Bore Brushes

[HarborMaster]

Is there some method anyone can shed some light on as to making or buying various size bore brushes? I have looked at many sites and there doesnt seem to be many cannon sites that have bore brushes available., at least not in the sizes I am looking for. 1" Bore. 1 3/4 Bore...., and 2 1/4 Bore. A Packing tool wont be too complicated., however I am needing to build the cleaning end of the business for my cannons before they are ruined. Brushes and swabs.

 

[arkeliet]

To clean cannons you ned only a wood piece with a sheepskin cover. Original drawings of this is here:[url] http://www.arkeliet.net/sources/dansk_artilleri_1745/art_1745_s2.htm[/url]
Picture name artbib_1_7_099.jpg and artbib_1_7_101.jpg
The main thing here is that the finished product fits the bottom of the bore. diameter of the woodendrum is from 3/4 to 8/9 of the bore, and length 1,5 to 2 caliber. Depends on the thickness of the sheepskins wool. Sew the skin (the skinside out)like a bag with a lace up on the open end, then turn inside out. Trim down the wool to a even surface. You dont want the wool to hold to much water. The oldtimers used a painted canvascover over the skin to keep it from going dry, and crack.
Much more artillery stuff here:[url] http://www.arkeliet.net/oversiktsmeny.htm[/url]
This page is mainly a way to give peoples outside scandinavia an overview on whats here in "Arkeliet". Most of the pages are written in norwegian, but on request they can be translated to English. Send a e-mail! If the link is in the english part, it`s pages contain pictures that will make some idea of what the text is about.

 

[celast]

That's exactly what we did for our 6lb gun as well as our smaller bored pieces. For the 6lb-er we just put the sheepskin cozy over a ram we bought at Christian Bros, for the smaller pieces we just used appropriate sized dowels from the local hardware store. You'll have to replace the wool every so often, so its best to buy a nice sized piece to start out with. We've found that using a waxed thread and a bitting stitch works very nicely to not have too much excess sheepskin fold over.

 

[WRussell]

I found bottle brushes to fit my 1 1/16 inch bore. That was a while back, but I'm sure they're around.

I trimmed a sponge into a cylinder to fit. One could glue pot scrubbers together or wrap them around a dowel, or, or....

 

[HarborMaster]

These are all some pretty good ideas.,The sheepskin wrap doesnt sound like too much of a problem and is what I had in mind for a swab.,and perhaps an additional one for oiling. However the main tool I am interested in finding is the Bore Brush. For removing cooked on black powder deposits., beginning rust scale ect.,ect., The Idea of a pot scrubber (Stainless or copper) seems like a pretty good idea as well.

Any other ideas are very welcome also. Ideally I am wanting like the baby bottle brush., in the above mentioned bore sizes., in copper or brass...., sounds pretty elusive. You guys got me wondering now about stove cleaners. natural gas chimney sweeps trimmed to fit?

 

[celast]

We've never had any build up problems with our guns, but that's mainly because we flush with scalding hot water at the end of each day of firing. Once we do that and run our swabs down the guns come out pretty darn clean.

As for a more abrassive scrub, would there be anyway to attach some copper pot scrubbers that you can find at kitchen supply stores to a ram?

 

[WRussell]

You could try an industrial supply place like [url] http://www.mcmaster.com/[/url]
Search for wire brush or tube cleaner. I clicked through and saw diameters up to 2 1/4 inch
They have a huge range of brushes.

 

[evildog]

Look for a "boiler brush" online. By the name I would guess they are used to clean tubes in boilers. For my half scale Napoleon I found one in 2 1/2" diameter, brass bristles terminating in a 1/4" pipe thread. Some company in Loa Angeles but don't recall their name right offhand. Look around though, bristles can be fiber, brass or stainless.

 

[andrellj]

Beer & wine making hobby shops have big nylon brushes for 25l carboys and sometimes bigger ones for 55g drums. Thats where I found mine.

 

[musketman]

What about chimney sweep brushes? :hmm:

 

[olgriz]

This isn't a brush, but a paint roller fits perfectly in the bore of my cannon. I attached it to the end of a closet rod (for hanging clothes) and use it for sponging and cleaning.

 

[HarborMaster]

All really great advice from everyone. I did find quite a variety of steel wire "Flue Brushes" onEbay that I think will work for my purposes. I need 6 brushes in 3 sizes., so workinga deal now but Ireally like the "Flue Brush" because its threaded on the endso you can switch to what ever tool you want the ram-rod to be.