Finishing aluminum??

[tiger955]

I recently bought an older, used .58 cal. Navy Arms Buffalo Hunter. The thing comes with a silly wooden ramrod that is about 5/16's tapering to 1/4". Scary trying to ram a tightly patched ball that big with that little rod. I used a heavy range rod for loading so far, but want a rod that fits for hunting. I have a piece of 5/16" aluminum stock that fits the barrel thimbles well that I want to taper to fit the entry thimble in the stock. Then I will drill and tap it for a jag.
I don't like the looks of the aluminum rod on the gun however. Do you guys have any suggestions on how I can make it darker without sending it out for powder coating or anodizing? Something I can do at home without major hazards or cost?
The thimbles appear to be soldered to the rib, which appears to be soldered to the barrel (no screws visible) so going to larger thimbles for a larger rod may be a PITA with my limited shop resources.
My other options as I see them are making a brass or steel rod.

 

[hawkeye2]

I can't help with the finishing question but would like to point out that aluminum is a poor choice for a ramrod. Aluminum is quite reactive and as soon as it is scratched it forms an oxide and aluminum oxide is a very effective abrasive. You ought to see what some people can do to auto glass with an aluminum snow shovel after a storm. Steel would be a better choice. Finding or making a ramrod shouldn't be difficult, look for one for a musket. Can you drill the entry pipe/stock to eliminate the need for a tapered rod? Find a ramrod drill that fits the pipes and have at it. Another alternative would be to sleeve the pipes to take the rammer. K&S makes brass tubing in tellescoping sizes and it is avaliable at hobby shops, many craft shops and hardware stores. It can be epoxied in place or soldered but that's more work. The procedure is to wire the rib and thimbles solidly to the barrel before you go to work with the torch so that you don't end up with a group of parts on the bench.

 

[tg]

A quality Hickory rod has served this purpose for a couple of hundred hundred years

 

[jerrywh]

I will also add that aluminum is very abasive and will gall the bore on your gun. I once made the mistake of making a pilot for boring out of it an it almost ruined a good rifle of mine.

 

[wulf]

Jerry, what do think about making a jag out of
aluminum ? it is surrounded by the cleaning
patch...just a thought if brass is not available.
Wulf

 

[tiger955]

I agree and use a good hickory rod in most of my guns, but just don't feel comfortable loading my .58 with a rod that small. I would hate to be several miles back in the hills with a broken rod or worse a punctured hand.
Perhaps I'll try brass, I can darken it with a fouled patch. Never thought aluminum would damage a steel bore.

 

[matt denison]

They make sandaper from aluminum oxide. It's scratchy stuff.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Birchwood Casey makes a product it calls Aluminum Black, or something very close to that. It will darken any aluminum well enough for your purposes, but it will also rub off in time. I have used the product, and short of painting it, or having the rod coated with some of the hot products, I don't know anything else that works as well.

I still would recommend using a 1/2" or 9/16" Hickory Rod with the gun. I would open up that ramrod hole in the stock to take the larger rod size. I would also not hesitate to remove those pIpes, and replace them wit correctly sized ones.

Finally, I decided to remove the inadequate pipes and terrible run-out grained wood ramrod that came with my shotgun. Instead of sticking a new set of pipes( mine screw on) and buying a new rod, I made a hickory range rod out of 1/2 or 9/16" straight grained rod. I put a "doorknob" handle on it, made of walnut, which I turned down on a friend's wood lathe. Brass ferrule, and loading jag on the other end.

I carry the rod in the field with me, slide down the middle of my back, under the trap for my hunting bag, with the jag stuck behind my belt, and the doorknob waving above my head. If I leave a field and enter woods, It takes NO effort to simply reach up, grab the rod, and pull it out to carry along the barrels of my DBL shotgun as I negotiate trees and brush.

I am doing the same thing with an Aluminum alloy Range Rod for my fowler, and find no problems carrying it into the field at all. If a target appears suddenly, and I happen to be carrying it with my gun in my hands, I simple drop the rod to the ground where I am standing, mount the gun to my shoulder, and take the shot. The rod has always remained there at my feet until I pick it back up to clean and reload. My rod has a satin finish which does not reflect light well at all- NO flash. Its from ProShot. For that reason, I have not seen a good reason to apply the aluminum black I have to the rod.

As for my smoothbores, and those missing rods, I really don't miss them at all.

I certainly understand your desire to have a strong rod for seating large bullets in a .58. A Stainless Steel, Brass, or Aluminum Alloy rod fits the bill, but so do good properly sized Hickory rods.

Oh, my hickory rod for my .50 caliber rifle was made from a 3/8" hickory rod, but the last 4-6 inches were tapered by my gunsmith so that the end could fit UNDER the forward lock bolt on my flintlock action. Since I load using a Hand-Over-Hand method, never putting my upper hand more than 8 inches above the muzzle, I find no problem using that rod to load tight PRBs down the GM barrel.

I never recommend grabbing any rod- wood or metal-- at the end with the idea that because its strong, and I am STRONGER, I can run that tight Ball or Bullet down with one BIG STROKE. :nono: :shake: :shocked2: :youcrazy:

That is the way rods are broken and bent, and people find their forearms, wrists, and hands pierced by the broken ends of these rod. Its painful, and bloody, and suspends any idea you have of hunting, while you locate the nearest emergency room to get yourself patched up! :shocked2: :barf: :idunno: :surrender:

When someone complains of any rod being inadequate to seat a ball or bullet, I want to know: What size bore, ball and patch are involved, and What Kind of Loading Technique they are using! :shocked2:

The last item of importance is the diameter of the rod involved. :hmm: :hmm: :v :thumbsup:

The steel rods I have on several Military bolt action rifles, of different calibers, from .264" up to .458" are all made with 1/4" or smaller diameter rods. Because the rods are steel, they don't need to be thicker, nor heavier. But, they are also flexible, and can be bent, putting them out of commission, If Used Wrong. :hmm: :hatsoff:

The Hand-Over-Hand technique has been taught to new recruits for many years- centuries- to prevent just this kind of thing from happening in the field of battle. :hmm:

Before you change something, find out why its the way it was made. There may be a good reason for it to have that tapered end, and there may not be enough room at the back of the barrel, and the front of your lock for you to enlarge that ramrod hole. :idunno: :hmm: :thumbsup:

 

[tiger955]

I use the hand over hand method to ram the rod but when I get down to the small end (1/4") I just don't feel comfortable. My Buffalo Hunter is basically a sporterized carbine length Zouave musket, not much room for a bigger rod. The original musket used a small diameter steel rod as I recall. I like the looks of the wooden rod in place and leave it there using a range rod for target use. I just want something stronger for field use without having to carry an extra rod.
I have an extra brass tulip tip I can solder on to a tapered brass rod that should look good as well as be plenty strong, it is also threaded in case I have to pull a ball.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Some people make, or have made for them, an extension that they can put on the end of metal rods, or put "T" handles on rods, by fitting a ferrule on that smaller end, that allows a threaded machine screw to be run into the ferrule to attach an extension, or "T"handle.

With most guns- carbines, or full rifles, the powder charge is large enough that plenty of your Rod sticks out when you seat the PRB or conical on the powder charge. Unless you have a cleaning jag on that rod, so that you can use it to run cleaning patches down the barrel and PULL them out again, those rods are only good for LOADING your gun.

I know a friend with a thin metal rod in a replica CW gun that put a hole- fairly shallow- into the handle of his short starter, so that he could put that hole over the end of the rod and use the handle to push his conicals home. I personally don't like exposing my entire palm to a possible "cook off" of the powder charge that would send the metal rod, and my short starter's handle into or thru my palm, followed by the conical and powder blast. So, I don't ever load my gun with my palm over the muzzle. This was a guy who didn't "believe" in cleaning his MLer between shots! He also didn't care for our club's safety rules, and soon stopped coming to our shoots.

As I indicated above, I carry my rod outside my rifle/fowler/shotgun. It allows me options so that I don't have to compromise my rods with the design limitations of my guns.

I don't insist that anyone else follow my lead, however. Some people have a lot more Luck than I do, in every part of their lives. If I didn't have bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all. Who else can tell about sitting in an open air veranda at a restaurant, with more than 30 other people, at night, and have a lone pigeon fly over and take a dump on my hat? :shocked2: :blah: :haha: :hatsoff: