OT - Make your own Otis Kit

[cnjarvis]

Being a handy guy, not to mention a bit of a cheapskate, I decided to try to make my own Otis cleaning kit. The biggest part of the Otis system is the cable that pulls the patches/brushes through the bore. That's the part I needed to make. The brushes and slotted tips are relatively inexpensive and readily available. (in fact, I have a couple of extras)

To start, we need some tools and materials.

The tools:

Tools.JPG

These consist of
- a drill with a 9/64 drill bit
- a 8-32 tap
- T-handle
- Electrical pliers (for stripping the cable sheath - a knife would do just as well)
- Small tubing cutters
- A medium nail punch
- Hammer
- You may also find vise grips, a file and some emery cloth handy as well.

The materials:

Materials.JPG

A couple of close-ups of the tubing:

Tubing.JPG

Tubing 2.JPG

These consist of:
- 36"-42" of 3/32" vinyl coated steel cable
- 12" of 3/16" thick wall aluminum tubing (3/16" x 0.035")
- I also used some 5 minute epoxy when I inserted the cable into the tubing.

The method:
- Cut two pieces of tubing approximately 1" or so long.
- Set one aside
- Using the drill and the 9/64" drill bit, drill into one end of the tubing approximately 1/2" being careful to drill as straight as possible.
- Take your tap and tap approximately 3/8" or so of #8-32 threads into the drilled end of the tubing.
- Strip approximately 1/2" of sheathing from one end of the cable and 3/4" from the other end
- I mixed some epoxy and lightly coated the short tail (1/2") of the cable and inserted it into the non threaded end of the threaded tubing.
- Stake the tubing into the cable using the nail set and the hammer.
- I then put some epoxy on the 3/4" tail of the cable and slipped it into the untapped piece of tubing.
- Stake the tubing again.

The staking will look something like this:

Staking.JPG

What I wound up with looks like this:

DSC07659.JPG

Now just add whatever attachments you want.

The total cost of each "cheapskate cleaning cable" is around $2. The tubing itself was $2.99 at ace hardware and is about 12" long. Cable was $0.34 per foot at Home Depot.

Happy cleaning.

[ab4ka]

that's pretty sharp! I love my Otis kit, and I'll admit I only got it because my wife and I were at Dick's and she was feeling generous

[Ysabel Kid]

Very cool! I'm kinda cheap and handy too - I may have to give this a whirl!

[kimwcook]

Cool.

[Ben_Rumson]

Sweet! Thanks

[Modoc ED]

I totally understand your wanting to make an Otis like tool and a fine job you did.

However, for me, I'd just as soon use one of those new-fangled bore snakes.

[cnjarvis]

Thanks guys.

I like bore snakes too and have several but the one for my 223 broke so I just made myself the "otis".

[AJMD429]

Thanks guys.

I like bore snakes too and have several but the one for my 223 broke so I just made myself the "otis".

I think the 'otis' concept is nice, too - and makes a good 'spare' for a hunting kit, since it isn't 'caliber specific' like the 'snakes'. I use the 'snakes' at home, though.

[cfplinker]

The hardware store didn't have the .035 wall tubing, but the hobby store had tubing with a .049 wall. I got some and opened up 1" with a 7/64 drill for the cable and then used a 9/64 drill to open up 1/2 inch of that for the part that is tapped. After tapping it, I cut off the 1" piece, cleaned it out and glued it to the cable.

It looks like the slotted tips that I have will be too long to fit easily through the ejection port. Where can you get short ones? Is it feasible to cut one down to the length I need and then just thread what is left of the shank?