Make Your Own
Bore Cleaning Protective Tube (and some special help on Bore Copper Fouling Control) Norman E. Johnson
This picture shows two bore cleaning protection tubes in position, ready for use on two different rifl es. The tubes also serve as cleaning rod guides to help protect the bore throat. At left: Bronze tubing being used on Remington Model 40-X rifl e. Pictured at right, as described in text, is the stepped diameter golf shaft being used as a cleaning protective tube on a Remington Model 700 rifl e. The action and triggers are afforded total protection from harmful cleaning solvents with the use of either style cleaning protection tube.
exposed action, or more seriously into the trigger mechanism as a gun is being cleaned. I know I’ve had this unforgiv- able incident take place as fi rearms were being cleaned. You quickly try to wipe it up, but it’s too late as the cleaning material seeps away to do its damage. One day as I was replacing some
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golf club shafts on a set of irons, a little light came on as the shafts were being set aside — likely never to be used again
Page 74 July — September 2011
aven’t we all watched bore cleaning gunk drip into the
Shown here is a bore cleaning protection tube as described in text. At top: Cleaning tube made by author from length of bronze tubing fi tted with cartridge to fi t the chamber of the rifl e being cleaned. The lengths of stepped- diameter golf shafts with different cartridges clearly show the adaptability as bore cleaning protective tubes. Making these cleaning protective tubes is cost effective and 100 percent effective in keeping harmful cleaning solution out of the action and stock.
— as golf club shafts anyway. I noted the multiple stepped-down
diameters of the shaft from the end of the golf grip for a distance of a couple of feet, depending on the number of the golf iron and brand of golf shaft. These stepped segments seemed to closely match a number of rifl e cartridges in di- ameter from the magnums right through the smaller cartridges. An idea was born … why hadn’t I observed this sooner? Steel golf shafts are made up of
very thin metal, chrome-plated on the outside and dimensionally very true. The graduated segments are normally 1½ inches in length, ranging in diam- eter from an average small cartridge up through the magnums. I saw these shafts as perfect tubes to pass through the bolt hole of a rifl e action directly into the various rifl e chambers. They also work nicely as cleaning rod guides. The shafts are cut to desired length to clear the action, extending outwardly
a couple of inches beyond. Just inside the bolt hole a length of ¾-inch wide electrical tape is wound to bolt-hole size. Electrical tape is chemical resistant and serves to align the bore cleaning tube. The tapered chamber walls will align the cleaning tube in the chamber. As the cleaning tubes are being
fi nished, both the inside and outside of the tube mouth are carefully de-burred front and back. A fluted 82-degree countersink is used to clean up the inner mouth of the tube. Turning the outside of each tube end against a polishing wheel, or rotating the ends on fi ne Car- borundum paper, make a smooth fi nish here. A single wind of electrical tape also can be used at the chamber end of the bore cleaning tube, which serves to stabilize the end and form a seal at this juncture. The tubes are easily cleaned inside. Just push a dry cleaning patch through with a cleaning rod. They won’t tarnish or rust under normal use. These
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