electronic bore cleaner

[Guest]

any one build one? i have a bore that is pretty gunked up and i was thinking (probably being lazy.) and thought that i should knock one together. there is one that uses a little flashlight and a some wire and can be made for about 20 bucks.
the mosin i have belonged to a training school. i am wonder what kind of ammunition they used. there is not so much copper but there is a ton of what i think is hard lead. i scrubbed with bronze brush but i am getting discouraged a bit.
so any one have good results?

[Milsurp Collector]

any one build one?
so any one have good results?

Yes and yes.

[Alex$]

flashlight (any size battery works, D size will last longer)
wire
steel rod (or iron, or anything conductive that will fit down bore and extend out end)
electrical tape (to keep rod from touching barrel)
cork (to stopper barrel at chamber)
plastic funnel large enough to fit over barrel
water
vinegar
ammonia
beer

mix water, vinegar and ammonia 2:1:1.

Cork chamber of rifle, and secure to something stable. (clamps work well if you own them, tie it with rope to table leg if you don't)

Secure funnel over muzzle with electrical tape, ensure that it is water tight

Set steel rod down barrel, tape rod at end that touches cork and at the muzzle so it does not touch barrel directly.

Pour water/ammonia/vinegar solution down barrel, filling the funnel up about a quarter of the way. (about 4-8 ounces depending on size of rifle)

Tape wire to steel rod, positive to rod. Then tape negative to barrel. (this is made easier if you own alligator clips on test leads) Hook up to flashlight leads appropriately

Consume beer as you watch funk fizzle up to the top of the solution. STOP AFTER 15 MINUTES, you do not want to damage your barrel.

**FAIR WARNING**
If you are doing this to a firearm that has a shellac finish, either disassemble the barrel from the stock or protect the stock from the solution, ammonia will take the shellac off the stock.

[Haggar85]

ok so stop after 15 minuets and take out of the stock. got it. well i got a new project for my weekend. D batteries and beer, steel rod. thanks for the feed back.

[Mac Attack]

Yes. I made one years back to clean my rifles and it worked fine. However the last time I used it I must have got the vineager and ammonia solution wrong as it affected the finish on my Garland. My rifle had nice green park and I noticed where the liquid ran down the receiver was discolored. I stopped using it after that.

[emcon5]

http://www.surplusrifle.com/reviews/copperout/index.asp

This is from my Mosin:

[Vlad 11]

Here's my very ghetto, very cheap, and VERY effective rig:
Its my version of the ones posted on Surplusrifle.
This consists of a Dollarstore Flashlight
Dollar pack of D cells
Assorted rubber stoppers and a steel rod from Osh
some wire , alligator clamps, elec tape and some shrink tubing.
I got a jug of vinegar and a jug of ammonia at the Dollarstore for the cleaning solution.
Im not in this thing for more than ten bucks or so.

It is wired it through the lamp so when the circuit is completed through the cleaning solution the lamp will light up. As gunk builds up on the rod, the lamp will grow dimmer and dimmer until it goes out, and that tells me its done, usually around 10-15 min. You do not need a lot of voltage or amperage, cheap weak batteries will work great.

[Dolk]

Yes, and build your own.

http://thedolk.com/borecleaner/index.html

[kmca]

The hardest part for me was the stainless steel rod. It's not necessary to use stainless steel, but it "looks" better and lasts longer. For stainless steel, I use a length of stainless steel filler rod purchased from a welding supply store.

[smokeysbandit]

Yes, and build your own.

http://thedolk.com/borecleaner/index.html

As I understand it, the polarity in this websites diagram is incorrect for the electrolysis method of cleaning. I've used this method for cleaning car parts up, works great! I've never thought to try it on a barrel.

[Alex$]

As I understand it, the polarity in this websites diagram is incorrect for the electrolysis method of cleaning. I've used this method for cleaning car parts up, works great! I've never thought to try it on a barrel.

Positive to rod not gun.

[Quinc]

let it soak in kroil for a day or so. How about putting your cleaning rod in a drill and hitting it with the copper brush.

[Milsurp Collector]

The hardest part for me was the stainless steel rod. It's not necessary to use stainless steel, but it "looks" better and lasts longer. For stainless steel, I use a length of stainless steel filler rod purchased from a welding supply store.

I read somewhere that you should not use stainless steel for the electrode. I use plain steel. It's cheap to replace if it gets too cruddy.

As I understand it, the polarity in this websites diagram is incorrect for the electrolysis method of cleaning. I've used this method for cleaning car parts up, works great! I've never thought to try it on a barrel.

To remove rust with a sodium carbonate solution, positive on the rod, negative on the barrel. To remove copper and lead with an ammonia solution, negative on the rod, positive on the barrel.

[smokeysbandit]

Good to know, thank you for clarifying !

[Dolk]

Positive to rod not gun.

Positive to barrel, negative to rod. Works better.

Here is another unit you can build

http://www.surplusrifle.com/reviews/copperout/index.asp

Watch a video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S32C4SJ-NrQ&feature=player_embedded#!

and another. (it shows the negative to the rod...go figure)

http://www.zoneballistic.com/colinsballistics/borecleaner.html

I have seen 3 commercial units. 2 use negative to rod and one use positive to rod.

If you build it and hook it up and it doesn't start to bubble (tiny bubbles) then reverse the leads. Should start bubbling up in a few minutes.

And.....the "warning". I'm not sure I'd just put this in a firearm and walk away from it and come back a week or more later. I'm not sure what the long term consequences are. It is similar to a plating process.

I have never had it hurt any bore I have used it on....yet. But I only leave it in there for short periods of an hour or two before checking.