ball starter?

[jrbaker90]

Anybody ever made a ball starter i just thought it would be neat to have a home made thanks

 

[Swamp Rat]

only one. made it from a deer antler T shape. have one side drilled for powder measure. It nothing special but functional.

 

[tenngun]

Made a lot.My first one was just a dowel put in to a flat piece of oak cut in to a circle. I've used curtian rod balls cut in half then fitted with a piece of ramrod. Cut a piece of pine to about 1 inch then whittled the bottom in to a small enough end to fit in my fusil.Drilled a hole on the wide end to use as a charger(powder mesure) and several out of antler.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I have made many. I'll use scrap wood. Sometimes turn wood on the lathe to look nice. But most have been from scrap antler. If the hunk is big enough I'll drill for a powder measure. The shaft is usually hickory rod cut offs. I cone the tip with a burr and fire harden.
Gave one away yesterday as a shoot prize.

 

[jrbaker90]

Ok i really goin to have to try to build one all i have is a plastic one it ok but i want a correct one and finding a wood one around here i would have to drive a hour or a hour and a half. any advice on how yall built one i deeply appreciate it. i have some antler i found in a river bed what piece of the antler do you uses thanks

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I quit using them, so I don't make them. If I did I'd get a wooden crab mallet, and add a brass tip to the end of the handle. It would also give me a mallet to tap out wedge keys, or to tap on a piece of brass to move a rear sight, or perhaps in a pinch, simply rap on a rear sight.

LD

 

[Birddog6]

I buy or make a RR tip. Some have threaded ends so you can attach a button jag on it if ya want.
Clean it out the tip by rolling up a piece of 320 emery paper, put it in the tip & rotate & roughen it up inside. Rasp or turn down the end to go into the tip glue it in with Devcon 2000 epoxy or Accraglas. After it sets up dry, I drill a 1/16" hole thru the tip about 1/4" from the wood, slight countersink the hole on each side, put a #3 finish nail thru it & cut it off with about 1/32" sticking out each side. Lay it on the back of the vice & peen the ends very slightly over & file it flush.

On the horn handle, I like a piece that is curved, so it doesn't hurt your hand when pushing or hitting it. I take a piece of hickory RR, take a round file & cut a lil spiral on about 1/2" of the end of the rod to go in the antler. Drill a hole in the antler & taking care Not to drill clear thru it. (I use a drill press with a vice & a stop on the down handle) Then put some Devcon or Accraglas the rod into the antler & push in hard & squeeze out the excess. Clean off the excess glue with a couple Q'tips & let it sit 24 hrs.



I probably made these two starters 25 yrs ago. They will last my lifetime unless I lose one. I seldom carry one hunting now, as most of my hunting rifles have coned barrels & I don't need a short starter. But when I do carry one, it is on the strap as such, with a patch knife above it & a powder measures made from antler tip & a pan brush.


Carry the bag under left arm as want the right clear of everything when I am shooting. Also taught myself at the range to find things in the bag with my Left hand & get them out, so when hunting I don't have to take my eye off the game.

Keith Lisle

 

[crockett]

They are easy to make- go for it. I use the metal tube on the end and cut the wood a little short and then fill with plastic steel epoxy and push a waxed ball into it- gives a perfect surface so you don't deform the ball while seating it.
I like a short starter with a hole for the ramrod top you when you get down to the last distance- you can apply a little more pressure to seat the ball- if needed.

 

[jrbaker90]

That is really nice. did you do anything to the antler to make it look like that the antlervi have was in sand in a old Mississippi river bed and it looks dirty i have wash it but it still looks dirty thanks

 

[BrownBear]

No pics, but for ease of stowing I don't like them longer than about 2". That's plenty to get a ball moving for easy follow-up with the rod.

For a long time I just shortened broken ramrods, tip and all, to make the shafts. Knock on wood, but since I quit breaking ramrods I had to find another source. I just buy ramrod tips. Track of the Wolf has 36 to choose from at the moment. Same tips if you prefer a longer shaft. Dirt cheap in either case.

 

[S.Kenton]

Thats what I do too.. I break a ramrod, I save it and make a short start out of it. I buy the round wood balls from the craft store ( don't have a lathe yet) then I drill a hole big enough for the ram rod to be tapped into the ball. I epoxy the ramrod into the ball and then drill a really small hole at an angle through the ball and toward the ram rod, then drive a small nail into it..therfore it "pins" the ram rod into place as well is epoxied. Thats how I do it.. I'm sure others have different methods.

 

[Rick Son]

Folks around here have used old door knobs metal and the thick glass ones.

 

[Andyd]

I am so new to muzzle loading . I have a sh*t ton of questions. So Id like to thank jrbaker90 for bringing up this question. I have a good piece of Elk antler that I have set aside for my ball starter. Now I have been given some ideas and photos.
Thanks jrbaker90 and everyone who replied to this thread. :bow:

 

[seleach]

I made the starter on the left when I was using pre-lubed patches exclusively. When I started using strips of patch material I made the patch knife on the right out of a straight razor and had to do a little juggling between the two to get the ball & patch seated, cut the patch and then go back and use the longer end of the seater on the left. :td:

I wised up after a few shots and mounted a short ball starter on the butt of my patch knife. :thumbsup:

Now I only have to short seat the ball and cut the patch with the patch knife and use the longer ball starter to get the ball to ramrod depth. No more juggling back 'n forth. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Many different ways to skin this cat, but this is what works for me until I stumble onto something I like better. - Flint

 

[Birddog6]

Just ask around, someone will give ya a piece of antler. If not, I will mail you a piece, just PM me an address. You are best off with one taken off a deer, not laid in the woods a long time.

Keith Lisle

 

[Birddog6]

If you use Elk antler, use a Tine. The big stuff will be fibrous in the middle & soft. The tines will be hard & work much better.

Keith Lisle

 

[Birddog6]

Works good on the range, the door knobs. Works good on Range Rods as well. Bu too heavy & too cumbersome on a short starter when hunting, for me. :idunno:

Keith Lisle

 

[jrbaker90]

I have the two antler i found i just need to clean them there still good and hard it was neat how i found them they was isand almost to the top of the antler and they was still attached to the skull and i cut it off and keep them. thank you tho

 

[Woodyrock]

Here is mine, short button on the other end, foot print is turquoise chips set in epoxy, and polished.
Woody

 

[Rick Son]

Oh yea,like that for sure!Nice turquoise work