Cleaning rod stuck in Stock

[Phaethon]

So I bought this Turk Mauser 1903 the other day and was sitting down last night to disassemble it, but the problem is that the front band that holds the barrel to the stock won't come out unless the cleaning rod is removed. Naturally the cleaning rod is stuck in there. I mean practically welded, I have no idea how to get this thing out. I've sat there struggling with a pair of pliers, twisting it one way then another, pulling straight up, tapping it with a hammer, but it won't budge even a millimeter. I've lifted the action out of the stock about an inch and peered in, and the nut that the rod screws into and the section of the rod that I can see appears clean and rust-free. Nevertheless I sprayed it with some WD-40 and let it soak overnight and redoubled my efforts, hoping it would have loosened, but still no dice.

Also, strangely, the end section of the cleaning rod appears to be threaded. I've never seen anything like it.



Does anyone have any idea of what I can try to do? I want to refinish the wood, but I won't get anywhere until I get the barreled action out of the stock.

 

[bigedp51]

From looking at the photo it appears that the cleaning rod was put in backwards and is stuck or rusted fast.

Wrap a piece of leather or such around the rod and clamp a pair of vice grips around the leather. Take a plastic or rubber hammer while lifting the rifle upward and hit the bottom of the vice grips.

The weight and mass of the rifle and the hammer blow should get things moving.

Forgive my warped sense of humor BUT.................

I didn't know the had Polacks in Turkey.
(My wife is half Polish)

 

[Phaethon]

I was thinking that too, but I have no idea how someone actually managed to accomplish that. So do you think that trying to turn the rod is a waste of effort, and I should just work on trying to extract it out by pulling it?

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

do you want to save the rod?

if not, and you have a welder, weld a handle on the exposed part of the rod and smack it with a hammer.

 

[bigedp51]

I would assume you will never know who or how the cleaning rod was put in the rifle or even if it is the correct rod.

A new rod can be found if necessary, what baffles me is normally the threaded end is put in first and screwed into a nut plate held in the wood.

If the wood became damp or wet the rod could have rusted fast to the wood internally. Kroil penetrating oil will eat rust but it might make the wood swell also. Try clamping the rod with vice grips with protected jaws and hit it and if that fails work up to more forceful and harsher methods.

I'm not patting myself on the back but I just you to know I worked at a military overhaul and repair depot for 38 years and the vice grip trick was the first thing that came to mind.

BUT you have the rifle and your its your judgment and your decision on what is the best method and does no harm.

Tightening a screw joke.
Inspector, did you torque those screws?
Mechanic, yes, I turned the screws until the threads started to smoke and then gave them two more full turns.

 

[Smokey Joe]

Splotch!! Haw, haw haw!!

OK, Big Ed P. 51--You owe me a keyboard!

Tightening a screw indeed!

Coffee is just as bad on keyboards as soda, I find.

 

[Motega]

I'd give it a liberal application of one of the many "unrustifiers" you can buy and then try twisting and/or the pliers trick.

 

[LibShooter]

How are the threads on the rod?

If they're good, how about this?

Clamp the stock in a well padded vice. Drill a hole in the center of a 12" piece of 3/4" pipe. Stick the rod though that home and screw on a nut that fits those threads. Pull hard. get some help. The two of you pull hard. Whack the pip[e with a hammer as close to the rod as you can.

 

[wrench]

On some of these cleaning rods, the tip is threaded on the end of the rod. This is what you have, the tip is missing.
If you can drip some better penetrating oil on the nut, that should help. (WD40 is not very good for this)
Grab the end of the rod with Vise Grips, and unscrew it. Many years of crud may be built up in there, I've had a couple that were very tight.
Good luck, let us know how it goes.

 

[Onmilo]

You should count your blessings that you found a Turk rifle WITH the cleaning rod in place!
Only reason it is there is because nobody could get it out of the stock!