Custom Ramrods

[eli crowe]

Does anyone know of any makers out there of Custom Hickory Ramrods?

A friend of mine recently got a SmoothRifle from ERA that came with a Ramrod that had a little Carving on the Tip and the Butt End of the Ramrod had the threaded attachment for Cleaning Jags,etc.

I would like to have a couple like that made 1 for my 20/62 Smoothrifle and 1 for my .54 Haines.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I'm not sure what you mean by custom ramrods. But there are several ads in Muzzle Blasts for vendors of hickory ramrods. Quality can be questionable. Previous threads here on the subject say sometimes only one in ten will pass muster. Wood ramrods with grain run out can be very dangerous.

 

[majg1234]

very easy and cheap to make yourself,the hardest part is gettting a good hickory blank I made 2 this weekend one wood and one fiberglass for hunting and range work (yep I know about the wear issue with fiberglass but I use a muzzle guard when I use these).OHIO,RAMROD on the forum makes some I've heard you might contact him

 

[S.Kenton]

He does indeed make them.. probably whatever you wanted Ohio Ramrod can make...I purchased a fiberglass RR from him.. it looks the part and is very sturdy.. with no worries of it breaking. I know it's not HC nor PC but I like it and would buy another if I needed one. I have purchased several items from him.. and found him to be very reliable. :thumbsup:

 

[Rifleman1776]

I would suggest looking for rods made from Delrin. It is soft, flexible and, as far as I know, unbreakable. I used to make and sell ramrods made of Delrin but couldn't compete price-wise with the big vendors. Suggest you look to places like House of Muskets, TOW, and others for Delrin rods. I wouldn't put a fiberglass rod in my barrels.

 

[troutabout]

I recently bought an old relic ML with a 43 1/2 inch barrel. In going through the process to make it safe and shootable I made a ramrod from hydraulic steel brake tubing from the auto parts store - $7.00 - and soldered an empty 9mm brass shell with an 8-32 nut soldered inside....soldered over the flared end of the tubing after I had cut it to length.
Already used it to clean out the barrel and lube it down with witch's oil.

 

[S.Kenton]

whats your reasoning for not liking fiberglass RR's? I see no problems with mine... I use a brass muzzle guard so the RR never touches the barrel.. just curious.

 

[Black Hand]

whats your reasoning for not liking fiberglass RR's?

For the same reason one does not put wooden wagon wheels on a Ferrari. They don't belong together even if they basically serve the same purpose...

 

[robtattoo]

whats your reasoning for not liking fiberglass RR's? I see no problems with mine... I use a brass muzzle guard so the RR never touches the barrel.. just curious.

Maybe I'm just weird, but fiberglass is all I use. Every one of my guns has a fiberglass rod. Sometimes I use a muzzle guard, other times I don't. I've not been doing this all that long, but in my short time shooting muzzleloaders, I've seen 4 people break wooden rods. I've never seen or heard of a fiberglass rod snapping.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Fiberglass is harder than steel. It can, and will, damage a bore. Using a muzzle guard is an OK protection. I prefer to avoid it completely, that is even better protection.

 

[eli crowe]

For PC Reasons I want a Wooden, Preferably Hickory Ramrod as stated in my post.

Not interested in Fibreglass, Delrin or other.

I tried to contact Ohio Ramrod but the email listed in his profile doesn't work.

Anyone know any other makers of Wooden Ramrods?

 

[Rifleman1776]

For PC Reasons I want a Wooden, Preferably Hickory Ramrod as stated in my post.

Not interested in Fibreglass, Delrin or other.

I tried to contact Ohio Ramrod but the email listed in his profile doesn't work.

Anyone know any other makers of Wooden Ramrods?

Read the ads in Muzzle Blasts, there are several vendors there. Do be aware, the quality of available hickory rods is not always good. Some members here have said they get only one or two good rods out of a batch of ten. A hickory rod with grain run-out can do very serious injury if it breaks in use. I, also, prefer the pc wood rod. But I'll take the side of safety first. My wood rods are set aside and used only for demos or juried events.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Gee maybe I need to check my profile. My Email is dwwoodworker@yahoo. But I seem to get any PM.s I don't make hickery ramrods :idunno:

 

[ohio ramrod]

There was an article in muzzle blasts a few years ago where they tested several materials for ramrods wearing the barrels. Their tests (Bevel brothers ) showed the fiberglass did not wear a barrel as much as steel!And if the memory is correct not as much as dirt imbeded wood!. So the important thing is to use a guide bushing and try to keep the rod from getting sand etc imbedded into it. :hmm: :hmm:

 

[rich pierce]

A ramrod properly made is a heap of work and hard to sell for the appropriate price for the work done. I guess if a fella was making them all day and used belt sanders etc it would go faster but it takes me at least 3 hours to make a ramrod that has a slight taper for the hole, has fittings on both ends nicely done, is stained and finished. If I form and braze an authentic 18th century ramrod tip from sheet iron, and taper the ramrod from 7/16" at the muzzle down to about .350 on the narrow end, there's 5 hours in the ramrod alone. Who wants to pay me $75 for a ramrod?

 

[Traddawg]

There was an article in muzzle blasts a few years ago where they tested several materials for ramrods wearing the barrels. Their tests (Bevel brothers ) showed the fiberglass did not wear a barrel as much as steel!And if the memory is correct not as much as dirt imbeded wood!. So the important thing is to use a guide bushing and try to keep the rod from getting sand etc imbedded into it. :hmm: :hmm:

I could use a couple of you still do these

 

[Grenadier1758]

I have used a fiberglass ramrod in the past with a brass muzzle protector. After a very short time the hole in the muzzle guard was worn considerably. The muzzle guard would slip past the 45 caliber jag at the tip. Since then, for over 25 years, I have used steel or brass ramrods with no appreciable wear on the muzzle guard or the barrels.

 

[Bassdog1]

I like having correct wooden rods for all of my rifles but a friend of mine made me some range rods of fiberglass and used shrink tubing to coat the outside and I use them for range work. Also have a couple solid aluminum rods that were acquired with other rifles. I only use my steel rod if I need to pull a ball or some heavy duty cleaning on a new to me gun with rough bore although I try to avoid those. The last wooden rods I had made were by a member on here I will try and find his info.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I had to change my Email.