Jump to content

Cleaning out metal shavings


Recommended Posts

What methods do you guys use to clean out your rifle after griding/filing/polishing/dremmeling inside the receiver? I sprayed a shitload of a gun solvent and was letting it run all over and still seem to have a lot of metal inside. (I had to grind down and then polish the Tapco hammer to get the bolt to slide forward properly.) The gun cleaner I was using is pretty expensive to use up in one shot clearing out all that crap from inside my rifle.

 

aaaaahhhhhhh.....

Link to post
Share on other sites
What methods do you guys use to clean out your rifle after griding/filing/polishing/dremmeling inside the receiver? I sprayed a shitload of a gun solvent and was letting it run all over and still seem to have a lot of metal inside. (I had to grind down and then polish the Tapco hammer to get the bolt to slide forward properly.) The gun cleaner I was using is pretty expensive to use up in one shot clearing out all that crap from inside my rifle.

 

aaaaahhhhhhh.....

air compressor and or brake kleen for auto repair blasts away anything just oil after it dries.

Link to post
Share on other sites

+1 for compressed air, blow it down the barrel, up the barrel, through the receiver once everything has dried out,..

 

aaaaahhhhhhh.....

air compressor and or brake kleen for auto repair blasts away anything just oil after it dries.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Are we talking compressed air tanks, or compressed air bottles? I've seen people using the big tank setups, but I've wondered if you could use those bottles that you can buy at pretty much anywhere, for spraying out electronics, but use them on guns. Think it's strong enough?

Edited by 22_Shooter
Link to post
Share on other sites
What methods do you guys use to clean out your rifle after griding/filing/polishing/dremmeling inside the receiver? I sprayed a shitload of a gun solvent and was letting it run all over and still seem to have a lot of metal inside. (I had to grind down and then polish the Tapco hammer to get the bolt to slide forward properly.) The gun cleaner I was using is pretty expensive to use up in one shot clearing out all that crap from inside my rifle.

 

aaaaahhhhhhh.....

 

 

PacketStorm,

 

I have 2 magnets that I use to get to anything magnetic out of hard places.

One is about the size of a bic pen and has a pocket clip on one end and a really strong magnet (the size of a pencil eraser). It telescopes out to about 18 inches and is great to keep cleaning metal away as you drill or grind.

I am always amazed at how strong the magnet is.

 

The other is about the size of the top of a coke can and about 1 inch thick. It is really strong and can pick up large amounts at one time.

 

Last but not least is compressed air in a can that I buy in the computer section of Wally world.

 

louielouie

Link to post
Share on other sites
If you don't have funds to own a compressor, you could buy a small portable air tank like the ones wally world sells for something like $20.00.

 

 

How good are those portable tanks that you are talking about? Could I air up 4 automobile tires (that were each 6 pounds low on air) or what does it mean when the gauge reads 100 psi on the tank gauge?

 

louielouie

Link to post
Share on other sites

I try to minimize the clean-up by plugging/masking off the chamber, gas tube, and (in the case of external work) receiver openings. I also do as little machining work (preferably none, but sometimes you may need to) inside the receiver as possible.

 

The magnet idea sounds good for an initial pass. That would pick up the worst of the metal particles so you wouldn't be blowing them all over with the compressed air. I sometimes use a small disposable brush to remove some particles, but using compressed air would probably be better. With most or all of the metal particles gone, you can always use cleaning patches and solvent for further cleaning.

 

The compressed air bottles used to clean keyboards, etc. are probably a bit too low-pressure to do a really good job, but they're likely much better than nothing if you use the nozzle they come with to focus the air blast. The portable air tanks I know of are made to inflate tires after being filled using a compressor (to answer the above questions: most do have sufficient capacity to air up 4 car tires that are each 6 psi low; 100 psi means 100 pounds per square inch, it just tells you how high the tank pressure is. The tank pressure must be higher than the pressure in the tire you want to add air to, or no air will go into the tire). They only come with a standard tire-inflation fitting on the hose, and that wouldn't work for blowing anything clean. In my opinion, it wouldn't be worth buying and installing an air nozzle on an air tank like that. The peak pressure in the tank would drop very rapidly during such use. Small compressors are inexpensive and have many uses. I would go with one of those if you can afford it.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
What methods do you guys use to clean out your rifle after griding/filing/polishing/dremmeling inside the receiver? I sprayed a shitload of a gun solvent and was letting it run all over and still seem to have a lot of metal inside. (I had to grind down and then polish the Tapco hammer to get the bolt to slide forward properly.) The gun cleaner I was using is pretty expensive to use up in one shot clearing out all that crap from inside my rifle.

 

aaaaahhhhhhh.....

 

Was it getting hung up on the top portion of the hammer when you released the handle? Mine does that too I was going to flatten that curve on top that it's hitting but just wasn't sure if it was hitting in just that one spot or if something else was getting hung up.

 

As for cleaning the shavings out I blasted it with compressed air to get the big stuff out then stripped it all down and sprayed it heavily with wd-40 and used a solvent brush and wiped it all out and cleaned up with a rag then put it all back together.

Edited by TacoMalo
Link to post
Share on other sites
(I had to grind down and then polish the Tapco hammer to get the bolt to slide forward properly.)

I did the same thing (I kept in the factory hammer with the rest of the Tapco FCG so I could keep my BHO lever), but did all the midifications to the hammer on a workbench with the FCG dissasembled - so I didn't have to worry about the shavings getting inside the receiver...

 

I think the difference is in the Tapco disconnector and not the hammer, it lets the hammer swing back up higher in the resting state than the stock disconnector - and this puts more pressure between the hammer and bolt...

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...

If you use a magnet to pick up steel shavings put in in a plastic bag first. Then just turn the bag inside out to clean the magnet and contain the shavings.

Link to post
Share on other sites
If you use a magnet to pick up steel shavings put in in a plastic bag first. Then just turn the bag inside out to clean the magnet and contain the shavings.

 

 

One thing I forgot to mention "when I said I use magnets to pick up as much as I can before I use anything else".

 

When drilling steel,iron or anything magnetic, I stop and clean up shavings after every 15 seconds or so (depending on how quickly the shavings accumulate). I have found that this is better than waiting until I finish drilling.

 

louielouie

 

p.s. I experimented with putting a square piece of masking tape (about 5 by 5 inches) under the part I was drilling but it didn't work very well at catching and holding shavings.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Chatbox

    Load More
    You don't have permission to chat.
×
×
  • Create New...