Cleaning a Brown Bess
This
is a modern process for cleaning the Brown Bess musket. The process is
not period correct but the 21st Century way to keep your musket looking
and working like new.
This is how I clean my Brown Bess. All of
the cleaning tools are
attached to the ramrod with a
female/female adapter. The cleaning
tools must be sized for the Bess.
Don't use a smaller diameter
(caliber). The barrel is never removed
from the stock - on a Brown
Bess you take too much of a chance of
loosening or losing the pins.
1. I start by running a breech scraper
down the barrel. When you first
pull this out do it over a pail
because a lot of residue powder is
coming out with it. The first time it
is hard to pull out and it gets
easier the second and third time.
2. Now use the breech scraper to clean
the breech plug. Put it down
the barrel again and turn it on the
plug - when it hits bottom you are
scraping the plug. Remove the rod and
tip the barrel into a pail and
more powder reisdue will pour out. Do
this a few times.
3. Now remove the lock from the stock
- just unscrew the two screws on<
the back and be careful not to drop
the lock off the musket. It all
goes back together easily so don't be
concerned about taking it off.
4. With the lock off you need to plug
the touchhole. I use a dowel
sharpened in a pencil sharpener. Fit
the point into the touchhole and
push it in gently. It should just stay
in.
5. Now get a funnel and bring the
musket over to a slop sink or go
outside and get a bucket of hot water.
Don't do this in your kitchen
or your bathroom as you will find a
nasty black stain on the porcelain
when you are finished. (I know because
I cleaned the Bess once in a
hotel room and I am not sure how they
cleaned the sink the next day.)
I once tried boiling water and found
that rust formed in the barrel as
I was cleaning. After being advised to
use the boiling water I was
told just to use hot water from the
tap to avoid the quick rusting
action. You are going to now pour
water into the funnel and down the
barrel with a cup or container. Don't
put too much in or it will
overflow the barrel and wet the stock
too much. I hold the top with a
paper towel wrapped around the edge of
the barrel to avoid spills.
Make sure your touchhole plug is
holding or you will get a wet leg.
Let the water stand in the barrel for
a few seconds and them pour it
out. I give the musket a little twist
as I pour so that the water
touches the entire barrel inside. Do
this until the water comes out
clear.
6. I next set the Bess into a stand
with padded edges that I built
onto a workmate and get a cleaning
patch. I soak it in water and drape
it over a cleaning jag or "pump" on
the end of the rammer and send it
down the barrel. Despite the clear
water in the sink, this comes out
black. Do this a number of times until
it comes out fairly clean -
mostly it stays grey - with luck it is
white. I have also used two
layers of paper towel ripped to the
size of a patch to clean with
instead of cloth patches - they work
just as well and are cheap.
7. The next step is optional - I use a
commercial bore cleaner on a
cloth patch next just for the extra
cleaning. I use Thompson Center
No. 13 Blackpowder Bore Cleaner. I run
a few cleaning patches with
this and sometimes it picks up more
powder residue.
8. Now to dry the barrel I run two
layers of paper towel patches down
the barrel. I keep doing this until
they come out completely dry. The
paper towel also has a very, very fine
abrasive action and it polishes
the inside of the barrel with no harm.
9. Now remove the touchhole plug and
wet a towel and clean the outside
area of the barrel where the touchhole
is, the stock around the
touchhole, and the outside end of the
muzzle. Dry these off well.
10. Next put some Bore Butter on a
cloth patch. Drape it over the jag
and run it down the barrel. Do this a
few times to lube and protect
the inside from rust. I use the green
mint scent as my good wife
complained that the regular's odor was
not pleasant in the house. WIpe
down the ramrod with a wet towel, dry
it off, and then put some bore
butter on it to keep it from rusting.
11. Next you have to clean the lock.
Remove the flint and take the
lock over to the slop sink. Hold the
outside of the lock under running
hot water. Concentrate on the pan and
the frizzen, but there is powder
residue hiding under the hammer, near
the frizzen spring, etc. The
inside is going to get wet but keep
the water running mostly on the
outer chrome. Scrubit down with a wet
paper towel. I work the action
and all the moving parts to make sure
I get it all clean. The little
black bar sticking out the back is
what is tripped by the trigger and
you can move this to release the
hammer. It will jump when you release
the spring and the hammer jumps
forward.
12. Now dry the lock off very well -
move the mechanism and dry under
everything. Again paper towels do a
nice job. I next use three in one
oil to lube all moving parts - inside
and outside - especially inside.
Work and move the parts with the oil.
Do not use too much oil or it
will drip out later, long after you
set the musket down waiting for
next use. Wipe all the excess oil off.
13. Put the flint back. If you use a
leather flint wrapper replace it
with a new one. If you use a lead one
then clean that off under water,
dry it and put it back on the flint.
14. Screw the lock back on the Bess.
Just set it into the cutout,
gently push it in and allow the screws
to set it into place. Do not
over tighten the screws.
15. I next use a metal polish and go
over all of the metal and the
brass. I use the type that is already
in the wadding and rips from a
can. Next, hand buff the polish to a
shine.
16. I now use Gun Stock Wax and put it
on everything - lock, stock,
and barrel. It will give a protective
coating and leave the Bess
looking good. Buff this off with a
soft cloth. This also oils the wood
en stock in the areas of high heat
around the touchhole where it gets
scorched and drys out from the powder
charge, in addition to where it
got wet in the cleaning process.
In the end I keep my Bess looking new.
Yes it takes a long time -
sometimes it seems too long when you
have spent the whole day at an
event. I get a lot of comments from
guys about my "new" Bess. It is
five years old and still looks new and
it gets a lot of use. For a
$900 investment I am going to keep it
in as best condition as I can.
In 1776 the musket looked new
and a soldier was punished for not
keeping it looking that way. Guys with
muskets that look 225 years old
- when the mustket is just as new as
mine are not period correct - as
they think they are. Over time even
with cleaning it will still show
some rust and corrosion - but it will
not turn black as many
renenactors muskets have.
If you don't care how it looks then stop at
step 14 - to clean it and keep it
working you have to go that far.
The rest only takes a few minutes more.