Getting the lead out - Lewis leadout

[Wayne02]

Figured I post this here since there may be more lead bullet folks prowling this particular forum.

Awhile back I ordered some "canned heat" in .357 from Georgia Arms. I thought it was just standard .357 brass case ammo. Turns out is is nickel cased "cowboy loads", 800fps or so.

Such is the case, I started shooting them in my 686 6" revolver and now I've got a bunch of lead in there that needs to be removed.

I purchased the lewis lead out tool as I suspect this won't be my first encounter with lead as I'm moving towards shooting lead in almost all my guns.

Any tips on using this tool?

How do you guys hold the gun still while pushing the plugs through the bore? Can I just clamp the revolver between two 2x6's in my bench vise?

Do you ever have lead in the charge holes as well as the bore? If so do you remove the cylinder when trying to remove lead from the charge holes? I've got a bunch of lead bullet .38's that I shoot out of my .357's as well so I'm wondering if I can expect lead in the charge holes.

Thanks
Wayne

 

[Wayne02]

Figured I post this here since there may be more lead bullet folks prowling this particular forum.

Awhile back I ordered some "canned heat" in .357 from Georgia Arms. I thought it was just standard .357 brass case ammo. Turns out is is nickel cased "cowboy loads", 800fps or so.

Such is the case, I started shooting them in my 686 6" revolver and now I've got a bunch of lead in there that needs to be removed.

I purchased the lewis lead out tool as I suspect this won't be my first encounter with lead as I'm moving towards shooting lead in almost all my guns.

Any tips on using this tool?

How do you guys hold the gun still while pushing the plugs through the bore? Can I just clamp the revolver between two 2x6's in my bench vise?

Do you ever have lead in the charge holes as well as the bore? If so do you remove the cylinder when trying to remove lead from the charge holes? I've got a bunch of lead bullet .38's that I shoot out of my .357's as well so I'm wondering if I can expect lead in the charge holes.

Thanks
Wayne

 

[jj2am44]

Wayne, the screen is pulled through the bore. Put the rod throught the muzzle and screw the plug/screen on and don't tighten it too much-it expands. The tapered plug is for the forcing cone. The charge holes can be done in the same way, but a tornado brush does better, I think. There won't be any lead in the charge holes, but some powder residue.

 

[FrankD45]

Wayne:

If you get frustrated with the Lewis routine, go to your local Rite Aide or similar and pick up a box of Chore Boy copper cleaning pads. Make sure they are copper made in USA. Cut the pad into strips and wrap a strip around an old bore brush. Push that through the bore a couple of times and most of the lead will be out. Any that remains will come out with your normal cleaning routine with a tight bore brush.

I hope that helps,

Frank

 

[durco]

I am not overly impressed with the Lewis lead removal tool. I guess it is better than..... well, maybe not.
I liken it to a K&N air filter for my 350 "Chebby"; everybody said they got more power and more performance. I found I had spent more money but the end results were the same. Just another "STP" story..... Mike

 

[lafayne]

Same as durco. The Lewis lead remover IME is almost too much trouble. I ordered the bronze wool from Brownell's in all three grades. Wrap it around an undersized bronze brush and it cleans really well. I chuck it in a cordless drill to clean the cylinders.

You can go to your marine dealer and buy a spray can of Mercury Power Tune Engine Cleaner also. It is formulated to remove carbon from outboard cylinder heads and does a fine job on my cylinders.

 

[cptdco]

I get a lot of use out of my Lewis Lead remover and I think it does a great job. As jj2am44 stated, its pulled through, not pushed through. Back off on the little knurled knob at least the first time or two you pull it through the bore. Pulling a new patch through one of the cylinder charging holes first will pre-shape the screen and make it easier to pull through the bore. The rubber part can also be lightly sanded if its a little too fat. Lastly, if you're having a tough time pulling the patch through, instead of locking the gun up in a vice, set the tool up then lock the handle of the LLR up in the vice and pull back on the gun. Or stand on the hahndle and pull up on the gun.
I also have some chore-boy pads and use them too.

 

[Bat Guano]

I have the Lewis kit but am not that enthused about it. I have better luck with the copper chore boy approach. That and the chamber brushes available from Brownell's suffice for me.

 

[tbury]

I took a little of effort to figure how to use the lewis kit but it works great as long as the rubber plug is still soft. I ordered a .32 plug from Brownells and it came in split down the side. It has sat in the warehouse so long that the rubber became hard and brittle. They sent a free replacement but it was still pretty hard. Soaking (15 min) the bore with a patch saturated with Kroil greatly aids the process by loosening the leading.

 

[Forester]

Something terribly wrong with those loads if they are leading at 800 fps. They may be undersized for your bore and gas is getting around them.

 

[Guest]

Wayne; I've used the Lewis Lead Remover for Years even back when it was owned by Lewis and not Brownells. As explained you need to pull the Patch through from the Chamber end. Make sure the Rubber Plug is "tighten" very snugly. Next make sure the Knurled Nut is left fairly loose. This doesn't even need to be touching the rubber plug. And, yes, you can pull it through a chamber a couple of times to help it get formed and YES you might also find lead in the throat area of the Chambers.

Once your Patch is formed it should last for many, many uses. All you need to do is pick the lead bits off the screen.

Yes, these are pretty tight and some times the gun needs to be clamped or held tightly. A lot of this depend on just how much lead you have allowed to get built up. I use a solidly mounted vice. I've seen some of the other ideas mentioned 'used' and many times these are used with very unsatisfactory results including broken tools.

I've also used several of the other methods mentioned and then I've used a Lewis tool and found that there was 'still' Lead in the Bore! I've also found using the Stainless Steel Steelwool works the best of all these materials because it is still softer than the steel used in the barrel and won't do any damage.

I will also agree that if the load you are shooting is causing 'Leading' at 800fps then there is also something else VERY wrong. It could be the Lead is too soft, you may have a very rough bore or you may have an improperly cut forcing cone. All of these are possible things I would look into.

 

[Dale53]

Regarding leading, I am going to make another "Radical" statement. If you cast your own bullets, you can tailor the bullets to the revolver and leading just DOES NOT OCCUR. The problem is simply bullets that don't fit the revolver throats and/or improperly sized (both too small or too big can cause problems.

I, and many others on this forum, shoot our own cast bullets in a variety of revolvers at both target and magnum velocities and have NO LEADING problems. I shoot a good bit and have thousands of rounds through my guns without problems.

LIfe is too short to put up with leading in a handgun (it just isn't necessary).

Good luck!

Dale53

 

[Cary]

Wayne,
If your going to shoot lead bullets in your gun you need to get some education on the subject. Here is a good site with a ton of good information on the subject. Get yourself a cup of coffee when you have the time and look this site over.
http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm
Cary

 

[bug44mag]

I have used the lewis lead remover with good results for over 25years, but only as a last resort.I let a patch with Hoppes soak the lead for several hours.I shoot hunderds of rounds per month of 44mag and 45 colt all lead and really I have never had much of a problem with leading until recently our local caster changed lube and I have been getting some leading in the 44mag.
I priced lead and I can buy the bullets cheaper than the price of lead. Tax and all I pay almost 35.00 for 5oo 44mag 240gr.

 

[FrankD45]

Originally posted by bug44mag:
I have never had much of a problem with leading until recently our local caster changed lube and I have been getting some leading in the 44mag.

First off, welcome to the forum. I had also had some leading problems with my 29-2 44 Mag. and my 1911 45 ACP. I started using Lee Liquid Alox as a tumble lube and the lead is virtually gone. Simple put a handful of bullets in a clean plastic butter container, squirt a small amount of lube over them and, gently shake to coat them. Pour them out on to a sheet of waxed paper and let them dry over night. Basically you are adding a light coating of soft lube to the hard lube used by the manufacturer. The only downside is that the lube will accumulate in your seating die so you should periodically stop and clean the die.

I hope that helps,

Frank

 

[BUFF]

There is a metal scrubbing pad oriented towards shooters. It's called "Big .45's Frontier Metal Cleaner." It comes in a sandwich bag with a paper label. Lots of gun shops stock it.

It looks like coarse steel wool but it's made from a softer metal. You cut or pull a few shreds from the pad and wrap them around an old bore brush. Scrub away. Use it dry.

If you hold the muzzle over a piece of paper as you scrub, you will see a lot of the crud you are cleaning out of the bore.

It is also good for removing rust on the exterior of guns. Use it with oil then. It's soft enough it doesn't bother the bluing, even if you really lean into it.

I started out with the Lewis device as well, but the Frontier Metal Cleaner seems easier to me.

 

[Wyatt Earp]

Originally posted by cptdco:
I get a lot of use out of my Lewis Lead remover and I think it does a great job. As jj2am44 stated, its pulled through, not pushed through. Back off on the little knurled knob at least the first time or two you pull it through the bore. Pulling a new patch through one of the cylinder charging holes first will pre-shape the screen and make it easier to pull through the bore. The rubber part can also be lightly sanded if its a little too fat. Lastly, if you're having a tough time pulling the patch through, instead of locking the gun up in a vice, set the tool up then lock the handle of the LLR up in the vice and pull back on the gun. Or stand on the hahndle and pull up on the gun.
I also have some chore-boy pads and use them too.

Excellent advice and my experience mirrors yours.

Those that have trouble with the Lewis tool either don't read or don't follow directions.

The easiest and safest way to pull the plug/screen through the bore is to stand on the handle with both feet and pull the gun up to you.

The amount of lead that comes out on that brass screen patch is unbelievable.

 

[Sara Noh]

I took Wyatt Earps technique a step further, I screwed a piece of aluminum plate to the handle of my Lewis lead remover and stand on the plate while I pull the gun upwards. Clamping the gun in a vise scares me, at least the potential damage that would be done were the gun to slip! I follow the Lewis cleaning with a JB compound/Kroil scrubbing and have a nice bright shiney bore when done. I wrap a .30 cal. GI cleaning patch around a bronze brush one size smaller than the gun I'm JB cleaning and apply the JB/Kroil mixture to that. The brush ensures that the patch gets the JB/Kroil into the sharp corners of the rifling where those last bits of lead are.