forcing cone leading

[richrd]

I've recently gone thru the safe and found two things.

first lead in the forcing cone. Since the cone is cut at an angle away from the bore, the brushed and patch do not make the same contact there. Is there an easier way to clean this area?

And second and maybe connected, the f cones on a couple, especially the "new" smith is very rough. and on the new one visually uneven. I think I cut do better with a rat tail file.

I read about buying or renting cutters from brownells, from those of you that have done this, was it worth it?

 

[Protocall_Design]

Absolutely worth it. If your bullets are damaged going into the barrel, they are not going to fly true. The more lead buildup you have, the worse the bullets shoot. A lot of factory forcing cones are too small, off center, varying degrees of roughness. Other factors that can cause leading are: out of time (chamber not lined up with barrel), pushing soft lead too fast, wrong bullet lube, barrel constriction just ahead of the forcing cone.

Often, the muzzle crown is poorly done, too. A barrel that won't shoot a decent group can usually be changed to match grade accuracy by correctly recutting the forcing cone and muzzle crown.

The best way to clean the lead out is with a Lewis Lead Remover. Those are now made by Outer's and can be purchased on line or at a gun shop.

 

[Hair Trigger]

The best way to clean the lead out is with a Lewis Lead Remover. Those are now made by Outer's and can be purchased on line or at a gun shop.

Agreed, and while you're at it get the chamber cleaner, it will remove the carbon ring in the throat when you shoot .38 Spl. from a .357, etc. They attach to a standard cleaning rod, the brass scrubber screens can be used a long time.

 

[WR Moore]

Re-cutting the forcing cone on obviously badly cut forcing cones has value. On the ones with lead buildup, try good thorough cleaning of the forcing cone with the Lewis Lead Remover first to see if it's simply accumulated crud.

 

[chief38]

When buying the Lewis Lead remover I'd suggest ordering extra screens and possibly a caliber conversion kit if you shoot lead in other caliber handguns. I have the 38/357 and the 45 kit since I still have thousands of lead bullets to go through in both calibers. It is the best in lead removal!

 

[richrd]

I can normally get the barrels cleaned out with a bit of chore boy on an old brush.

Now I only shoot lead at moderate velocities with Hi-tech dry lube the leading is mostly a thing of the past.

 

[richrd]

So those of you that have done this, what did you use for tooling?

 

[glenwolde]

I've rented reamers from 4D Reamer Rentals. Not hard to do. You'll need your own T-handle and some cutting oil. I've done forcing cones and cylinder throats. I also vote for the Lewis Lead Remover forcing cone tool.

 

[dfariswheel]

If the cone is just rough, lapping it with the Brownell's brass cone-shaped lap is enough.

If you do a re-cut, you'll need the precision drop in forcing cone gauge to prevent under or over cutting it.
The difference between too much and too little is minuscule, and you can't eyeball it.
You'll still need the brass lap and some lapping compound.

The fastest/best way to clean chambers are bronze chamber brushes from Brownell's.
These are not just larger then bore brushes, they're a stiffer bristle.

 

[WR Moore]

One VERY important thing about the forcing cone reamer. You really, really, really need that bore bushing just ahead of the reamer to keep it centered with respect to the bore axis. Just the centering cone at the muzzle isn't enough.

 

[dmy]

I recently tried cleaning the forcing cone with an old brass cleaning brush. I bent the wire just above the base (threaded end) to give me something to hold. I push the brush into and out of the forcing cone end.