One of the projects I've had in the back of my mind was to make a flush rod that would ease the cleaning of a muzzle loader bore. I wanted a rod that would pump water our of the end, but still allow mounting a brush or cotton swab on the end of the rod. Well, I've succeeded in making one that works darn well.
Here's what I did.
I went to my local Ace Hardware and bought the following six items.
The items are as follows (left to right / top row first):
10 ft of 3/8” OD x 1/4” ID Vinyl Tubing @ $0.29 per foot - $2.90
5/16” OD x ½” Length Threaded Aluminum Spacer w/10-32 Thread - $0.65
1/4” HB x 1/4” MPT Hose Barb - $1.79
1/2” x 1/4” MPT Hose Barb - $2.99
3/4” x 1/2” Hose Adapter - $3.99
11/32” x .014 x 36” Brass Tube - $4.99
TOTAL: $17.31 plus tax
Here's a close up of the smaller parts.
The key part is the 10-32 threaded aluminum spacer. It's a slip fit into the brass tube.
I used a fine tooth hack saw to cut four channels into the side of the spacer - as deep as I could go without impacting the integrity of the threads. This is what it looked like after the cuts.
Then I mixed up a dab of two-part epoxy on a piece of aluminum foil.
And used the epoxy to glue the spacer into one end of the rod - leaving it stick out of the end about 1/16". After the epoxy was partially dry, I used a small wire to assure the four cut channels were clear and not filled up with epoxy.
I used a little more epoxy to secure the hose barb to the other end of the tube.
Then I attached the vinyl tubing.
This set-up allows water to flow out of the end of the rod with a brush or cotton mop attached.
This is what a low pressure water flow looks like with no brush or mop attached. It's a great way to flush the face of the breech. I either put a patch over the nipple and lower the hammer to block water flow, or remove the nipple and install my Zerk fitting flush tube to channel the water away from the lock and stock. (Zerk flush tube is here:
http://www.huntingnet.com//forum/tm.aspx?m=3378512 )
If you block the threaded hole with a short 10-32 round head bolt you get a flow like this (really flushed the grooves).
Put on a brush and you get this.
Put on a cotton mop and you get this.
This is what it looks like flushing the barrel of my New Englander with the cotton mop on the end.
So, what do you think. Is it worth $18 and an hour of your time?
