What do you use to remove the water based polyurethane from the bores after the job is done Ken? I've been using shellac which is fairly easily removable with denatured alcohol. I've also used rubber plugs with pieces of brake line tubing bent upwards at 90 degrees to vent any pressure above the boiling tank surface. I like Damascus's idea of using a long piece of all-thread to secure the stoppers, but my boiling tank would not be long enough for a few inches of all-thread sticking out of the ends of 30" tubes. Maybe a piece of all-thread just a bit longer than the barrels with a couple pieces of flat stock for hooks/handles, held on by the same nuts that secure the plugs...
Has anyone tried using steam rather than boiling tanks? I saw one set-up on the internet that used a vertical 3" PVC pipe that was glued into a toilet bowl flange, which was screwed onto the perforated lid of a pot. Barrels were suspended vertically in the upright PVC pipe once there was a good head of steam. Said advantages were much shorter rust conversion times due to not having to boil a much larger tank of water. No need for a pipe or multiple burners. Less fuel consumption, and the guy claimed that most of the original gun manufacturers used steam.
I agree that this is a great thread, and there are always new techniques to learn from the experiences of others.
