Going crazy getting lead out of forcing cone.

[CoalCrackerAl]

Got the bore clean. Been soaking the forcing cone with Kroil. Before that i was using hoppes elite bore cleaner. Also tried Boretech eliminator. Followed with my version of a Lewis lead remover. It's like the lead is welded on. Gun is my Ruger stainless Black hawk .40 caliber.

 

[.38 Special]

My experience is that potions don't help much, and that lead needs to be essentially ripped out of the bore. I've never found leading that wouldn't come out with either Chore Boy or the Lewis. Are you sure your version is an adequate copy?

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I use a jag with 1 inch pipe screens.

 

[dawei]

I use the Lewis® Lead Remover kit on my brace of Ruger® New Model Blackhawk® 41 Magnum revolvers. It cleans the bore and forcing cone extremely well.

 

[Bazoo]

What I do, is the chore boy two step. First. Take a bore brush and wrap a healthy amount of copper pot scrubber around it. That’s step 1. Then place that in the frame opening, insert the cleaning rod down the bore and screw on the choreboy wrapped brush. Then, turn it, pulling into the forcing cone. That’s step 2.

If you’re able to pull the brush through the bore, you didn’t use enough choreboy.

Use a straight rod chucked in a drill if you’re of the notion. Or use a bench rod made from a section of rifle cleaning rod, bent so you have a P shaped handle to pull against.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

The copper wool did the trick. Thanks Bazoo. I was shooting coated cast in a 10mm case, 180 grain boolet .5.5 grains of Red dot.

 

[Bazoo]

Glad I could offer assistance. I keep a forcing cone brush setup.

For the bore I do a bit less choreboy, but still going through the frame opening I pull the brush into the bore and scrub back and forth. Making sure I don't pull the brush out of the muzzle.

The scrubbers I use are O cedar brand.

 

[Shooterbob]

What size were the bullets ? They must have been extremely undersized and driven very hard?

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

.403 the recipe was 5.3-5.8 from Lymans 4th cast. I still have some loads yet. Im going to try them in my 1911. I should chrono them too.

 

[Bazoo]

Have you had success with any cast loads in the gun?

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

Yes with slower powders.

 

[Bazoo]

Probably has to do with the peak pressure hitting at the place compared to the cylinder gap.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

A black rubber stopper in the bore. With the muzzle down and propped up against a solid rest, fill the barrel right up to the forcing cone with 50% hydrogen peroxide and 50% white vinegar mix. Let it soak 15 minutes and pour it out. Still some lead in there? Do it again for 15 more minutes, and again until the lead is completely removed.
This is an old "black powder solution" used to remove lead in muzzle loaders, and it works durn well.
With this solution, there's no need to "rip" anything out of the bore. Been using this solution on heavily leaded bores for over 25 years and not a single bore or blued finish was ruined, just the lead was removed. .22 rimfire bores will need to be "conditioned" once again to get its original accuracy back, but that's just one of the FUN parts of getting the LEAD out.
YES! The solution will contain "lead acetate" after it's poured out, so don't drink it, or pour it into the wife's potted plants. Dispose of it properly at the nearest HASMAT collection site. Cheap to mix solution, just handle things with rubber gloves and in an area that's well ventilated.

 

[usaral63]

I've yet to see a forcing cone that a REAL Lewis tool would not handle!............. I recall one that was clogged with what had to be unlubed pure lead wadcutters.......stuff came out like peeling old nickle plate!....

Just what is 'your' version of the Lewis? Could easily be that either the configuration or screen you are using is at fault.

 

[mcb]

There are two cleaning heads to a Lewis lead remover.


Above the cleaning rod, the red rubber and brass part if for cleaning the barrel. Below the cleaning rod, the aluminum cone is for cleaning the forcing cone. Both use the same cleaning screen.

I find the Lewis lead removed work better dry, no lub, no cleaner. Degrease the barrel and then use the Lewis lead remover. Clean and relub after.

 

[Blue68f100]

Old school, like 50+ yrs ago mercury was used before all the dangers of using it came out. It worked very good and fast. Then you had another hazardous waste to deal with.

Where I worked at, they had a special room for working with Hg, ventilation, cooling, monitoring. They had another room within the room with equipment to clean it up, like distilled water. Back then we used a lot of Hg in doing PVT work. You had to have special training to enter. My generation use to play with it, got the Hg from batteries.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

There are two cleaning heads to a Lewis lead remover.
View attachment 1031149

Above the cleaning rod, the red rubber and brass part if for cleaning the barrel. Below the cleaning rod, the aluminum cone is for cleaning the forcing cone. Both use the same cleaning screen.

I find the Lewis lead removed work better dry, no lub, no cleaner. Degrease the barrel and then use the Lewis lead remover. Clean and relub after.

I have one of the Lewis lead remover tools around here somewhere. Tried to use it once on a Ruger Blackhawk .357 Magnum. Owner was shooting soft lead wadcutter bullets and some hot burning powder and the bore size shrunk down to around .20 caliber. The 50/50 solution soak cleaned the forcing cone area and got the lead out of the bore. Since then, I have never even looked around to find the Lewis lead remover. Too laborious to even consider.

 

[mcb]

I have one of the Lewis lead remover tools around here somewhere. Tried to use it once on a Ruger Blackhawk .357 Magnum. Owner was shooting soft lead wadcutter bullets and some hot burning powder and the bore size shrunk down to around .20 caliber. The 50/50 solution soak cleaned the forcing cone area and got the lead out of the bore. Since then, I have never even looked around to find the Lewis lead remover. Too laborious to even consider.

I don't use mine much. Good ammo makes it not needed very often. I have also found that an old brush and Copper ChoreBboy works better for me to lead out of the barrel. That said the Lewis lead remover attachment for the forcing cone works well and quickly in my experience far better than a brush even with Copper Chore-Boy.

 

[gobsauce]

Old school, like 50+ yrs ago mercury was used before all the dangers of using it came out. It worked very good and fast. Then you had another hazardous waste to deal with.

Where I worked at, they had a special room for working with Hg, ventilation, cooling, monitoring. They had another room within the room with equipment to clean it up, like distilled water. Back then we used a lot of Hg in doing PVT work. You had to have special training to enter. My generation use to play with it, got the Hg from batteries.

You can still harvest it from scrap electronics. I found some in old,90's thermostats.

 

[Bazoo]

I'd rather scrub for 5 minutes than to wait 30 for a solution to work it's magic.

I rarely scrub lead though. I usually shoot a load that doesn't lead to remove the leading from test loads that do. Sometimes it's gas checked and sometimes it's plain based loads that shoot clean. Regardless, a clean shooting load will clean the bore from a load that leads.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

My main concern about leading in the leade and bore is involved with .22 rimfire firearms, not centerfire. SCRUBBING on the 0.0020 to 0.0025 high land to groove height does not make for good practice and I will gladly soak the bore for 30 paltry minutes and get the lead out that way rather than hurt the rifling by going at it too roughly with anything that may abrade the rifling. But as always, to each is own.