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Drum
- Thread starter buckhorn
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Put Anti-sieze on the threads of the drum and the nipple, it should help the moisture out somewhat, but it will also facilitate removal in the future, if you do get moisture in there. Buy it at an autoparts store, about three bucks a tube, instead of five or six for a M/L brand that is the same stuff. :imo: Bill
I'm not sure what all of the people who never remove their barrel for cleaning do. Let it rust I guess, or rely on water displacment fluids like WD40 to force the water out.
As I always remove my barrel when I clean my BP guns, after drying the bore with multiple dry patches, I hold the breech of the barrel over a gas stove flame until I see the water in the threads start to bubble and boil.
I then apply a thin gun oil like Sheath to the bore, the drum or vent threads and the breech plug threads.
This wicks right into the threads and is much better protection than WD40.
Several of my guns are "convertables". That is, they are either flint or precussion depending on the lock I've installed. When removing the drum or vent liner, I have never seen any sign of rust in the threads.
As I always remove my barrel when I clean my BP guns, after drying the bore with multiple dry patches, I hold the breech of the barrel over a gas stove flame until I see the water in the threads start to bubble and boil.
I then apply a thin gun oil like Sheath to the bore, the drum or vent threads and the breech plug threads.
This wicks right into the threads and is much better protection than WD40.
Several of my guns are "convertables". That is, they are either flint or precussion depending on the lock I've installed. When removing the drum or vent liner, I have never seen any sign of rust in the threads.
Thanks Bill and Zonie.
Zonie - it looks like from your experience that it doesn't hurt to remove the drum after shooting and to clean and oil its threads - this doesn't cause it to get any looser, if youre careful, right?
Thanks again.
Zonie - it looks like from your experience that it doesn't hurt to remove the drum after shooting and to clean and oil its threads - this doesn't cause it to get any looser, if youre careful, right?
Thanks again.
Rabbit
36 Cal.
After I am done cleaning (be it with solvents or water) I always follow up with a patch soaked in alcohol. This displaces any water present and evaporates quickly. Then a good oil down. As far as removing the drum, this is a question I recently placed on this forum. I am building a gun for my daughter which will be a drum/nipple set up. Just how tight should the drum be? As tight as a nipple or as tight as the breech plug?
I know this sounds like a smart ass remark, but tighten the drum just tight enough. ::
What I mean by that is it should be tight enough so you cannot rotate the drum with all of the strength you can get from your bare hand (no wrench). If I put a value on it it would be something like 3-4 foot pounds of torque. (That will not seem like very much, but it will actually generate over 700 pounds of load in the joint.)
That would be tight enough that vibration, or the blow of the hammer on the nipple should not loosen the drum, but that is all the torque really has to do.
Several reasons for this are:
There aren't very many threads in the interface so they are easily overloaded. You don't want to strip them out by overtorquing them.
There is only so much strength in the threads and the torque you apply to the drum uses up some of that strength.
When you fire the gun, the pressure trying to blow the drum out of the barrel adds additional load to the threads.
You don't want the residual torquing load plus the pressure load to exceed the Yield Strength of the steel. If it does, the drum will suddenly be "loose". If the total load exceeds the Ultimate Strength of the steel, your drum will blow off when the gun is fired.
As for removing the drum on a routine basis, I don't advise it. Each time you remove and reinstall the drum, your wearing the threads, and you have a chanch of "crossthreading" which will ruin the threads.
What I mean by that is it should be tight enough so you cannot rotate the drum with all of the strength you can get from your bare hand (no wrench). If I put a value on it it would be something like 3-4 foot pounds of torque. (That will not seem like very much, but it will actually generate over 700 pounds of load in the joint.)
That would be tight enough that vibration, or the blow of the hammer on the nipple should not loosen the drum, but that is all the torque really has to do.
Several reasons for this are:
There aren't very many threads in the interface so they are easily overloaded. You don't want to strip them out by overtorquing them.
There is only so much strength in the threads and the torque you apply to the drum uses up some of that strength.
When you fire the gun, the pressure trying to blow the drum out of the barrel adds additional load to the threads.
You don't want the residual torquing load plus the pressure load to exceed the Yield Strength of the steel. If it does, the drum will suddenly be "loose". If the total load exceeds the Ultimate Strength of the steel, your drum will blow off when the gun is fired.
As for removing the drum on a routine basis, I don't advise it. Each time you remove and reinstall the drum, your wearing the threads, and you have a chanch of "crossthreading" which will ruin the threads.
Terry Zboril
40 Cal.
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Zonie,
Does this apply to a flint vent liner also?
Wondering,
Terry
Guest
Terry
I only thighten flint liner hand tight and have never had one losen of fall out and it can be remove with out the use of two men and a boy if need be to give the piece a good cleaning.
Woody
I only thighten flint liner hand tight and have never had one losen of fall out and it can be remove with out the use of two men and a boy if need be to give the piece a good cleaning.
Woody
we had a match today at the range, and one of the guys had the nipple blow out of the bolster on his 10 yr old CVA "colonial" rifle**...we found the nipple and also found that the threads on the bolster were damaged enough to not let us re-insert the nipple...I don't know if he has been in the habit of removing the nipple on a regular basis...for some reason, I doubt that he has...Hank
** that's the one with the brass plate in between the two pieces of the stock...
** that's the one with the brass plate in between the two pieces of the stock...
Terry: A Flintlock vent plug does not need hardly any torque at all. A snug tightening with a screw driver (or hex wrench? How modern!) is all that is required. The torque I mentioned would be for the interface between a Caplocks side drum and the barrel.
See my comment below for tightening the nipples.
Someone asked about tightening the breech plug? IMO, nothing has to be as tight as a TC or Lyman Breechplug. I suspect they do that for legal reasons? Of course, the breechplug threads are usually 1/2 inch or larger and can take a LOT of torque.
IMO, a Breechplug should be torqued to around 25-35 Foot Pounds. I am, of course, speaking of sidelock guns, not In-Lines.
With In-Lines, follow the manufacturers recommendations, and don't forget to grease the threads well.
As for the CVA Hank mentioned, the CVA with the two piece stock has never been known for being a high quality gun.
I am not saying they are no good. In fact, they can provide a lot of enjoyment for a real low price, but things like the nipple threads in the drum are not always up to what we in the USA would consider as acceptable for high stressed applications.
In making some of these threads, they IMO, used oversize drills (to speed production?). When they tap (thread) the hole, the threads formed are not "full threads". In other words, they do not have all of the material they should have for strength.
If you own one of these guns, do not remove the side drum and do not overtighten the nipple . Snug will do.
See my comment below for tightening the nipples.
Someone asked about tightening the breech plug? IMO, nothing has to be as tight as a TC or Lyman Breechplug. I suspect they do that for legal reasons? Of course, the breechplug threads are usually 1/2 inch or larger and can take a LOT of torque.
IMO, a Breechplug should be torqued to around 25-35 Foot Pounds. I am, of course, speaking of sidelock guns, not In-Lines.
With In-Lines, follow the manufacturers recommendations, and don't forget to grease the threads well.
As for the CVA Hank mentioned, the CVA with the two piece stock has never been known for being a high quality gun.
I am not saying they are no good. In fact, they can provide a lot of enjoyment for a real low price, but things like the nipple threads in the drum are not always up to what we in the USA would consider as acceptable for high stressed applications.
In making some of these threads, they IMO, used oversize drills (to speed production?). When they tap (thread) the hole, the threads formed are not "full threads". In other words, they do not have all of the material they should have for strength.
If you own one of these guns, do not remove the side drum and do not overtighten the nipple . Snug will do.
