jug choke reamer/scraper

[Nhgrants]

Has anyone here made one of these? If so could you post a photo? Thanks

[smylee grouch]

I used a brake hone on about 4 or 5 modern guns, I'm thinking they should work on a ML too.

[RichG]

I've always wondered how well the hones worked and how well you could control  the diameter and the forward angle of the jug as it returns to bore diameter. An adjustable reamer would be the same every time. Might be over thinking the problem.

[smylee grouch]

When using that hone I think you would  want to keep moving it back and forth a little to ease that transition in the bore

[Mike Brooks]

There are right ways to put in a jug and wrong ways.

[Daryl]

When using that hone I think you would  want to keep moving it back and forth a little to ease that transition in the bore

That's exactly what I did in the .44 smooth rifle I built. It worked a charm and would do well with patched round balls as well as shot.
Right or wrong, it worked - possibly luck -  maybe, perhaps just enough skill using graduated markings on the rod to make it work?
Think about it and do it.
After the stones wore out, which didn't take long, I used emery contact glued onto the steel plates of the brake cylinder hone. I did the
same some years later when altering the chokes on a SxS 10 bore. That also worked perfectly actually, but took a lot of pattern testing,
counting pellets in when loading and pellets on paper. Went from 68% ea. bl. @ 40yards to 94/96%, right and left.(30" circle)

[smylee grouch]

Right or wrong thats basicly how I did it too Daryl. That being said I would welcome info on how to do it  " the right way " in case I should ever be so inclined to do another. I did check the tutorials and found nothing.

[Craig Wilcox]

I would like Mike Brooks to elucidate on his right/wrong statement.  Being me, if there is a right way and a wrong way, I will usually find myself doing things the "wrong way".

Is it possible to measure the choke distance, both diameter and fore-aft dimensions?  Without going to a huge expense for getting an inside micrometer?

I have a double 10-bore, and several 16- and 20-bore fowler types.  The 10- was made about 1850 in London, but really needs a new stock.  Got some beautiful walnut from Ron Scott, but that new stock is a bit low on my schedule right now.

I would really like to choke the 16- and one of the 20-bore shotguns.

[rich pierce]

I’m not brave enough to “by guess and by golly” jug choke a barrel. Not at all sure, without using a lathe, how to get a smooth taper on each end of the jug choke and control diameter. Not even sure how to measure it if doing it with a brake hone or whatever.

Part of muzzleloading for me is working with the limitations of the period. Normally that means one $#*& at limited range compared to modern guns.

I’d like to hear dimensions of the jug. Length, tapers, how much enlargement.

[Daryl]

I think the tendency is to make it more technical than it is.  Using varying lengths of movement on the stones, you get a taper.
As I noted previously, line markings on the rod is what I used.  When you look at the entrance taper and different types of
chokes on the market in modern stuff, you see different lengths of taper, different lengths and in US styles, no end-choke which
is what I did with the "too tightly choked" 10 bore, by cutting off the 1 1/2" of end-chokes (distance from the end of the choke to
the end of the tubes and then relieving the chokes until they shot well.
This kinda taught me there is a lot of lee-way in what you do, and patterning while you work on the gun, is necessary. There is no
concrete formula I am aware of. I am sure factories have their measurements, but suspect they will not or do not divulge their secrets.
The factory choke didn't work, but my modification sure did.  From weak modified to extra full choke.
68% to 94% and 96%. With the #2 shot, that was something like 9 & 6 pellets out of the 30" circle at 40yards. This was with lead shot.

[Pete G.]

  Being me, if there is a right way and a wrong way, I will usually find myself doing things the "wrong way".

That's the 50-50-90 rule... If there's a 50% chance of being right, there's a 90% chance you'll pick the wrong way first 

[Daryl]

A faint heart never- - - - well, never mind.

[Dan Fruth]

A scraper with a handle, sort of an L shape, the short leg being the scraper, is inserted in the bore and a wooden backer is pushed in behind the scraper. when oiled and slowly turned it will do the job, and much better than stones. Here is the link.
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/jug-choke-tooling.47159/

[wattlebuster]

I once knew a guy who had a 12 ga an wanted it jug choked. He called a man that jug chokes for some of his living an after talking with him thought he was too high. So he tried it himself. Didnt work out quite the way he planned. A new barrel an a trip to the man he talked to from the git go and all was well. Instead of 100 bucks an shipping it turned into about 320 an shipping if I remember right. Just saying

[Scota4570]

If somebody insisted I do this job with tools I already have....

Say you want .015" of flair then constriction, and a round barrel, I'd do it in one of my lathes.  I'd sharpen my nicest boring bar.  I'd run the muzzle in the steady.  Slow tapers can be done by offsetting the tailstock for reference, then setting the steady or using a taper attachment.  Polish can be done with a Lewis lead remover, sandpaper, and an electric drill.  I'd certainly jug choke some water pipe first for practice.


An expanding reamer with curved blades might have too much contact with the work and tend to chatter or hang up. 

[rich pierce]

If somebody insisted I do this job with tools I already have....

Say you want .015" of flair then constriction, and a round barrel, I'd do it in one of my lathes.  I'd sharpen my nicest boring bar.  I'd run the muzzle in the steady.  Slow tapers can be done by offsetting the tailstock for reference, then setting the steady or using a taper attachment.  Polish can be done with a Lewis lead remover, sandpaper, and an electric drill.  I'd certainly jug choke some water pipe first for practice.


An expanding reamer with curved blades might have too much contact with the work and tend to chatter or hang up.

I’m not sure how expanding readers could be used. I’ve never seen one that could be adjusted while in the barrel. I understand brake hones work by centripetal force.

[Daryl]

I would suggest the brake hone's work is done by both centrifugal and centripetal forces.

[Mike Brooks]

Lowell Tennyson does jugs for $70 and they are done properly. There is alot more to it than a wide part  in the bore. The taper
 angle  at both ends is critical. I believe he does his with a adjustable reamer, but I really don't know, I have never watched him do it. He ain't doing it with a cylinder hone, that's for sure.
 He had the plague last winter so I don't know if he's back 100% yet.
563 381 3711

[Longknife]

There was an article in  MB in MB in the early 90's with diagrams on how to make a jug choking tool. There were also some problems that the maker had with it .I used that article and modified it a bit and it came out real well. It will choke 12 bore barrels plus or minus. I then made a smaller one to do 20 bores plus or minus. These choke worked rteal well for me. Imp cyl .008  to .010, mod .016-.018, full .024 to .026 .I will get some pics and a descriprtion...Ed   

[Longknife]

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. Take a 12 inch X 3/8 key stock, Cut, grind and file a taper on the one side of key stock, make a wooden shim (hickory ram rod) to fit the taper so that the shim and ks are the same thickness for the entire length. This allows you to tighten up the cutters pressure by tapping the wood shim into the bore. I used a file to make the cutter.  I pretty much let the taper of the file dictate the size of the jug but I ground a shorter taper into the choke as shown. I soldered the file to the ks. The brass pin lets the choke begin about 1 1/2 inch down the bore. The one shown will fit 14 bore to 10 bore.,,,, I "think" that the jug should be the length of the shot and wad column and the choke should also be the length of the shot and wad column to get best patterns. I made a 20 bore (give or take) one too. The jug is deeper into the bore on the 20 to allow a longer shot column...They both seem to work pretty well, You can only use these type cutters on the 12L14 barrels, they will not cut hard gun barrel steel....Ed