Can anyone identify broken cleaning rod thingy?

shackleford

shackleford

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Greetings All,

I bought a cleaning rod at Tavistock Gun Show for $10 bucks and it came with a weird looking threaded brass end. I separate the 2 pieces, put 4 patches on pointy end then screw it into to other to swab my shotgun. Anyways, it broke on me yesterday and I was wondering if anyone knows the make and model of it so I can replace it. I also want to try adding a 3rd piece to pick up more barrel crud per swipe. Google doesn't show anything remotely similar. Any info is greatly appreciated.

mystery1.jpg
 
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I use a bore brush, then swabbed with this jag to pick up debris loosened from bore brush. Faster and more effective than bore snake. All the jags on google either have a loop for the patch, or a small point to pierce the patch but does not thread into top to retain patch. The guy at the gunshow had 30+ rods but I don't want to wait a year for next show to replace it...
 
I would try and to face off the broken end, drill and tap a new hole. It looks like a common threat like a 6/32 or so, can’t say I’ve ever seen a jag like that but I like the idea of how it works.
 
double gun said:
It looks homemade.
You should post some measurements. Diameters, lengths, thread pitch
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The length of intact piece is 2". 2nd piece was 1.375" before it broke. Major O.D. is close enough to 1/4". The smaller diameter or threaded parts are all 8/32 threads. All small threaded parts thread into end of cleaning rod and so does a 8/32 bolt I have so I'm calling them 8/32.

Butcherbill said:
I would try and to face off the broken end, drill and tap a new hole. It looks like a common threat like a 6/32 or so, can’t say I’ve ever seen a jag like that but I like the idea of how it works.
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I'll try that, but use whats left over of hole as pilot. Wish I had a lathe...
 
Thinking it's for a muzzle loader, possibly a ball puller, with that threaded end. Any store carrying black powder accessories would have one and cheap enough not to bother making your own.

Grizz
 
Grizzly Adams said:
Thinking it's for a muzzle loader, possibly a ball puller, with that threaded end.
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Thanks, Getting closer now google has similar looking pieces.

The guy at show had lots, but I only bought the rod because it was a dewey, and it was the longest one he had. I didn't realize how much use I would get out of the rest of it...
 
Grizzly Adams said:
Thinking it's for a muzzle loader, possibly a ball puller, with that threaded end. Any store carrying black powder accessories would have one and cheap enough not to bother making your own.

Grizz
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Not a ball puller. A ball puller would be made of steel and look similar to a wood screw. A ball puller needs a sharp point and threads to the end to draw it into the ball.
 
I would not bother trying to fix it. When one considers the major diameter of the internal thread and the minor diameter of the external grooves, it doesn't appear to leave much for wall thickness.
 
shackleford said:
The length of intact piece is 2". 2nd piece was 1.375" before it broke. Major O.D. is close enough to 1/4". The smaller diameter or threaded parts are all 8/32 threads. All small threaded parts thread into end of cleaning rod and so does a 8/32 bolt I have so I'm calling them 8/32.



I'll try that, but use whats left over of hole as pilot. Wish I had a lathe...
Click to expand...

You can do it all on a drill press if you don’t have a lathe, just chuck the jag up in the drill press and lightly turn it into a flat file on the press table to face it off smooth. If you have a drill press vice, close the vise without anything in the jaws and drill a slightly smaller hole between the jaws where they meet. Then you will have a secure way to hold the jag while drilling your hole, manually tap the 8/32” thread. If you need any pics of this set up just ask, you can do quite a few lathe/turning operations on a drill press. I routinely turn down brass screws and re thread them if I need a certain metric size.
 
It's almost certainly home made. Likely started with some 5/16 threaded rod which got the threads skimmed down to .25'ish then drilled and threaded each end for the stub screws.

If you have a drill press you could easily fix the broken one. Drill a 1/4 hole into a block of wood. Then push the broken body into that hole and swap drills to the #29 or #30 or even a 7/64 and drill for the tapped hole. Start the tap using the drill press as well so you get a perfect lineup. After a couple of turns remove and finish with a tap wrench.

The hole size and thread engagement isn't critical because you will glue the screw into the hole to lock it in place. Then cut off and file the end smooth.

If you don't even have a drill press? Then you'll have to wait or find someone with a drill press or lathe. I'm not saying you cannot under any circumstances do it with a hand drill. But you'll need a keen eye to keep it straight or come up with a few tricks of your own to make some sort of guide jig.
 
Looks like brass? solid center where threads are?, if it is a 1/4 inch way too small for shotgun maybe 410.
Looks kind of like a spring, if it is brass and a solid core, could you not just cut off straight and run a tip in to clean up the threads, would be shorter, but should not matter. Brass solders real easy also
When I looked at this I was thinking lead remover, but would have to be proper size and be able to flex.
That could be because I have a pistol barrel leaded up so it looks like a smooth bore, that I am looking at.
Hate that sh** unless it is making holes in the target
 
Butcherbill said:
You can do it all on a drill press if you don’t have a lathe, just chuck the jag up in the drill press and lightly turn it into a flat file on the press table to face it off smooth. If you have a drill press vice, close the vise without anything in the jaws and drill a slightly smaller hole between the jaws where they meet. Then you will have a secure way to hold the jag while drilling your hole, manually tap the 8/32” thread. If you need any pics of this set up just ask, you can do quite a few lathe/turning operations on a drill press. I routinely turn down brass screws and re thread them if I need a certain metric size.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. Will try that in the future.

BCRider said:
It's almost certainly home made. Likely started with some 5/16 threaded rod which got the threads skimmed down to .25'ish then drilled and threaded each end for the stub screws.

If you have a drill press you could easily fix the broken one. Drill a 1/4 hole into a block of wood. Then push the broken body into that hole and swap drills to the #29 or #30 or even a 7/64 and drill for the tapped hole. Start the tap using the drill press as well so you get a perfect lineup. After a couple of turns remove and finish with a tap wrench.The hole size and thread engagement isn't critical because you will glue the screw into the hole to lock it in place. Then cut off and file the end smooth.

If you don't even have a drill press? Then you'll have to wait or find someone with a drill press or lathe. I'm not saying you cannot under any circumstances do it with a hand drill. But you'll need a keen eye to keep it straight or come up with a few tricks of your own to make some sort of guide jig.
Click to expand...

Another great tip to add to my bag of tricks.

marshall said:
Looks like brass? solid center where threads are?, if it is a 1/4 inch way too small for shotgun maybe 410.
Looks kind of like a spring, if it is brass and a solid core, could you not just cut off straight and run a tip in to clean up the threads, would be shorter, but should not matter. Brass solders real easy also
When I looked at this I was thinking lead remover, but would have to be proper size and be able to flex.
That could be because I have a pistol barrel leaded up so it looks like a smooth bore, that I am looking at.
Hate that sh** unless it is making holes in the target
Click to expand...

when I said close enough to 1/4 inch the caliper read .244. The guy at gun showalso had a lot of lead molds and blackpowder looking things. IDK.

The fix cost me 32 cents. Bought a 8-32 nut and washer to told my patches to remaining jag. Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply.
 
I see that butcherbill and I have the same idea. But he wants to drill the vise jaws while I was suggesting a block of hardwood in the vise. In both cases you want the vise bolted down so all the drilling is axial.

I'm not too keen on drilling the vise jaws for a couple of reasons. First is that my vise is a very nice DP vise and it wouldn't last long if I did such things. And second is that the jaws on mine are hardened so it's a 50-50 guess if the jaws would drill or the drill would wear out.

I prefer the wood block idea because it's easy enough to drill a size which will be a firm press fit on the item. And because I'm drilling into a block the item won't shift when I open and then close the jaws of the vise. Thus keeping the item centered to the drill spindle axis.
 
@BCRider yeah I have a middle of the road drill press vice, so drilling it was a no brainer. I like the hardwood block idea though, I’ll have to remember that trick. I use my drill press for lots of non drilling operations and little tricks like that are always helpfull.
 
Bill I got the impression from your post that you do machining for a living? If so then money is time and cheap vises can be easily considered as sacrificial if it makes the job easier. Hence my wording in my last reply. But I didn't mean anything disparaging by my wording but it was late and re-reading it now I see that it comes across somewhat snarky.... sorry if it came across that way.
 
BCRider said:
Bill I got the impression from your post that you do machining for a living? If so then money is time and cheap vises can be easily considered as sacrificial if it makes the job easier. Hence my wording in my last reply. But I didn't mean anything disparaging by my wording but it was late and re-reading it now I see that it comes across somewhat snarky.... sorry if it came across that way.
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Didn’t think that at all and no offence taken. I’m not a machinist. Just handy with the tools I have, I’ve always enjoyed being able to make a tool or do the machining needed for myself. Beats paying someone to do the routine jobs, driving and maintaining old cars and motorcycles necessitated a lot of the skill set I’ve picked up over the years.

I came up with drilling my drill press awhile back while making small electro magnets for some tattoo machines I was building, this was before I bought a small lathe and it was an easy way to clamp, center punch and drill a true hole in a 3/8” by 1 1/2” coil core before I tapped the hole and wrapped the core with magnet wire. I used my drill press for a lot of small turning operations back then.

Cheers
C
 
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