A. Izquierdo

Tipton

Carbon fibre in the rod, bronze in the brush and brass in the patch holder: nothing entering the bore is harder than barrel steel.

Image: Tipton (AOB Products Company)

History

The cleaning bench

Tipton is the cleaning and maintenance brand of American Outdoor Brands, manufactured by AOB Products Company —the name printed in its catalogue footers— and shares the group with Frankford Arsenal, Caldwell and Wheeler. It makes no firearms, ammunition or powder: it makes what is used once the firearm lies unloaded and open on the bench. Its own catalogue explains the company’s origin when presenting the Best Gun Vise 360: it grew “from Tipton’s legacy of developing quality gun vises”. The vise came first.

Material governs the rest of the catalogue. Nothing entering the bore is harder than barrel steel. The rod is carbon fibre, and the maker stresses both that its shaft does not embed particles capable of harming the bore and that it returns to shape after bending. Brushes use non-marking bronze, and Best Bore models carry 20% more bristles than a standard brush. Nylon brushes use a single wire, looped at the tip and finished with a pressed ferrule, so there is no loose end to scratch. Patch holders are solid brass: softer than barrel steel, and therefore much longer-lived than the equivalent plastic tip.

From there, the complete cycle follows. Align: the bore guide keeps the rod on the barrel axis and seals the chamber during work. Drag: a brush, a cotton mop that soaks the bore in solvent, or the Nope Rope, a pull-through with a patent-pending bearing system that lets both ends be joined for continuous passes without rethreading each time. Dry: a solid-brass jag with a tapered tip that centres the patch, or the nickel-plated Ultra Jag, whose grooves keep patch and solvent in place. Finish: a felt pellet, bamboo-handled cotton swabs and a steel pick for corners.

Then the bench. From the polymer Gun Vise to the modular Ultra Gun Vise, and from the Compact Range Vise —which folds to 2.75 inches and fits in a range bag— to the ball-headed Best Gun Vise 360, with two sets of urethane jaws: soft for the stock and harder for the barrel. Snap caps, a neoprene mat printed with the firearm’s parts and a silicone cloth complete the range.

Best Gun Vise 360 with a bolt-action rifle. Photograph: a-izquierdo.es.

Product families

What we distribute

In the maker’s order: vise, rod, bore guide, what scrubs, what dries and what remains on the bench.

Vises and bench supports

The company identifies itself with the vise; the rest of the catalogue grew from it. All hold without marking the finish.

  • Best Gun Vise 360

    Best Gun Vise 360

    Ball-head vise positioning a firearm at any angle and locking it with the friction knob. Two sets of non-marring urethane jaws —soft for stocks and finished surfaces, harder for barrels and cylindrical parts—; the base bolts or clamps to the bench. Rated for pistol, revolver, shotgun, rifle, crossbow and compound bow.

    Reference

  • Best Gun Vise

    Front and rear rests slide on a central aluminium rail, adjusting the vise to the firearm. Non-marring contacts, adjustable offset rear clamp, four non-slip rubber feet and recessed compartments for bottles, screws and loose parts.

    Reference

  • Gun Vise

    Gun Vise

    The company’s basic polymer vise: an adjustable pivoting arm accommodates any stock, the front rest accepts a fore-end from above or below, and the offset rear clamp is adjustable. Recessed compartments hold bottles, screws, jags and brushes.

    Reference

  • Ultra Gun Vise

    Ultra Gun Vise

    A modular chassis built around a steel tube. Its glass-filled nylon jaws have ball-joint pads that align themselves to the firearm’s surface; both clamps adjust in height and length, all four feet adjust independently and the tool trays are removable. The frame can be bolted to a bench.

    Reference

  • Compact Range Vise

    Compact Range Vise

    The range-bag vise: solvent-resistant nylon and polymer, six non-slip rubber feet, non-marring surfaces and a folded height of 2.75 inches.

    Reference

  • Gun Butler

    Gun Butler

    Bench tray with two removable non-marring forks holding the firearm, recessed equipment compartments and a central carrying handle.

    Reference

  • 1911 vise block

    Block holding a pistol through its magazine well, with removable arm and integral barrel-bushing wrench. Solvent-resistant polymer, non-marring surfaces; bolts to a bench or Best Gun Vise.

    Reference

Cleaning rods

Carbon-fibre shaft: it does not embed the particles a metal shaft can drag into the rifling.

Bore guides

Align the rod with the barrel axis and seal the chamber during cleaning.

  • RAPID Deluxe guide

    RAPID Deluxe guide

    Anodised-aluminium tube keeping the rod aligned and protecting chamber and bore. Kit includes three guide tips, three brass muzzle guides, two pipettes, .22 bull-barrel muzzle guide, solvent port, bolt-action and AR-15 collars, standard and extra-long tubes, in a moulded case.

    Reference

  • Universal guide

    Universal guide

    The same principle without the extras: anodised-aluminium tube, three guide tips, solvent port and bolt-action and AR-15 collars, with standard-length tube.

    Reference

Bore brushes and mops

Non-marking bronze, nylon over a looped core and cotton to carry solvent.

Jags, patch holders and patches

Solid and nickel-plated brass: softer than barrel steel and therefore longer-lived than plastic.

Felt pellets and swabs

The alternative to a loose patch, with the matching-calibre brass jag in each bag.

Cleaning kits

The equipment above, gathered into cases.

  • Ultra Cleaning Kit

    Ultra Cleaning Kit

    The company’s complete cleaning set for rifles in .22 calibre and above: a three-piece stainless-steel rod, RAPID Deluxe bore guide, thirteen Ultra Jags in their case, thirteen Best Bore Brushes in theirs, general-purpose nylon and bronze brushes, AR-15 chamber and action brushes, four polymer picks and a carrying case with moulded foam.

    Reference

  • Compact Pistol Cleaning Kit

    Compact Pistol Cleaning Kit

    For .22 to .45 pistols. Folding stainless rod with rotating handle, pick, ten cotton patches, nylon brush, bronze brushes in .22, 9 mm/.357/.38, .40/10 mm and .45, matching nylon jags and two nylon patch holders, in a semi-rigid case with removable tray.

    Reference

  • Chamber and action set

    Chamber and action set

    Two tools: the chamber tool carries a mop that removes carbon and powder residue, while the action tool uses cylindrical swabs to clean and oil the locking-lug recesses. The set includes both tools, small and large chamber mops, ten swabs and a nylon brush.

    References

Bench and maintenance

What remains after the bore is clean: store without spring tension and lose no screw along the way.

To read

Tipton catalogue

This catalogue is published in Spanish.

Cover of Tipton 2024

Tipton 2024

2024 · 52 pages

Open the catalogue

Tipton in the shop

Rods, vises, brushes, jags, patches and snap caps.

The shop is available in Spanish.

See Tipton at a-izquierdo.es
Tipton · A. IZQUIERDO S.L.