Do-It-Yourself Electrochemical Bore Cleaner

Building the Unit To construct this unit for your shop or home use, start by getting the parts together. I use the local Radio Shack for my parts. All the part numbers are listed on the drawing. First, orient the battery holder in the proper direction, with the + (positive) terminal in the lower left-hand corner. The red and black leads with the "snap" terminal are not needed, so cut them off and discard them. Next, mount the bulb socket, but it needs to be modified first. Push in on the center terminal of the socket with a convenient tool (like a pencil eraser) to extend the rivet at the bottom. Cut the rivet off, and remove it and the spring. This leaves a hollow eyelet in the bottom of the socket. This hole in the eyelet must be opened up to accept the 2-56 bolt. But don't drill it out. Using a small tapered drift, carefully expand the hole to fit the 2-56 bolt. The same must be done at the negative terminal where the bulb socket is mounted. Open the eyelet the same way and install the 2-56 bolt (head inside socket) through the socket and the spring ground terminal. Snug it up and cut off even at the nut. The bulb is just a push-in fit. Squeeze the socket with your fingers to form a tight fit when the bulb is installed. Push it down until the center terminal touches the head of the bolt inside the socket. Open the package of clip leads and take out the red and black ones. Fold them in half and cut them giving you two each red and black leads 20 inches long. Strip the insulation off the ends of one black and one red and solder them to the places marked on drawing. There are two terminals on the socket body. Bend the other one against the bottom of the battery holder, out of the way, as the bolt through the rivet in the socket base replaces it. Install the batteries making sure of the battery polarity, and short the black and red clips together. If the bulb lights brightly, all is well. If not, check all connections, battery polarity, bulb tightness, and so on until you have full brightness.

Mixing the Cleaning Solution

Mix 25 percent household ammonia, 25 percent white vinegar, and 50 percent distilled water for the bore-cleaning solution. I mix 1 pint of ammonia, 1 pint white vinegar, and 1 quart of distilled water in a polyethylene container. This is enough for many cleanings, and may be safely stored. Don't forget to label the solution properly.

Using the Unit

It is best to remove the barreled action from the stock. I use two cupped wooden blocks and clamp the barreled action to a bench in a well ventilated area of the shop. Clamp the barrel vertical and put a bucket underneath to catch any drippings. Plug the chamber with a rubber plug (a complete set is available from Brownells). [would a cork work just as well? – ed.]

I wrap a piece of rag around the barrel below the muzzle, and also put masking tape around the muzzle leaving a reservoir to catch solution that has bubbled out. A stainless-steel rod (diameter depending on bore size) long enough to protrude about 6 inches from the muzzle is fitted with 0-rings or small sections of rubber windshield-wiper hose. Slide them on the rod to insulate the rod from the inside of the barrel, but not tightly in the bore.

The solution must get all the way down to the chamber. With a large eye dropper (the infant feeding kind works well) fill the barrel with prepared cleaning solution. Now connect the black lead to the rod above the muzzle and the red lead somewhere to the action. The bulb should light dimly and bubbles should start at the muzzle showing reverse plating action has started. If bulb burns full brightness, the rod in the barrel is shorted (touching) inside, and must be repositioned until short is cleared. Keep in mind that the bulb must burn dimly for proper operation.

Replenish the solution in the muzzle as needed to keep the barrel full. As the barrel is cleaned, the bulb will grow dimmer and dimmer until it goes out completely. When this occurs, disconnect the black lead, remove the rod, and wipe off the crud with a wet rag. Then use steel wool to scour off the plated-on lead, copper, and rust. Caution; Use rubber gloves, as lead is poisonous as most gun people know

Reinstall the rod in barrel and reconnect black lead to the rod. Refill to the muzzle with solution if necessary. When bulb is completely out, the barrel is clean. Disconnect black lead, pop out the chamber plug with the rod, dumping the solution into a bucket to be disposed of properly.

If the barrel is exceptionally dirty, remove the solution and brush with bore brush. Refill and start again.

Conclusion

When the barrel is cleaned thoroughly, it's a great time to polish the inside of the bore with accepted methods, and coat with your favorite bore conditioner. It is like starting with a new bore all over again.