Slugging a barrel

[opos]

I, like a lot of folks, I'd guess have occasion to slug a barrel and like some other folks I really don't like the thought of using wood dowels to drive the slug through the barrel...I've never split a dowel nor had one jam but with the way things go in my life it will happen...just a matter of time.. I could not find any brass 1/4" rod (I have a couple of 30 cal rifle bbls that need slugging as well as several pistol bbls)..I got a buddy that went "mosin nuts that has about 8 bbls to slug, so I turned to my least favorite shopping place..E Play

Typed in 1/4" solid rods and up popped a half dozen...1 foot long solid brass 1/4" rods for about $12 including freight...probably a bit more than I needed to spend but something I can use over and over again, lend to friends, and just not have to worry about splintering like wood or messing up the barrel. They had a few more sets as of this morning (Friday)...so thought I'd pass it along

[MBTcustom]

Bingo, there you go.
That's exactly what I use, except aluminum and I buy it from the hardware store.
Be sure that the end that is doing the pushing is flat and perpendicular to the rod. Don't bevel the corner, or sharpen it in any way, and you'll be fine. You might also consider following the slug directly with a gas check, just to make sure you get an even distribution of force. If you're ram rod pierces the slug, you will be cussing.
FYI, if that ever happens to any of you, shoot me a PM and I'll walk you through it.
If you do it right, it's the easiest thing in the world to do.

[beppe]

I do it for the slug barrel, use the alloy lipowiz, melts at 70/80 degrees and you can always reuse.
cerrosafe the alloy is very expensive, that of lipowiz I pay 35 euro 270 grams. has a sufficient quantity to make any slug.


io per fare lo slug della canna ,uso la lega di lipowiz ,si fonde a 70/80 gradi e si può riusare sempre .la lega cerrosafe è molto costosa , quella di lipowiz io la pago 35 euro 270 grammi .è una quantità sufficente per fare qualsiasi slug.

[Bzcraig]

http://www.mcmaster.com/#brass-alloy-rods/=nepwsb

Found this website with what I thought are reasonable prices. No minimum order and UPS ground shipping. Let me know if these rates are unreasonable.

[smokeywolf]

McMaster Carr is pretty pricey on everything but, if you need it quick, they can get it to you. If you're in a major metropolitan area they can sometimes take your order at 9:00AM and put it in your hand at 3:00PM.
I've bought a lot of stuff from them. That's the other thing; they have everything.

smokeywolf

[gnoahhh]

I dislike using short sections of metal rod. I feel that when you stack rods on top of each other there's too much likelihood of the the rods shifting and one end or another scraping against the rifling, especially if/when the two pieces 'hinge' where they meet. Granted, brass and aluminum are softer than steel, but why take the chance?

I too am a big believer in McMaster-Carr. I have an account with them here in the lab and like stated earlier I can expect delivery the next day, if not the same day. For making up cleaning rods and bore slugging rods, I use steel drill rod of an appropriate size and polish it shiny bright so as not to hold traces of stuff that could scratch the bore. Making/using a bore guide like one uses with a cleaning rod is another good idea.

When slugging a bore, if you can't push the slug through without beating on the rod, something's amiss. Either the lead slug is too hard or too big, or the bore is dirty/fouled or dry.

[kywoodwrkr]

I've got a couple pieces of 1/4" brass/bronze rod from a welding shop.
All one piece(no tapping/threading) and very solid.

[Steelpounder]

Hi everyone. I am new here but thought that I would share this. Brass rods in six foot lengths for a reasonable price.

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PARTPG=INSRAR2&PMAKA=240-2613&PMPXNO=4838147

[John Taylor]

I have several sizes of brass rod from Enco and they get used every time I rifle a barrel. I can slid a rod in from each end and upset a lead ball to fill the rifling to get a good measurement. This is a must to make sure the groove diameter is correct before taking the barrel out of the rifling machine. Just did a 40 caliber for an 1886 yesterday.