Beater teppo

[Flint62Smoothie]

I've never not been able to get one out. Great job on your pin and other rebuild efforts!

[Brian]

Ditto. On my 2 stick ones, no amount of work, heat or oil has ever allowed them to come out. I gave up. Good work.

[Flint62Smoothie]

On 5/17/2025 at 2:34 AM, Brian said:

Ditto. On my 2 stick ones, no amount of work, heat or oil has ever allowed them to come out. I gave up. Good work.

 

No, I meant I've ALWAYS been able to get the breech plug out on any BP arm I arm, original or replica, less those like a Toradar where they were forge-welded in place. 

 

Please show me a close up picture of the end of your breech plug and I may see the answer for you! 

 

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Now, besides a 'heat hammer' (torch) that alwys helps loosen parts (it is the heating AND cooling cycle that does it, so immediately plunge the hot part into cold/ice water bath) FWIW the best penetrating oil one can use is a DIY homemade mix of 50% acetone and 50% automatic transmission fluid (ATF).

Years ago “Machinist Workshop Magazine” did a test on penetrating oils. Using nuts and bolts that they 'scientifically rusted’ to a uniform degree by soaking in salt water, they then tested the break-out torque required to loosen the nuts. They treated the nuts with a variety of penetrants and measured the torque required to loosen them.

This is what they came up with:

• Nothing: 516 lbs
• WD-40: 238 lbs
• PB Blaster: 214 lbs
• Liquid Wrench: 127 lbs
• Kano Kroil: 106 lbs
• (ATF)/Acetone mix (50/50 mix): Only 50 lbs!

[Brian]

Trust me, I've tried all that. Even the heat/ice, and acetone/transmission treatment. Have done a ton of research. 2 Of mine just refuse to budge, to the point that if I apply any more force, I'm going to shear off the plug.
Will give it another try sometime soon. I have since bought some Knock 'er Loose, which is also very good, and got some sword parts loose (non Japanese) that were not reacting to anything. May try to soak in penetrating oil for a few days, alternating with heat and ice. Oneday will get them loose. May get the gunsmith at work to weld up a socket that matches the taper of the plug, as leather doesn't grip the taper well, and using something through the cross hole is risky.
Been a long time since I tried, maybe time to try again this weekend.

[Bugyotsuji]

By the way, if you have any zōgan inlay along the top of the barrel which you do not wish to damage, application of heat becomes more problematical.
 

Wrapping that section in a wet towel can help keep the temperature down, …if your soft metal inlay is not too close to the base of the barrel.

[Fabian23]

Folks, the project is 99.9% complete. I applied a few layers of cold blue to the barrel which has turned a very pleasing dark bluish grey, like a faded blue which fits the overall patina of the piece very well. During the process I discovered that there is a silver(?) bead on the rear of the front sight, which is a nice touch.

 

The barrel is pinned with whittled down bamboo BBQ skewers. 
 

The lock is now also tuned to catch the cock safely and it snaps down gently but swiftly upon release.

 

All I need to still do is source a new rod since the original snapped at some point and is missing about 3”.

 

I may take a few shots with it eventually.

 

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

N I C E !

[Fabian23]

Took it to the 50m range today using what components I had at hand.

 

.450" lead round ball

Doubled up .34mm patches, the outer one greased.

Guestimated load of 50gr Swiss 2 BP (FFFg)

 

Once I figured out the average point of aim it was reasonably easy to hold the black. Certainly accurate enough to pick a specific target out of a crowd. Once the match is burning well the lock is very fast and reliable. Recoil is a short tug on the cheek, not painful at all. 

 

Next I shall seek out slightly larger musket balls so that I can just use one patch. The powder load seems about right for 50m and may switch to a coarser grain.

[Bugyotsuji]

Thank you Fabien for the detailed update. Good shooting!