's easy and it will get your ML squeeky clean!

Thanks, Birddog6 :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[CrackStock]

Paul,

That is about the most concise description that I have seen that covers this process. :hatsoff:

I only dispute the ability of the toothpick to withstand the pumping. I slosh and drain until I want to force pressure through the vent after the water runs clear.

CS

 

[paulvallandigham]

Depending on if its a flint lock or percussion makes all the difference in the world. I don't trust the tooth pick to stay in a flintlock vent either, if I am going to pump hard. So, I don't pump hard. I don't think its necessary, although it can speed the process. I want to clean the barrel right, and not fast. I do this usually at the end of the day, at home, if I have left the range, or camp, or in camp next to a fire. The dirty patches go on the fire, and the dirty water wets down the sides of the firepit. I don't hurry, and I don't pump my RR up and down hard. I let the soap and water do their work rather than trying to muscle the crud off and out. Makes sense?

I have also been known to break the tip off of a tooth pick if it is too long and narrow and touches the opposite side of the bore if its not shortened. I do leave enough of the toothpick attached to what get pushed into the vent so that I can also pull it back out when I am ready.

As long as you keep the vent pointed down to the ground, when you pull the vent, the water drains out the hole and does not go down the barrel or stock, or go into the lock mortise at all. Put a patch over the vent before you tip the barrel upright to check it. Then turn the barrel downward so any remaining water will come out the muzzle. Then put the toothpick back and flush the barrel with clean water a couple of times. When you dry the barrel with patches, you will see if you have gotten the crud out of the grooves, or not. You can repeat the cleaning process as often as necessary to get the crud out.

I recommend having a bore brush handy, as this can help break loose crud in the corners of the grooves very fast, and shorten your cleaning time much more than pumping that RR in and out the barrel will ever do.

 

[fw707]

Well, here's the way I do it:
I take about 3 or 4 cleaning patches and wad them up really tight, stick them hard against the touch hole, and let the flint down on them to hold them in place.
Then I squirt enough Windex down the barrel until I hear it sloshing around as I pump a tight-fitting patch up and down the bore. The patches let a little of the solution leak through under pressure so the touch hole is cleaned out too.
After about 3 or 4 times doing this the patches on the rod come out clean. Then I dry patch a couple of times and follow up with a single patch of Break Free CLP and leave it at the bottom of the barrel on the rod. I check the patch every couple of days just to make sure there's no rust, but there never is.
Sorry if I over simplified things, but it works for me. :grin:

 

[skunkskinner]

Hello Mr Hawken,

I also have the pedersoli in .50 and .32,I take the pins and or screws out every time I clean the guns. For me it takes less time to take the weapons compleatly apart than it does messing with the toothpick method.The trouble I have with pluging the vent is that sooner or later I will get the black water in between the barrel and wood.
When the pin becomes loose in the barrel ,I use a center punch to close the pin hole ever so slightly. I had to do that one time. This works for me.

 

[Birddog6]

You clean it upside down in a cradle with a flushing kit you won't have water in between the barrel channel & wood, and it is CLEAN not just halfway mopped like some do. It takes about 15 minutes to do one once ya learn the proceedure. And you don't have to take the barrel out of the stock, ya just take the lock off.

However, everyone has their own ways of doing things, you have to find your own path.

:thumbsup:

 

[Swampman]

It does not clean the bore.

Nor does Ballistol, which is just mineral oil and water.

Windex and/or water is for cleaning. Olive oil is for patch lube and storage. I don't own any cheap barrels so I wouldn't know anout them. It works well in Rice & Getz barrels though.

 

[Greenmtnboy]

This is how I clean mine & once ya get used to cleaning them like this, takes about 15 min to fully clean the rifle.


I use this method to clean all my flintlocks & percussions, longrifles
and halfstocks.
I use dishwater liquid soap & cold water for the flushing solution. (or 2 oz of Ballistol
per gallon of water in a jug)
I put the rifle upside down in a cradle & remove the lock & have the barrel end a little
lower than the buzzle. This way if I get any seepage out of the clamp or fitting, it stays
on the Outside bottom of the barrel & NOT down into the barrel channel.
Next thing I do is take a breech scraper & scrape the accumulated fouling off the breech
face. It takes about 15 seconds & knocks all that thick crud off the breech face. (Note:
they make a special scraper for a GPPR & T/C or you can take a standard blade scraper
in .36 cal & make one for them by rounding the edges of the blade to the contour of
the patent breech interior. On a 40-45 you may need a .32 cal on for this)
Then remover the range rod & invert the rifle muzzle down & bump the breech with your hand
& the fouling will fall out. Now put the rifleback in the cradle upside down & connect
the Flush Kit & wet a patch, put it on a jag on a range rod with a bore protector & take it to
the breech & then suck the barrel full of the solution & just leave the rod hanging out at
the muzzle, with the barrel full of solution. (You may need to support the rod at the handle).
Then while the barrel is soaking I & clean the lock asm. under faucet
with a old toothbrush, blow dry with air & or dry with a paper towel & take
a tiny screwdriver & work the towel into the cracks & etc., then spray
the lock down entirely including the flint, with Ballistol aerosol & pat dry with
a paper towel & set asside.
Back to the rifle in the cradle, I take a cleaning jag & a tight patch,
& start swabbing back & forth in full strokes to flush the barrel real
good for about 20 strokes. Change patches & do it again, change patches
and do it again til I am sure it is clean. Then I take the jag off & put on
a breech scraper & check for any fouling. Scrape if necessary & if there
is any fouling I put on a Breech Brush & brush the breech. The back to
the jag & wet patch & flush again.
Then I swab with a dry patch a time or two. I wad up 2 patchs
& put them in the bore & shove them to the breech with the jag
& hold it there tight with the ramrod & then take a worm & pull it
& check it for moisture & fouling. Then I do 2 more. And 2 more if
necessary to BE SURE THE BORE IS COMPLETELY DRY.


When dry, I then squirt a lil Non-Aerosol Ballistol in the barrel from a pump spray
bottle & wet a patch real wet with same Ballistol & again swab & force some
out the vent. (By doing this you just lubed the cone of the vent.
When I am satisfied it is lubed real good, I install the lock & close the frizzen on a dry
patch so any excess Ballistol will run out the vent & be absorbed in the patch at the frizzen.
You can do all the same with BreakFree which I used before I found Ballistol & it
works good also.
Now keep in mind this is not a Maybe this will work, this is a "I KNOW " it will work
proceedure.

Some tell me I go to too much detail, I know it works. I know I don't
have any rust in the bores of my rifles & have done this for 30+years, so it
must work.

It is IMPERATIVE that you get ALL of the moisture out of the barrel
and at the breech before you put the gun oil in the bore.

It is IMPERATIVE that you Reswab the bore the Next day & the
3rd day just to be sure you got it all lubed & etc.


Birddog6

exactly what I do :bow:

 

[M.L.Rowland]

What is Moose Milk? Thanks,Mike

:hmm: Maybe this is also a solution:
Waterless Cleaning

 

[Greenmtnboy]

It does not clean the bore.

Nor does Ballistol, which is just mineral oil and water.

Windex and/or water is for cleaning. Olive oil is for patch lube and storage. I don't own any cheap barrels so I wouldn't know anout them. It works well in Rice & Getz barrels though.

I think you need to go to Ballistol .com and do a little educating of your self Mark.

 

[M.L.Rowland]

birddog6 where do you get the thing the attaches to the barrel for the cleaning hose. Thanks,Mike

 

[Birddog6]

birddog6 where do you get the thing the attaches to the barrel for the cleaning hose. Thanks,Mike

You can get them at Dunlaps Woodcrafts. Here is the link.

www.dunlapwoodcrafts.com