Question about clamping a round tapered barrel.

[SingleMalt]

I'm in the process of breeching a Long Land Brown Bess barrel, and I'm having trouble securely holding it in my vise to tighten it enough.  It's a tapered round barrel, which seems to be the root of the problem.  Ideas? 

[Nate McKenzie]

Your barrel should be flat at the touch hole where the lock butts up against it. This will give some grip on the vise jaw.  You can make a cupped piece of wood to go around barrel on the other side.

[Goo]

Try a wedge shape piece of wood between one vise jaw and barrel and piece of rosin leather on the other side.

[Pukka Bundook]

As Goo says, two pieces of wood with V notches, bolt them together around the barrel. Tighten evenly.
Two wraps of brown grocery sack around barrel before putting it in the Vee blocks will prevent it turning.
Tis works even with modern barrels.

[LRB]

  Cupped wood blocks, and resin will hold it like it was locked in.

[snapper]

I use wooden V blocks as well.  Just need to make sure that you make them out of thick enough wood so you dont crack them.

Fleener

[WadePatton]

I have some blocks made for tapered tubing (bicycle chain and seat stays).  The trick that makes them work is that the backside of ONE block is rounded such that it can roll against the face of the vise to adapt to any taper.

There are two sizes of grooves and they can be mixed or matched according to the tubing requirements.  These blocks are Maple, but I've also made my own crude ones from Osage.

I'll try to get some pics and add them here later.

[kutter]

Take some time and make a good set of wooden jaws to fit the bbl.
That'll insure the thing will never slip while in the vise when breeching or unbreeching.

Maple or other dense hardwood.
Hog out a 1/2 cut in each block lengthwise.
Then fibreglass bed the bbl to a bit less than 1/2 depth into the blocks at the same time.
Use a paste wax on the metal as a release agent. I usually drape a piece of saran wrap over one 1/2 when I put the thing together to set so any glue doesn't permanently join the blocks together also.

It doesn't take all that long and it really makes a difference. If you have to use them on a finished bbl, you'll appreciate them.

In use, I wrap one single layer of newsprint around the bbl that has rosin on both sides and place the bbl in the blocks. Then the assembly into the vise and tighten.
Won't move,,won't scratch.

If you want close fit jaws like this but not have to wait for the fibreglass to set,,buy a couple bars of Cerrosafe casting alloy.
It melts at boiling water temp.
You make the same wooden blocks as above. Set the bbl in one half, prop it up where you want it with a couple toothpicks and simply block the ends shut with masking tape. Melt the Cerrosafe on the stove in a tin can sitting in a pan of water.
Pour the melted metal (looks like and feels heavy like lead) into the 'mould'.
Sets up and cools in a few minutes. Make the other half.

Use the set of jaws for the bbl'g project.

Recover the Cerrosafe metal by putting the wooden blocks in a pan of boiling water. The metal melts and rolls out into the bottom of the pan and collects in one glob. Let cool, and there's your blob of Cerrosafe again for the next project. It won't stick to the pan.

The main use of the stuff is for chamber casts in modern firearms. But I use it for filling & backing thin & flexible  pieces and parts to be engraved also. Place them in boiling water when done and recover the metal as above.
I've been using the same Cerrosafe metal for 40 yrs.

Just don't get it on brass, copper, gold or silver,,it will adhere to those.

[fahnenschmied]

You need to file a flat on both sides of the barrel.  Be careful to make it broad enough so that the bottom of the pan is making good contact.  Yes, both sides, just the same, tapering off to no flat at all about three inches out.  See here http://www.jjhayeshc.com/prodimages/giant/302%20(4).JPG  and you ought to invest in Erik Goldsteins book on the Brown Bess, lots of good pictures of disassembled Brown Bess parts.

[SingleMalt]

I have his book.  I wanted to get it breeched before filing anything.

[Craig Wilcox]

Powdered rosin, like a pitcher uses, sprinkled liberally on your wooden form blocks will help prevent slippage quite well.  I've had to remove barrels that were threaded into a receiver, and the rosin really helped/

[fahnenschmied]

I have his book.  I wanted to get it breeched before filing anything.

   Pretty sure the old ones had flats filed first, precisely so they could be easily held while fitting the breech plug.