Paris Barrel

[bama]

I have a 7/8" to 3/4" straight tapered barrel that is marked R. Paris & son Gettysburg, PA. I need a breech plug for this barrel but I am not sure what the thread is. It looks pretty course compared to most of the breech plugs I have used. I don't have a thread gage, probably need to pick one of those up. The measurement from high point of thread to high point of thread is 1/2".

[okieboy]

 Bama, since imperial threads are designated by male thread OD (outside diameter), if the female thread ID (inside diameter) measures 1/2". then the outside of the male thread must of course be larger. The next standard thread from 1/2" is 5/8". As to the pitch, the gage set you would use is called a pitch gage set. However I know that it is difficult to check internal threads with a pitch gage. In my work I have determined the size of bunches of unknown internal threads, and there is a way to do it better and with no extra expense. You take a small piece of paper (a small piece of soft pine works too) and rub it against the inside threads. this will leave a series of lines representing the threads. You could measure the distance between two lines, divide it into 1" and get the pitch, but it is more accurate to draw a line acroo the thread lines and measure several threads and divide to get a pitch length. Just remember when you divide that it is by the number of spacesthat you count, not lines.
 The pitch length of an 18 TPI thread as 5/8-18 is the likely culprit is 1"/18=.0555".
 Hope I explained clear enough and that this helps.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

My bet is Tip Curtis would be able to send you the breech plug with out even measuring...... Last time I was there he had several Paris barrels and breech plugs in inventory....

[bama]

Thanks Dr. Tim
I should have thought about Tip. I know that Paris barrels had not been made in a while and I was in hope that someone would know the size of the breech plug. I will give Tip a call.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Well Don Getz would surely know I bet.....

[Pennsylvania Dutchman]

 It is possibly 9/16 - 12 thread. I think I remmember in an earlier post Don Getz mentioned that Paris barrels and their early barrels were threaded with coarse thread, 9/16-12 would be the national coarse standard for a 9/16 bolt. You can probably pick up a 9/16-12 bolt at your local hardware or at Fastenal, if you have one, just to check the threads to be sure.
 Mark

[Don Getz]

Tim, you knew I would chime in here.   If it's an early paris barrel (pre 1977 when we bought the business), they used
standard coarse threads........5/8 x 11, or 3/4 x 10.   If the threads appear to be the coarse variety, my bet would be that
it has a 5/ x 11 thread.   I am basing that on the size of the barrel itself, and is probably a 45 or 50 cal.    A plug to fit it
would have to be chased on a lathe.    The Paris barrels that Tip Curtis has are from the second go-round of Paris, starting in about 1982, and later sold to Colerain.   I think those barrels probably use the standard fine threads of
5/8 x 18, or 3/4 x 16.    Jim, just because I'm a nice guy, if you send the barrel to me and pay the return shipping I'll
make and fit a new plug to your barrel.....no charge.    Heck, I don't need the money, the Government's keeping me.......
Don

[rudyc]

Very generous offer Don!!! Some pretty swell folks on this forum.

rudyc

[omark]

yeah don, the governments keeping me broke too.    sorry, devil made me do it.         mark

[B Shipman]

Don. the government is not keeping you. You earned and paid into it from your first job to your last. That what you paid is now a hatfull of IOU's is no fault of yours but those that have robbed it.

[bama]

Thanks Don
I think I will take you up on your offer. It is a great looking barrel that I am using in a restoration project. It fits in the original barrel channel like a glove.
I will PM you for the address.
Thanks Jim Parker