How to make a ramrod
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Just a guess on my part, but I suspect he is not in it for the money or YouTube fame. I see a man who selflessly shared his passion with the public for decades and now wants to memorialize some of his knowledge on his own terms.
I for one will not criticize him for it. I will applaud his selflessness, for it is admirable.
Quite frankly I'm shocked, at the priggish and prissy responses from my brothers of smoke and steel.
Bear in mind, forum rule #2 says
2: Please remember, this is not a public forum, but rather a privately owned service and as such, you are a guest. It is a family oriented site, so please conduct yourself accordingly. We have members who are children and we do not approve of "sexual innuendos". Please think twice before posting something you think is funny.
With that in mind, it's too bad the guy who made the video felt it necessary to start it off with an obscene gesture so, I'm removing the video from the thread.
If you can find a replacement without obscene gestures in it, feel free to post it.
How about this one? It's just as interesting, but not about making a ramrod, but then ramrod tutorials are hard to find, that's why I posted the video in the first place, and so many people seem to have trouble with wooden ramrods.
In response about the angle aluminum aiding straightening, it doesn't. My primary focus is primitive archery so I have all the wood arrow shaft straightening tools and techniques. So far I just hand straighten ramrods with heat. After straightening thousands of arrow shafts I have the feel for just how much to tweak them to get them straight, of course this is multiple tweaking's not all in one shot.
I have some straight hickory and need a ramrod or two. I have always bought them but might try to make one with my dowel cutter. It cuts a rough dowel for me, others seem to get a pretty slick dowel out of theirs but I haven't been able to accomplish this. The picture is of my last attempt at making an arrow shaft from poplar.
I have some straight hickory and need a ramrod or two. I have always bought them but might try to make one with my dowel cutter. It cuts a rough dowel for me, others seem to get a pretty slick dowel out of theirs but I haven't been able to accomplish this. The picture is of my last attempt at making an arrow shaft from poplar.
Pete G
76 Cal.
I tried using poplar for some trial inleting. I found it rather fuzzy to work with.
Eric,
How do you sharpen the blade in your dowel cutter?
Is it difficult to get the blade set well with two screws to hold it?
How do you sharpen the blade in your dowel cutter?
Is it difficult to get the blade set well with two screws to hold it?
I've made arrows from ash splits using a finger plane it seems to me there may be an advantage to rods made from split blanks as opposed to sawed blanks. As in bow making, we know that flexural strength is enhanced when the cuts through the grain are minimized. Every commercially manufactured ramrod I have ever broken fractured where the grain feathered out.
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“I've made arrows from ash splits using a finger plane it seems to me there may be an advantage to rods made from split blanks as opposed to sawed blanks.”
Absolutely split over sawn. Grain runout is next to impossible when splitting.
Much less chance of arrowshaft or ramrod snapping off real sharp and driving itself through your hand... I hate when that happens
Absolutely split over sawn. Grain runout is next to impossible when splitting.
Much less chance of arrowshaft or ramrod snapping off real sharp and driving itself through your hand... I hate when that happens
stewart.leach
32 Cal.
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I recently had cause to do just the opposite of straightening ramrod stock- I put in some curve so it would stay in place under recoil. Wrapped the blank in long wet cloth for several hours, then clamped in a piece of 90 degree oak trim with spacers at 1/3 and 2/3 points, let dry for several days. Next I'll be tapering the inboard end, epoxying then pinning a 10-32 iron end fitting, then staining and finishing.
The blade in my dowler is beveled on both sides so I sharpen it like a knife, diamond hone and then a leather strop. A lot of the chatter would be eliminated if I had an outfeed support for the dowel as it exits the cutter.
Adjusting the blade is iffy, too much blade an it bogs down, too little and makes sawdust instead of chips or curls. I have it set in-between and make several passes, it does OK. I haven't fooled with it in a while. The two screws hold the blade well. Others that use the same jig claim to get dowels that don't even need sanding out of theirs and have a burnished look. I haven't spent much time fooling with my cutter.
I just sent a ramrod order in to Dan Putz but I am still going to give my cutter a try. Dan is supposed to produce the best hickory ramrods blanks with no runout., $5 each.
[email protected]
Adjusting the blade is iffy, too much blade an it bogs down, too little and makes sawdust instead of chips or curls. I have it set in-between and make several passes, it does OK. I haven't fooled with it in a while. The two screws hold the blade well. Others that use the same jig claim to get dowels that don't even need sanding out of theirs and have a burnished look. I haven't spent much time fooling with my cutter.
I just sent a ramrod order in to Dan Putz but I am still going to give my cutter a try. Dan is supposed to produce the best hickory ramrods blanks with no runout., $5 each.
[email protected]
I've watched a number of his videos since I first read your initial post. His knife wasn't dull at at all. Sometimes wood is hard to carve . . . period. Also it's obvious that he is controlling the cut. I do that all the time. It's clear that this man knows what he is doing. As I said, I watched a number of his videos and found them to be informative. This man goes as far as to cast his own trigger guards, buttplates, and inlays. I watched as he shaped a stock with expertise. He is incredibly experienced and dedicated to his craft and a profound eclectic. One can criticize his avatar but to criticize his skill, work and methodology is uncalled for. I, (keeping this first person) cannot fault him. I have enjoyed and learned from his tutorials . . . hands down.
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Yeah, I saw teachers in high school that needed to be treated like boot camp soldiers too, like you just ignore the video and go on : my excuse for not watching.
Thought I'd make a couple of ramrods just the way the Grumpy Gunsmith did.Yep, I agree.
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They look really nice. Do you epoxy them and then drill and pin them after they dry?
Yes I do. I epoxied the tips on two days ago. Yesterday I drilled and pinned them again using epoxy. Today I will peen over the pins and file them flush.
