Loading block question

[pepperbelly]

I drilled some 1/2" holes for a loading block for my .50 Hawken. I oiled the 1"x4" red oak with tung oil finish, but I noticed the bore of the holes seems rough. It seems as if the roughness will strip the lube from the patches.
I used a wood bit, paddle bit, to drill the holes.
Do I need to polish the holes somehow? Will oiling the bore help?
The 1" thick wood has plenty of room to try to countersink the bottom of the holes for the barrel. The red oak I used was some leftover millworked trim, and I have plenty left to try again. I used the paddle bit after seeing someone had bent my regular 1/2" bit. Will a regular bit leave a smoother hole?
Do I need to chamfer the top of the hole so the patch doesn't scrape the lube off?
I haven't managed to scrounge any rawhide string yet so I will just keep it in the bag.
edited to add: I noticed the prb I tried was tight. I used my short starter to get the prb in and back out. How tight shoud it fit?
Thanks,
Jim

 

[flaming canvas]

Red oak probably isn't the best wood to make a block out of, but you said it was scrap from another project. I think I would get a small can of Wood Dough, available in the paint department of any home improvement store, and fill the pores before sanding. This is the stuff that is used to cover finish nails when the head is set below the surface.

When the Wood Dough sets up it is sandable, but harder than the wood. I think that it will not absorb much lube.

It might have been easier to countersink the holes before you bored all the way through.

 

[Stumpkiller]

You don't want to sand out the holes much, or they will be too loose. I'd recommend burnishing them with a 1/2" dowel and some elbow grease just to knock the "hockles" down. I usually drill 1/16" undersize holes and use a rat-tail file to open them out, followed by 220# sandpaper. They only need be tight enough to hold the ball & patch from falling out if dropped. All of mine are easy to set with just thumb pressure. It may squeeze out lube, but most folks overlube anyhow. If you set a ball in, and then pull it out, and the patch shows lighter around the ring when held up to the light, that's too tight.

Rather than countersink mine, I make them just over ball thickness and then press the ball down slightly with my thumb as I place it over the muzzle. The curve of the ball aligns itself over the muzzle (and the block takes up half as much space in the pouch).

 

[pepperbelly]

It doesn't look too rough, but a metal bit may make it smoother. The paddle bit chatters during drilling, I think.
Since I think it is too tight I will try running a dowel through it to burnish it. Do I wrap sandpaper around a dowel to sand it? I may try some emery cloth instead of sandpaper.
I have more wood, so this piece is more of a test block.
Why would red oak not make a good block? Is it too porous? I am not really informed on different wood types, other than what I like for a rifle stock. I thought oak was a hard dense wood.
If I had some maple I would use that, as well as some grips for a revolver, but I wouldn't like to buy some unless the red oak is a bad choice. I had enough leftover to make my 3 year old a step to reach the faucet, with 2 30" pieces of 1x4 left for other projects. This is milled, so I didn't have to sand the surface, and has some nice grain.
Thanks,
Jim

 

[Huntinfool]

What Stumpy said. I drill em slightly undersized and the work em into size with some sand paper wrapped around an old broken arrow shaft. Any dowel rod will work I've just got bunches of broken shafts lying around.

YMH&OS, :redthumb:
Chuck

 

[pepperbelly]

"I've just got bunches of broken shafts lying around."
What are you using for targets, brick? ::
I still have to cut some off a ramrod I bought, so that should work.

 

[Stumpkiller]

"I've just got bunches of broken shafts lying around."


What are you using for targets, brick?

Even if you cork Mister Bunny in the brainpan he may be squatting in front of a big rock just under the alfalfa.

On a good day of roving I come back having only lost three and snapped the heads off three more arrows out of a dozen. :haha:

And every once in a while I find a old elm stump that is like hitting cast iron. Ka~Zing!

 

[bob1961]

i use forstner bits to drill my holes for my blocks leaves a smooth hole....just a little light sanding to open the holes a bit to make loading the block easy by hand....also if i make a .50 block i use 3/8" thick wood and the ball is my self alignment...............bob

 

[B.Habermehl]

Your red oak is just fine, Either burnish the holes with a 1/2" dowel or a 7/16 dowel with sand paper wrapped around it. I will usually use 5/8 thick oak pallet boards(scrap=Free!). For raw material, cut off the ends where the nails were, then rip em down to the width you want, Sand/plane them down drill and c/s. Metal cutting drills usually do a ruff/fuzzy job in wood. I've had good luck with speed bore bits, but I think that the spur type wood working drills might work as well, or the forschner bits too. BJH

 

[flaming canvas]

Metal cutting drills usually do a ruff/fuzzy job in wood. I've had good luck with speed bore bits, but I think that the spur type wood working drills might work as well, or the forschner bits too. BJH

I use an old fashioned brace and bit to make the holes for my 54. Maybe I was just lucky, but the 9/16 bit I have is perfect size. All of my modern bits are a tad oversized and the ball won't stay.

 

[pepperbelly]

Stumpy, I can identify with that. I once wasted 6 spear tips on a Hawaiian sling I was using to spear catfish in Oklahoma. They hid in the rocks too.
Way back in the '60s and early '70s I hunted bunnies with a bow. Instead of points I put an empty .30 carbine case on the end of the arrow. Thump 'em in the head and they died right quick. You can still wastes a shaft or two though.
Jim

 

[Huntinfool]

That's right guys cedar ain't tuff like ash. Plus I used to make em for other people and I had a bunch of cut off pieces that I use for all kinds of stuff. I think I've only killed one or maybe two deer with cedar that I didn't break the shaft. I've taken 20 + deer in the last 9 years so I've got pretty crested pieces of shafts hanging all over the place! Mini trophies if you will! They take the place of flowers the red, white & black ones with natural tukey feathers are mine!

YMH&OS, :redthumb: :thumbsup:
Chuck

 

[pepperbelly]

I will use a dowel and sandpaper to see if I can get the holes smoother.
I drilled 12 holes in this block of wood. If I get them like I think they should be I will cut off about 4 holes to make it a little handier. This first attempt is more for practice. I have plenty of wood left for more after I figure it out.
Will prelubed patches be tighter than ticking and wonder lube or home brew lube? I wonder if I will need different blocks depending on what I use.
Jim

 

[brushbuster]

i might suggest ,you find the load/patch combo your gun likes then customize your loader to that combo . :m2c: :imo:

 

[Rat]

My loading blocks are "regular" oak and seem to work fine. Like the Stump and others, make it thin enough so that the ball self-centers in the bore.

If the patch is saturated with lube, as it should be then it don't matter if some excess is wiped off...there will still be lube in the patch.

Wow a "twelve-holer" would be a big one. A three hole block works best for me. It's very small and light, even in .75" caliber...my theory is that by the time I shoot off three balls at a deer, elk, or bear, it's going to be gone or dead. Actually I only load balls into two of the holes, and put two wonder-wads in the third hole. Of course if something is laying on the ground kicking and struggling, I don't bother with a wonder-wad. But if it seems dead, or runs off a bit, I'll take the extra second to use a wad.

I also figure that once the rifle is loaded, and I want to lay low for a minute or so, I can use the time to reload the block from loose fixins.

Of course a loading block used in a target shoot is a whole other story.

Rat

 

[pepperbelly]

Rat, I drilled the 12 holes without thinking about it. That does seem like a lot, even for the range. I plan on sanding to size starting at the end, then cut off my mistakes.
I checked, it won't come close to fitting in my little cheap possibles bag, so I will cut it down to probably 6 holes. I do need to install a thong, and that may help carrying it around.
I haven't tried yet to see how heavy it will be with 12 balls, but I bet it will be noticeable.
Jim

 

[Rat]

Ha ha I wonder what a twelve-hole block for my Brown Bess (75") would weigh...!! Those suckers are like 600 grains each. If I fell in the pond or river, that would be the end of me.

For a fifty calibre a six-holer sounds reasonable. I'll be making a block for my .62 soon, but will just stick with the three holes, as for hunting that makes the most sense to me, and minimizes weight.

Rat

 

[CrackStock]

Well, I can go and weigh my 17 shot Bess cartridge box...

A bit more documentable and a lot more handy.

Of course, you could make a smaller version of 5 shots or so.

YMHS,
CrackStock