cerrosafe casting problem

After reading about the necessity of knowing the exact dimensions of the chamber, throat, leade, etc. I decided that sounded like a fun project for my M96 that I want to PP for. I watched a couple of videos on YouTube and determined that it looked easy enough.

I should know better than try and play with the big boys...

I couldn't get my casting out. I used a hair dryer and got most of it out but there's still a bunch in there. I thought about putting it in a can of boiling water but I didn't feel like that would be good for the trigger mechanism. How much heat can I apply without damaging the bluing?

I'm used to ridicule so have at it but help me out, please.

i have to say that a sadistic area of myself has awaited for just this kinda post to come around. ive never done a cast either and now im very interested in your post and the answers you get. thanks for braving the ground for ... undoubtedly ... tons of us.

You're on your own, I don't use the stuff. I make impact impressions.

Goodsteel put up a how-to thread in castboolits a couple of months ago that is most excellent.

Gear

I have done several and they are all different.
My findings were.
Clean the chamber area until you think you have rubbed it completely away.
Oil the chamber and several inches of the barrel very well. Not sloppy but close.
Plug the rifling with a heavy patch on a brass rod approximately the size of the barrel.
If you can leave the rod in the barrel.

I heat the cerrosafe in a catfood can on my hotplate.
I know You can melt it in hot water but getting it hotter works for me.
I warm the chamber area with a heat gun.
Get it hot to the hand.
Pour the cerosafe in the chamber, being carefull not to overfill. If you do you have a lot of chipping to get it clear enough to punch out.

Do not leave it in the barrel too long, I think the directions say no longer than 15 minutes as it will start swell back out and you will have to drill it out.
Once it is removed read away.


beekeeper

Part of the problem might be your source for the cerrosafe. If you bought from Rotometals, midway, or some other trusted source then ok but there's been a lot of cerroBend being sold as cerrosafe here in the classifieds.

Both cerrosafe and cerrobend melt at low temps but cerrobend expands very soon after cooling so as to grip the container. Its used to bend tubing without collapsing it. Real cerrosafe shrinks when it cools and then expands slowly over hours and days. Cerrosafe should be pushed out of the chamber pretty easily.

Either way, if you got it stuck I recommend a heat gun. Warm the barrel slowly so as to let the heat fully penetrate without overheating. Let the liquid metal pour out, then follow with patches on cleaning rod to wipe out the rest while the barrel is still hot.

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Originally Posted by Oreo

Part of the problem might be your source for the cerrosafe. If you bought from Rotometals, midway, or some other trusted source then ok but there's been a lot of cerroBend being sold as cerrosafe here in the classifieds.

Both cerrosafe and cerrobend melt at low temps but cerrobend expands very soon after cooling so as to grip the container. Its used to bend tubing without collapsing it. Real cerrosafe shrinks when it cools and then expands slowly over hours and days. Cerrosafe should be pushed out of the chamber pretty easily.

Either way, if you got it stuck I recommend a heat gun. Warm the barrel slowly so as to let the heat fully penetrate without overheating. Let the liquid metal pour out, then follow with patches on cleaning rod to wipe out the rest while the barrel is still hot.

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Yeah, what he said.
You can use a propane torch to gently heat the barrel, and it will have no effect on the bluing. Just be sure to oil very shortly afterwards.
Your bluing was applied at a heat of 295 degrees F, so anything less than that is totally kosher.

Without seeing, touching, it is only advise. I would strip to naked barrel/receiver, boil a big ol' pot of water- rolling and submerge. Does not hurt the smoke poles at this house. If that does not get it, go propane torch. I will admit to over flowing a HI-WALL chamber years ago and rolled into extractor and open action. I invented words that day! Gtek

I have them stick with some regularity in the shop. Normally from a pitted or rung chamber, but also a lot of barrels have tight spots and when a bore slug hits that, you may not realize how hard it is going to stick until it is too late. Just as Goodsteel says, heat up the area with a propane torch and the cerrosafe will fall out. Clean the bore and chamber with a brush and you're all set. But the main thing is to determine why the cast stuck in the first place. If it sticks, so will a fired case unless you poured too much in and got it in the extractor cut or threads.

If you want to store them for any length of time, Geargnasher's method of making an impact impression is a better way to go since it won't change over time.

Texas Mac wrote a great article on the subject here:
http://www.texas-mac.com/Chamber_Cas...mpression.html

that tells you what you need to know.

-Nobade

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Originally Posted by pearson1662

I thought about putting it in a can of boiling water but I didn't feel like that would be good for the trigger mechanism.

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Because there are so many after-market triggers available for Mauser rifles, you should be able to remove yours before placing the barrel in boiling water.

But, even if you decide to leave it in place, a shot of WD-40 will get the water out, compressed air will remove the WD-40, then you can shoot in any lube that you like.

CM

I recently overflowed a chamber cast for an Arisaka. I lit the propane torch and very quickly focused it on the overflowed part. Melted right off and the cast came out in good shape.
I would feel safe having a chamber brush at the ready and quickly playing a propane torch in the chamber where the cerrosafe is and then brushing it. The torch melts the cerrosafe almost instantly so little heat will be transfered to the receiver.

Thank you all for your help.

I love this place.

I have found if you put the patch in from the chamber end with cerrosafe you probably can't get the cast out. Put the patch in from the muzzle end and it works fine.

I think Beekeeper says this without emphasizing it and I agree with his post. I've done several over the years with Cerrosafe I got from Brownell's.

I push a piece of those foam squishy ear plugs into the barrel as a plug, then I spray the area to be cast with teflon mold release (couple light coats), warm the barrel a bit and pour the cerrosafe in. I wait about 15 -20 seconds if it's a small cast up to a minute for bigger ones. Then I take a brass rod and smack the cast out. Never had an issue, but you do have to give them a pretty stout whack sometimes.