Candy Striping?

Not goin to say this is PC, but I would figure this would have been a 19th cent more (1820's on) thing, not a 18th cent here again this is my opinion :m2c:

I think it's probably a 1950s Hacker Martin thing.

What you gentlemen don't understand is, I don't care. I would rather not turn this thread into a discussion of the period correctness of the procedure, but rather the methods involved in doing it regardless of who/when/where it was done in the past.

Couldn't you wrap the rod with heavy gauge wire and then run current through it, heating the wire and burning in the stripe?

Nifty idea... I'm leaning more towards wider dark stripes though. I'm thinking about 3/4" wide on the dark side, maybe 1/4" to 1/2" on the light side?

 

[Packdog]

Peter Alexander suggest using surgical tape. He is says it is easy to remove if done immediately after charing.

Good luck.

 

is striping documented ??? probably not to a great deal . i don

 

[tg]

Yeah..... whatever, I think you may want to check the posts again I don't recall mentioning PC in mine. If you want to make non-PC guns that is your choice, no need to try and defend it, as no one has attacked it.

 

I think most go through the striping phase then outgrow it if they get into gun history to any degree.

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well TG we will have to disagree on that , im sorry if you read into my post that i was defending anything simply stating facts and give attitudes nothing more .

i dont call building a phase at least not after 20 some years .
you are most correct you never mentioned PC yet is that not what you based you reply on ?
i mean come on this gentleman here is asking info, not sarcastic fly buys by folks here that could help him
What is the info in you posted based on ? Your own personal experience backed by research and documentation and this period correctness .
So why not tell us just how you yourself candy striped your RR . If you never have then why jump on a wagon pulled by someone who knows better and reply to a post you have no experience with
Surly its not just to belittle someone , you have always been better then that .
what ever ????? ok what ever . :thumbsup: :relax:

 

[musketman]

Does the candy stripe have to be burnt in?

What is you were to take a paint brush and wood stain and paint in your stripe?

Better yet (CAUTION: humorous answer), take two different color ramrods, cut them into 2 inch sections with miter cuts, then glue alternate colors together to form a candy stripped rod...

 

[Zonie]

Gee, Musketman. That looks like something a American maker of fine muzzleloaders ships with their guns, except theirs doesn't have stripes. :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:

As for painting (staining) that's the method I've used.

Getting to the more serious side of things, I've noticed over the last 10 years, most of the people who look at my unstriped ramrod guns never say "That sure is a nice Historically Correct Ramrod you have there." In fact they have never mentioned anything about my plain, genuine Hickory ramrods.

I've had a number of people who, while looking at some of my rifles with striped ramrods say "That sure is a neat ramrod! How did you do that?" Another, pointing at my rifles striped ramrod said "That thing is really pretty."

In other words, people of the 20th and 21st century, at least, like the stripes.

About a year ago, I read an article in MuzzleBlasts about a rifle which was made around 1800 or so. The Author felt the ramrod was original to the gun as it's oxidation of the finish was the same as the rest of the gun.
It is too bad the process isn't exact enough but it sure would have been neat if he could have had it Carbon Dated along with a piece of the stock. Even if Carbon Dating can't pin down the exact age of the wood, it might have at least given a good indication if the woods were the same age.

The ramrod was striped. :shocking:

 

[tg]

Topic: striping ramrods

Past post: thoughts on why people do it today.(in response to a question in previous post)

Current Status: not worth further imput due to lack of interest.

 

Current Status: not worth further imput due to lack of interest.

Yeah..... whatever. (VBG) :crackup:

 

[musketman]

It is too bad the process isn't exact enough but it sure would have been neat if he could have had it Carbon Dated along with a piece of the stock. Even if Carbon Dating can't pin down the exact age of the wood, it might have at least given a good indication if the woods were the same age.

The problem with this would be that the wood was grown (what was the age of the tree at the time of the cutting), seasoned (how long did the wood set before processing), and the time allowed to finish the product...

So if carbon dating worked, you would get a false timeline because of the tree's age, drying time and processing time...

Wood today comes from trees roughly 50 to 200 years old...

 

ROFL!

That's WAY too much work! I'm entirely too lazy to go through all that rigamarole...

Besides... that would just give you angled rings in the rod, it wouldn't be a true candy stripe. :crackup:

I bought a little propane torch today... I figure it'll come in handy for more than just striping ramrods. I'll char one up here before too long and post a pic or two. Maybe I'll cook one and stain one and show a comparison. :hmm:

Thanks again for all the help!

 

[musketman]

I bought a little propane torch today... I figure it'll come in handy for more than just striping ramrods. I'll char one up here before too long and post a pic or two. Maybe I'll cook one and stain one and show a comparison.

I wonder if a gas BBQ grill with a rotisserie would work after the rod was taped? :hmm:

 

I wonder if a gas BBQ grill with a rotisserie would work after the rod was taped? :hmm:

Now THAT is a good idea. I don't have a rotisserie for my grill... but I'll bet it would work. The only thing I would be concerned with is it would probably take a while, and you'd be getting the rod a lot hotter I'm thinking, whereas with the propane you're kinda flash-scorching the surface.

Homemade rotisserie over a campfire perhaps?

 

[silverfox]

Static: The propane torch with a pencil tip works good, looks good to. A little pratice and the lines will be the same size and stripes the same distance apart. If you like the looks just do it. The wood stays cool enough that you can do it without gloves for better control.
Fox :thumbsup:

 

[chipper]

Couldn't you wrap the rod with heavy gauge wire and then run current through it, heating the wire and burning in the stripe?

I think what you would get is a big boom and the lights would go out. What you just described it a dead short. If you used the wire in a toaster oven and the controller from a toaster oven it might work. I used simular set ups to burn feathers for arrow fletching.
Regards

 

I use the aluminumumum foil and fold it into as wide as you want the natural color to be and wrap it around the rod at the twist rate and dark spiral width you want and scorch away with a propane torch. No fuss no muss to clean up. :grin: As far as it being HC or not? That's debatable. There are too many early 19th c. rifles with striped rods in them for it not to have been a early 19th c. fashion.IMHO.
Don
BTW, I like Musketmans idea but it would take too long. :rotf: :rotf:

 

[Mr. Chester]

Couldn't you wrap the rod with heavy gauge wire and then run current through it, heating the wire and burning in the stripe?

I think what you would get is a big boom and the lights would go out. What you just described it a dead short. If you used the wire in a toaster oven and the controller from a toaster oven it might work. I used simular set ups to burn feathers for arrow fletching.
Regards

A 12 volt battery would be lots safer - 120 volts = boom!
Why not take a piece of foil and wrap to protect the wood - torch it to get the strips?
Or wrap it in a thin piece of "steel/iron" and wet it - let rust and finish. The rust would be darker and prolly look pretty cool.
Maybe you could offer hair cuts with muzzleloader afterwards - :rotf: