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Originally Posted by scottmandue
Not that this newbie would ever question our resident spoon expert His Royal Higgensness...
Steel rods? I think mine are aluminum.
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Aluminum isn't as bad as nylon coated, but it's not as good as steel. The whole idea behind lapping something is that the lapping material embeds in the softer of the two materials passing over one another, so it moves with the softer and works on the harder of the two. When we do it on purpose, we use copper, brass, aluminum, or other such materials as the lap, and whatever "grit" of lapping compound we think we need. When we do it inadvertently, like when cleaning a barrel, the same thing applies - the grit embeds in the softer material so it can rub against the harder material.
This is all really kind of picking nits when it comes to cleaning our sporting and plinking firearms. They lead a pretty easy life and really never get all that dirty. I'm sure you could use aluminum, or coated nylon, for the rest of your days on your pet rifle and never see any ill affect. I was really addressing Tabby anyway, what with the sheer volume of ammunition he burns through in a day. I'd hate to see him damage any one of his extensive collection of fine collector firearms through improper cleaning...