Toothpick in touch hole w/ no leaking. Really?

[Skychief]

Hello all.   

I've been reading about some cleaning routines here and see that many use a toothpick in their touch holes when filling the bore with water or some magic concoction.

I'm not new to the theory and have tried several times to clean a flinter in this way.

I have NEVER had  Toothpick seal well enough to hold back the water in the the bore for more than a minute or so (maybe at best).  Then, it starts to seep.   The escaped water from my bores LOVE to migrate under the lockplate.   Wonderful!!!

So, the times I have tried this method, I have had to strip down lock, stock and barrel in the end.   I may as well start with a bucket of water for the old pump and flush method.

My question is "What am I missing"?

There are times I want to give the bore a cleaning with this method.

Any advice, hints, help very appreciated.

Best regards, Skychief.

[Candle Snuffer]

I use the toothpick method, but I take my lock out first.  I then put the toothpick into the vent-hole and pack a paper towel inside and around the lock mortise to keep the leakage to that area at a minimum.  I don't put a lot of water in my bore, just enough so that when I run my cleaning brush up and down the water flows through it.  I then dump the water out, pull the toothpick - wipe of any seepage  - stick a pipe cleaner into the vent hole - and go to swabbing the bore out until clean.  Just my way of doing it.  At the very end of the cleaning I run a half cotton ball down to the breech and with my patch puller I retrieve it after giving it a little turn.  I actually do the half cotton ball twice since I have the other half right there.

[Old Bob]

I save a few barn burner matches and when I clean I remove the lock and whittle one end of the match to a point. Stick it in and gently tap it in with a brad hammer that hangs next to my bench. After I pull it out, I cut about 1/8" off and re-whittle and it's ready for the next time or next rifle if I've been using more than one.

[Dennis Glazener]

I have NEVER had  Toothpick seal well enough to hold back the water in the the bore for more than a minute or so (maybe at best).  Then, it starts to seep.   The escaped water from my bores LOVE to migrate under the lockplate.   Wonderful!!!

You must be using the wrong type toothpick. I use the round toothpicks not the thinner tapered square/rectangular shaped ones.

I stick one (or one half of one) in the touch hole, fill barrel almost full of water and have left them for at least 20 min with no leakage. In fact if I ease a loose patch down the barrel it still does not leak or blow the toothpick out.
Dennis

[Natureboy]

Or, you can put the toothpick in the vent (lock removed), pour in a little water and wait a few minutes. The wood will swell and seal the vent.  Like others said before me, use the round kind.  You can also soak the toothpick for a minute before inserting it and it will swell faster.

[Standing Bear]

Remove lock, wipe barrel at touch hole, insert round tooth pick, tap tap with small mallet or hammer, fill with water and clean lock.  dump water and pull tooth pick.  wipe 4-6 times w wet patch, dry, oil.
TC

[Natureboy]

  I'm afraid of hitting the toothpick with even a small hammer.  I would hate to break it off in the vent.

[David R. Pennington]

I usually just take off lock, lay rifle across two sandbags on bench with muzzle a little lower than breech and touch hole facing down and swab with soppy wet patches till its clean. If the toothpick leaks that stuff will eat off the stock finish. I take wet brush to lock while it's off, dry it and re oil. Wipe around touchhole with wet patch, dry and re oil barrel. I ALWAYS clean in field as soon as I'm done shooting. Too many times I have gotten home to find some emergency waiting. This way my rifle is always cleaned before the red devil can get to it.

[smylee grouch]

I have had good luck with one of those screw clamps with the soft rubber pads on the parts that go against the clamped object. They seal up good for me and dont mar the gun. Bessey is the brand that I use and I bought it at one of the big box hardware stores. It wasnt expensive and it works to seal the vent when you want to soak the bore for awhile.

[WadePatton]

I break the toothpick in half and tap it in and keep an eye on it, because I had a nasty little leak there once.

I'd never fret over breaking the toothpick/matchstick off in the hole, because there couldn't be a much easier task than removing a splinter of wood from a drilled hole in steel.  (I suggest a paperclip before resorting to a flash hole sized drill.)

[Old Bob]

A patch on the ramrod in a wet bore rammed in pretty fast will generally blow out a broken plug. Don't ask me how I know.

[Majorjoel]

I use a round tooth pick inserting it into the touch hole GIVING IT A LITTLE TWIST as it is installed. With the lock removed I too stuff the mortice with paper towel. Funnel into bore my concoction of 1\3 murphy's oil soap and 2\3 alcohol. 

[Kopfjaeger]

I use a round tooth pick inserting it into the touch hole GIVING IT A LITTLE TWIST as it is installed. With the lock removed I too stuff the mortice with paper towel. Funnel into bore my concoction of 1\3 murphy's oil soap and 2\3 alcohol. 

This is exactly what I do, except I use a little dawn soap. I've been using a round toothpick in the flash hole since 1975 and never had a problem.

[t.caster]

No problem here using a round toothpick either. Break it in two and tap the pointy end in with my tiny hammer or whatever tool handle is laying nearby.

[Daryl]

I also use round picks if doing a quickly cleaning like this - at rendezvous.  The hotter the day, the more quickly the gun must be cleaned, so the beer in the cooler doesn't get too warm sitting there, unattended.

If the vent is to large to be sealed with a standard maple round pick, might I introduce you to Jim Chambers - his white lightning liners will remedy that fault.

[hanshi]

All good advice.  I remove the lock and take a "clipped" round toothpick, not the round/square ones, but the true round ones.  I tap it in with a plastic hammer.  Two additional things: I've found packages of this "gum-like" stretchy, sticky material that is sorta like modeling clay.  The toothpick is pushed through a small wad that sorta seals the liner.  I also stuff a paper towel in the mortise and wrap it around the breech area and tape it. 

I fill the bores full and let stand.  There is normally a bit of seeping that is soaked up by the towel.  Rarely is any dripping seen on the floor under the gun.  A little seepage won't hurt.

[Skychief]

Hey Davidguys, thanks for the replies!  You have given me reason to try again.  Maybe I wasn't pecking them in hard enough. 

Smylee Grouch, do you have any pictures of the screw clamp apparatus available to post here?

Thanks again boys, Skychief.

[Daryl]

for screw-clamp picture - see the actual thing at Track's site, where they are probably cheaper than you can make them.  www.trackofthewolf.com

I used one of the 'devices' for a while, but went back to dunking the breech into a container of water, usually a water filled 2 1/2 pound coffee can. The device was a pain in the posterior to keep from leaking, or to keep flushing properly.

[smylee grouch]

The clamp I use isnt the one sold by TOTW. The one I use just clamps over the hole with the lock removed. It has a soft rubber pad where it goes against the stock and barrel. So far it has sealed the vent with out any leaks but I still put a small wad of paper towel or some dry cleaning patches in the lock mortice just in case. You cant flush the bore using this as you can using the ones sold by TOTW but you can let your water or solvent soak in if you so wish. When I'm at home I clean as Daryl does by removing  barrel and flushing in and out. I'm sorry but I don t have any pics of the clamp but any good hardware store would carry them in the tool/woodworking section.

[Skychief]

Thanks Smylee.

[Hungry Horse]

 Really? another non period contraption to keep track of, and worry about working. ROUND TOOTHPICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                Hungry Horse

[hanshi]

Really? another non period contraption to keep track of, and worry about working. ROUND TOOTHPICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                Hungry Horse

Did ya' know round ones were (and are) made by putting a log on a lathe and turning the log down until a perfectly round toothpick was produced?  I think that's how plywood was invented, too.   

[Skychief]

Really? another non period contraption to keep track of, and worry about working. ROUND TOOTHPICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                Hungry Horse

Whoa Hungry Horse, Whoa!

Just asking out of curiosity.   Willing to give period correct round picks another try. 

[Hungry Horse]

 Sorry. Its just that  I went through all that tool, gun, gear, collecting, and finally figured out, that if thats the focus of your "shooting", you don't really even need to shoot. You can have all the fun you're after, by just collecting all the cool gadgets that are on the market.  And just stay home, and fiddle with them. I finally got rid of 90% of it, and learned to do things more the way they were done. Its not about PC at all, its about simplification. I was spending all my time a events sorting, hunting for, and figuring out how to carry all my stuff. Heck I was thinking of buying a bigger truck, just to haul all my stuff. I'm having a lot more fun now, and made a bunch of other people happy, because I sold them all my cool stuff.

                       Hungry Horse

[Natureboy]

  For once, Hanshi has it wrong.  Popeye punched a tree and it came down as toothpicks.