Rebreaching a finished barrel

[alex e.]

I need to rebreach a barrel, the first one snapped while bending the tang. I installed a new one to replace it, I was not thoroughly happy with it . It seemed just not right enough  for my liking.  Light pressure with a wrench  to loosen it bothered  me..
Obviously lugs,sight and touch hole are installed.  Are my expectations for this indexing/ lining up perfect in vain,  or should I get the plug to bottom out good  and  shim with  at the end of the barrel/plug with brass.
In my mind, I can't see this Indexing  properly.

[Daryl]

I'm not a builder, but a brass (gold) band at the breech looks OK to me.
The inner contact shoulder must be perfect.
I did that on the rifle I built many decades ago and it worked fine.

[Gaeckle]

It takes a bit of work, but it can be done. The plug is clocking in by turning to the right, so what I do is carefully file the breech end of the barrel where the lugs are in alignment with opposing flats. I use small amounts of inletting black on the plug at the lugs.  If you number your barrel flats 1 thru 8 you will see that flat 1 is opposite flat 5, flat 3 from 7, flat 2 from 6.....I file across theses flats in a right hand direction until the plug lines up and is tight at the correct index dictated by the sights, and barrel tennons . I also monitor the breech plug face and watch how it intercepts the shoulder at the end of the female threads. If the plug face shows no indication that it is bottoming out on the shoulder then I need to go around the horn, so to speak, and continue on clocking in.

[mikeyfirelock]

Gaeckle is spot on.   You need to have plug face and the tang making contact at the same time, and this takes patience and a lot of filing,   When you’ve got it right, it should take a little bit of effort to seat the plug.  Don’t get in a hurry, use a good file and contact agent like inletting black or Prussian blue.  Be prepared to take some time to do this job, and be patient.   The first time you do it is the hardest.......after that it’s still hard....just not as.
Mikeyfirelock ( who’s done this more times than he cares to remember)

[Mike Brooks]

I send that kind of stuff to Bob Hoyt. I have to take fewer happy pills that way.

[David Rase]

It's not that hard to get one to fit by hand if you have a good file, a black Sharpie pen and time patience and technique you can get through this in a couple of hours.  Rough file or grind excess length until you get about 1 rotation away from fitting.  On a 5/8-18 thread, one turn is .055" and each flat is a little less than .007".  Use the Sharpie to identify high spots and carefully remove material on the face of the breech plug as well as the face of the barrel until you obtain 360 degree contact on both surfaces.
David

[alex e.]

I send that kind of stuff to Bob Hoyt. I have to take fewer happy pills that way.

Mike, you have no idea how close I am to send it to my barrel maker. I just was to be done with it.

[alex e.]

Tha is for the input
Its nothing I have  not done  before. Just being that stock and barrel are done, it becomes inconvenient

[Rwnblack]

Have you thought about getting the tang welded back on to the breech plug rather than replacing the whole breech plug/tang?  Assuming it isn’t made of 12L14 it is a pretty small job.

[alex e.]

Have you thought about getting the tang welded back on to the breech plug rather than replacing the whole breech plug/tang?  Assuming it isn’t made of 12L14 it is a pretty small job.
[/quote
Way past that point......]