Doh!

[Crawdaddy]

Ok, I did something stupid. I was cleaning my New Englander rifle after a day at the range and a brass brush broke down at the base of the barrel.

I tried making a wire hook and snagging it. I also tried running a wire through the nipple hole. No luck.

Any suggestions?

[OneSkinnyMass]

maybe try to make a corkscrew shape from an old coat hanger and screw it onto the brush.
Just a guess tho

[R.M.]

Never done it myself, but I've heard of pushing a long piece of tubing, as big as will fit down the bore, down over the bristles, and then withdrawing it. Sounds good on paper anyway.

[excess650]

Try compressed air through the nipple hole. It should at least blow out any moisture that is in there. If it doesn't blow the brush out, fill 'er up with powder, replace the nipple and shoot it out.

I would NEVER run a brush into a barrel that I couldn't push straight through. When the brush has to reverse direction in a blind hole, its apt to "brush cut" the bore.

The New Englander has a hooked breech, so pull the ramrod, pull the barrel wedge, and remove the barrel from the stock. Squirt some soapy water into the barrel and force it out the nipple with a wet patch on a jag. Do this a couple of times, runs some dry patches, shoot some WD-40 on and push it out the nipple. Store it muzzle down and call it good! This is how I calen my flintlocks except that the barrels don't come out. I pull the lock and make sure the flash hole is pointing down so as to keep the gunk out of the lock mortise and off the stock.

[gnoahhh]

Did the male threaded end break off? If so, I would be tempted to try a "worm" if it's big enough to fit over the broken shank and small enough to fit down the bore. If you don't know what a worm is it's best described as a two-pronged corkscrew. Further descriptions would be best served by Google-fu, or looking in a Track of the Wolf catalog or a Dixie Gunworks catalog.

If the threaded shank is intact, then a worm may not fit down over it.

[Crawdaddy]

A coat hanger cork screw worked! Thanks guys.

Guess I should stick to inlines where I know what i am doing.

[OneSkinnyMass]

lucky guess I reck'on

[451 Pete]

I have used the copper or brass tube trick before. If you get it over the end of the brush it compress's the bristles and stays inside the tube and can be easily withdrawn.

Pete

[idahoron]

A piece of copper tubing that will fit into the barrel works very well. it pushes over the bristles and you pull the tubing back out. No big Deal. Ron

[idahoron]

Also I use brushes. Look for the brushes that are NOT crimped. I use the kind that are brass wire and are twisted. These are the good ones.

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/categories/partDetail.aspx?catId=2&subId=188&styleId=920&partNum=BRUSH-54

These are the ones that will stab you in the back. Ron

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/categories/partDetail.aspx?catId=2&subId=189&styleId=944&partNum=BRUSH-75

[mack1]

I have found that twisting the brush as I change direction lets the brissels reverse much better. This works on my ramrod better because there is more to grip.

[Crawdaddy]

The copper tube idea was going to be my next attempt I had coat hangers handy so I tried it first. Thanks again everyone.

[gnoahhh]

All's well that ends well!