A better jag

[Canute Rex]

I just came up with a cleaning tool I'd like to share. I was frustrated with trying to get some persistent gak out of my barrel and decided I needed to use some Scotchbrite (green scrubby) pad. Perhaps this is too aggressive - please advise.

This is for 45 cal barrels and up, unless you ditch the washers.

The materials:
-A green scrubby pad, Scotchbrite or other
-A short piece of 3/4" copper pipe, sharpened on one end (buy an arch punch if you want to get scientific about it)
-An 8-32 or 10-32 by 1 1/2" machine screw, depending on what fits your ramrod (I had a stainless one, but I will switch to brass)
-Two washers and a nut to fit the preceding

Use the 3/4" pipe to cut some discs of green pad. (Don't punch, "scrunch" with a twisting motion) Then punch a hole in the center of each. Put a washer on the machine screw, then a couple of the discs, another washer, and the nut. Leave the assembly loose. Roll the green pad discs between your fingers until they are small enough to fit down the barrel. Thread the assembly into your ramrod.

Try an experimental swipe down the barrel and start tightening the screw/nut till the green pad squeezes out and there is some resistance going down the bore. I tightened it until I had to do some work to get the thing in. Once the green pad has worn down a bit (just a few passes, really) moisten a patch with your favorite solvent and use the assembly as a jag. The green pad discs will squeeze the patch into the grooves in a way that a solid brass jag won't. You'll be amazed at the amount of grunge you will extract from a "clean" bore. Boresight the barrel afterward, but wear sunglasses.

Here's a photo:



Again, I am going to switch to a brass screw and washers, just in case. The green pad sticks out enough to protect the bore, but one can't be too careful.

Canute

[Daryl]

Good idea - something similar was by this guy.  Ned Roberts wrote of a similar system which had rubber washers to fit the .40 or .45 bore.  They kept it in a bucket of water for pushing crud out the muzzle of their rifles when they 'wiped' during Scheutzen shooting.  This-too would be easy to make and would work well for pumping water in and out of a vent or nipple seat when cleaning.

[Jerry V Lape]

Very similar to what I described about a week ago.  The photos will help a lot I think.  Suggest you make one change though.  The steel screw and washer you are using isn't going  to be as friendly to the bore as using a brass jag with brass washers.   Looks like you recognized that in your materials list already. 

[hanshi]

do you think rubber "faucet" washers would work?

!Jozai Senjo!  "always present on the battlefield"

[Jerry V Lape]

Rubber faucet washers are probably a little on the stiff side.  I would think something more flexible and thinner, maybe with smaller diameter spacers between. 

[Daryl]

Trouble with rubber washers in a muzzleloader for wiping other than cleaning, is pushing all the last shot's $#@* down to pack it against the plug, filling either the vent hole or flash channel for the nipple.

[hanshi]

I was thinking about rubber washers in lieu of the metal ones holding the scotchbrite material.  Wonder if it's worth experimenting with?

!Jozai Senjo!  "always present on the battlefield"

[Roger Fisher]

Trouble with rubber washers in a muzzleloader for wiping other than cleaning, is pushing all the last shot's $#@* down to pack it against the plug, filling either the vent hole or flash channel for the nipple.

Yhesh: Just the opposite of something I still think about at times, in loose and out tight!!

[Canute Rex]

Flintr, I'd recommend sticking with metal washers - brass would be advisable. Part of the principle of the thing is squeezing the pad material so it is forced out sideways against the barrel. I don't think the rubber would be able to do that.

Now, if only there was a way to stick an undersized jag down the barrel and have it expand at the bottom so you could pull the crud out instead of packing it down. A tiny umbrella? I'm on it.

Canute

[1861Sniper]

 Rather than using ScotchBrite, which is by definition an abrasive , I had done something exactly like this using sponge. With a bit larger washer on the breech end then the smaller diameter on the muzzle end, the sponge was allowed to compress inward & pressed outward on the out stroke. It was just too much trouble to keep replacing the sponge to be worth it. Patches can just be pulled out & thrown away.
 It seemed like a good idea at the time but was much more time consuming and handling the dirty swabs made a mess of my hands.
 Jags are designed to allow the patch to pass by the crud going in & 'bunching up' the cloth on the cuts when pulling out. However if the cloth bunches up too much the rod can be a bit difficult to pull out! As much as I would love to see a better way, we just keep coming back to a simple brass jag.
 DOC

[Jerry V Lape]

Sniper you are correct the scotchbrite is an abrasive.  However, if it is only used to cleanup when normal cleaning just isn't getting the crud out it isn't going to do significant abrading.  Don Getz told me he uses it to clean his rifles all the time and that it won't hurt them.  (Of course Don gets pretty quick turn around on his barrel orders should he ever wear one out.)  Using the scotchbrite got rid of a significant problem I was having with cut patches and loading the rifle became significantly smoother so there is no question it has removed some sharp  burr edges. 

[hanshi]

The field appears wide open for a revolutionary invention, men.

!Jozai Senjo!  "always present on the battlefield"

[Roger Fisher]

Rather than using ScotchBrite, which is by definition an abrasive , I had done something exactly like this using sponge. With a bit larger washer on the breech end then the smaller diameter on the muzzle end, the sponge was allowed to compress inward & pressed outward on the out stroke. It was just too much trouble to keep replacing the sponge to be worth it. Patches can just be pulled out & thrown away.
 It seemed like a good idea at the time but was much more time consuming and handling the dirty swabs made a mess of my hands.
 Jags are designed to allow the patch to pass by the crud going in & 'bunching up' the cloth on the cuts when pulling out. However if the cloth bunches up too much the rod can be a bit difficult to pull out! As much as I would love to see a better way, we just keep coming back to a simple brass jag.
 DOC

Tolja!

[William Worth]

I would be tempted to try the same thing with a stack of leather washers ( I would rather punch out leather then Scotch-Brite ) and maybe use some polishing compound.  Then wipe that out with a regular patched jag.