How to slug a barrel using powdered sulphur?
There's an old method of slugging a rifle barrel by using heated powdered sulphur. Does anyone know the details of how to do this? I'd like to slug some old Russian rifles to pick the best diameter bullet for each rifle.
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i have seen chamber casts made with the melted sulphur but never a barrel slugged , i always used a lead slug for that 0 -
Years ago, we used to melt sulfur to set survey monuments in sidewalks because it was such a durable medium; I don't think pouring molten sulfur into your barrel would be such a good idea because you may not get it back out!
If you know it all; you must have been listening.<br>WEAR EAR PROTECTION!0 -
And don't forget....even the slightest bit of moisture gets in the barrel or chamber and touchs where the Sulphur is.....INSTANT SULPHURIC ACID....!..
If you wish to slug a barrel, use a soft Lead and a Brass Starter and force it thru the barrel....and for a Chamber casting, use Cerro bend...0 -
Why bother with all the melting and pouring? Go down to your local fishing supply store and buy some of that thick (about 1/4 inch) lead wire that comes in a spool and is cut off and used for sinkers. Cut a piece off about 1 1/2 inches long and place one end vertically on a hard surface, then start tapping the top end of the piece with a suitable hammer. As lead is very soft it will begin to compress, and when you get it down to a diameter you know is larger than the bore you wish to check, drop it into the chamber of your rifle held vertically so as to get it started down the bore as concentrically as possible. Then take a solid rod (a dowel will usually work well--I use an old W.W.II barracks steel cleaning rod with the tip cut off) and insert it into the chamber behind the lead slug and begin tapping the end of the rod to force the slug through the bore. You will meet with some initial resistance, but once that is overcome it will slide through the bore and out the muzzle. Catch it when it comes out to avoid deformation from it hitting the floor. Now, mike the slug across its widest diameter which represents a negative of the grooves, and you will have the bore diameter. 0 -
Thanks for the above information. I'll probably go the lead route. The thing I can't remember about the heated surphur method is how they got the stuff out of the barrel. There was some trick to it that I can't remember. 0 -
Sulfur was the standard chamber cast material until the fusible alloy Cerrosafe from Cerro de Paco came on the scene. Some measurement of the bore and throat are possible, but this is not quite the same as slugging the bore.
Sulfur is often mixed with lampblack and camphor, but that does not make any difference, and only adds to the complexity.
It is melted and used just like Cerrosafe, but is usually made with a wire core running from the front of the cast and out the breech end for handling and strengthening the cast. It is usually pushed out the breech with a ramrod from the muzzle.
The advantage is economy and availability of material. The disadvantage is brittleness of the cast, not very important.
Your local nursery-garden supply will have a small bag.
Melt it carefully, as it is, of course, flammable.
See Hatcher's Notebook for more.
Cheers from Darkest California.
Ross0 -
Ross: Thanks. The wire is the part I couldn't remember. Now that I've read your post, I think I remember the wire. (It's hard getting old.) 0 -
The sulfur must be melted and in that state it catches fire very easily. Once burning it can be difficult to put out and it produces large volumes of sulfur dioxide gas. The gas will make breathing difficult or impossible especially if you have any history of respratory problems. 0
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