doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Gun Cleaning

Is there any advantage to using a barrel vise or some such devise to clean a set of barrels horizontally versus my current technique which is vertical with the barrel muzzle resting on a pad of cleaning patches in a padded five gallon bucket?

For example http://www.merringtongun.com/barrel-devise/

I guess if one were to clean and swab the barrels really vigorously, I might say yes. I normally lay my barrels horizontally on an old bath towel on my cleaning bench. I make certain that the towel is clean without any patricles embedded in it.
Karl

After years of using a padded vice with swivel jaws I can't imagine having to hold the barrels loose for cleaning. And it's so nice when spinning a brush with an electric drill! Makes the whole job easy.

I prefer to spray a cleaner into the barrels as they lay flat, and then let it sit a moment.
Then, I stand them up in the trash can at the club, and scrub the heck out of them with a bronze brush.
All the crap I push out as the brush is thrust in and out, goes in the trash can. No over spray. No mess.

Any of those cleaning chemicals make a mess of latex paint in the house.

IF... such a silly question ever crossed my mind... and I hope that never happens... I'd just try holding them horizontally to see if it made any difference. I sure as hell wouldn't ask such a dumb question here.

But since you asked, I hold my barrels in my left hand at exactly a 43.7 degree angle from vertical, muzzles pointing toward the floor, top rib in the dorsal orientation, and breech end aligned with the North Star for best results. In case you were wondering, I use a cleaning rod to push my patches through, because a barrel vise just won't fit.

I'm not sure if there is any advantage, but my gun cleaning box has a rack inside to hold the gun or barrels horizontally and I clean them with the barrels just above a utility sink to catch the dripping and junk coming from the barrels. I load all brass hulls using card and fiber wads which leads up my barrels. After many applications of Hopes #9 I attach a bronze brush to a cleaning rod and use a drill motor to remove lead/powder residue.

You miss the mark keith. The whole point behind the question was not about the orientation of the barrels but the fact of them being sucurely held in place for cleaning. Such as the use of a pattern makers vise or Kirks barrel cleaning fixture.

Old colonel,

I settled on a plastic Tipton gun vise a couple years ago. Yes, its plastic, but it works terrifically. The little trays underneath are handy for feeler gauge, choke/chamber gauge, nylon brushes, etc.

The bottom holds nicely to a wood work bench and doesnt slide. I thought sure id have to bolt it down, but it doesnt move.

https://www.amazon.com/Tipton-181181-Best-Gun-Vise/dp/B001AT3SCC

- Nudge

I'll second (or third or fourth) the vise. I just use one of my shop vises, with either the lead or rubber jaw liners. You can really go at the bores with a variety of brushes/tools that way.

Regards
Ken