Loading Board Construction

[MFP308]

I did my search but didn't get any info so here I am. I'm interested in using a loading board for my .54 and am looking for ideas on how to build one and use it. Any help out there? At the moment I'm shooting .530 ball and .10 patch. What wood do you use? I saw the chart in the resourse thread.

Mike

 

[BrownBear]

I use whatever wood appeals. Oak, walnut, fir, cocobolo. Whatever scraps you have on hand and fit your idea of perty or PC.

Best thickness seems to be about ball diameter so when you seat the ball just below flush in board, the bottom of the ball sticks out slightly. That helps you center the ball over the bore by feel.

Don't get carried away and drill your holes too close, or they will interfere with each other when you are positioning the ball over the board. They need to be at least barrel thickness apart so when you position one ball over the board the next one doesn't touch the barrel.

I like to countersink the top side of holes in my boards very slightly- just round the edges enough to make it easier to seat the ball in the board. Call it coning if you want.

A good size for hunting is 3 balls or even two. I've got some early ones I built that hold 6 balls, but they're too bulky and heavy for field use. Good range boards, but not nearly as nice as the smaller ones for hunting.

Go ahead and experiment- they're easy to make and you can always use the extras on the range. I must have half a dozen now for my 54 and wouldn't mind if I found an excuse to make more.

 

[paulvallandigham]

BrownBear: I agree. :thumbsup:

Most shooters make, or buy a ball block before they ever go hunting. Or they see someone in a Seneca Run shaving seconds off his time because he is using a loading block to aid his loading his next PRB. The shooters almost always buy or build a block that holds way too many balls than are ever needed, and have to carry that thing around all day, whether they shoot or not! If its hung around the neck on a thong, as is often seen on Seneca Runs, it can leave you with a very sore and cramped neck at the end of a day.

Obviously, the caliber of the ball makes a big difference in the amount of weight you are going to have hanging from your neck. I don't see too many ball blocks made for .32 or .36 caliber balls. Even .40 ball blocks are rather rare to see. Most are for .45, .50, .54, .58, and occasionally for a .62. I did see one for the .69 caliber ball, but he was shooting against a lot of men who were shooting minie balls, and paper cartridges, so he was quite " different", on the line.

Choose your wood well. Not only do the holes need to be separated so they don't interfere with your loading operation by having the ball next to the one you are trying to load hit the side of the muzzle, but you also need to have enough distance between the holes so that the wood between them does not break out. Some soft woods, like pine, do not hold up well, and can break out after drying over a winter in a warm, dry house.

I recommend choosing some hardwood for the ball blocks. Maples work, but so do walnut, birch, poplar, oak, ash, hickory, and the foreign exotics. Some men make the blocks with a handle on it. I think it adds unnecessary length, and weight I don't want to carry, but to each his own, no?YOU can stain the block any color you want, and finish them, or not, as you desire. Some blocks are ornately carved, or chip carved, by their owners. You see a lot of different kinds of ball blocks from the 19th century, and they tend to be as individual as the shooters were. The tighter the grain, the easier it is to do tight carving.

 

[longcruise]

Any help out there? At the moment I'm shooting .530 ball and .10 patch. What wood do you use? I saw the chart in the resourse thread.

The chart is a good start, but as you will see, the drill sizes are somewhat odd and may not be a size you have around the shop. Rather that spend money on a specialty drill, you can use a common size that is next down and use a rat tail file or a piece of metal rod with a slot in it and sandpaper in the slot to enlarge to the desired size.

I enlarge mine to make an easy but not too loose fit. Mine are all a bit thicker than most so that when they are loaded with my short starter the ball does not proturde from the other side. That way you are matching the way it would be cut in the barrel and the ball is not sticking out the other side gathering dirt.

The last board I made was in a hurry for a .50 cal and it was made of poplar. So far that is my least favorite wood for board. I prefer maple or oak.

I use the boards two ways. With a grease lube for hunting, the patching is greased then loaded into the board. For a woodswalk or a day of roving or field shooting, I load the balls dry and squirt a liquid lube onto the ball side of the patching just before loading. Witht the right lube it will eliminate the need to wipe between shots. With the grease lube I always wipe between shots to make loading easier.

I even use the board for paper target matches where all my loading gear is spread out on the bench. Helps me keep track of how many shots I've fired. Nothing more disconcerting than counting up six holes in a five shot match target.

 

[bocalbender1]

I have access to scraps of Grenadilla wood in rounds, I made a string of individual loading "discs" and hang them from the strap on my pouch. I keep them seperate using leather tabs. BB

 

[nw_hunter]

Shore would like to see some (Pic's.) of members loading boards! :grin:

 

[Claude Mathis]

Shore would like to see some (Pic's.) of members loading boards! :grin:

Here's one that looked pretty good, until I started "carving" on it. :shake:

 

[MFP308]

Gentlemen thank you for all your help! As usual the board stands up as a place of knowledge and scholarship. Now I have to find good piece of hardwood around here and start drilling.... Claud your board looks to be as thick as your ball and patch combo, true?

Mike

 

[boar]

I like Osage Orange wood. It looks good after the wood absorbs some of the lube. Dilly

 

[nw_hunter]

Still looks good Claude! :thumbsup:

 

[Claude Mathis]

Claud your board looks to be as thick as your ball and patch combo, true?

Yep. My thinking was, it would keep the ball from getting banged up.

 

[longcruise]

Here's one that looked pretty good, until I started "carving" on it.

I like it. Kinda folksy.

 

[Many Klatch]

Mike, the last bullet board that I made was out of a piece of walnut firewood that I picked up at the Northeastern Rendezvous this year. I couldn't bear to burn the walnut so I brought it home. I made a 10 shot board for my 72 caliber Bess. I only use it for speed shoots so the weight isn't a problem. I counterbored the holes on one side so that the board would set down over the end of the barrel and not slide around while trying to load in a hurry. The board worked so well, that I have been considering making one that holds only 4 patched balls to carry all the time in my pouch.

Many Klatch

 

[billk]

Can you post a picture of the counterbored board?
Thank you,
Billk

 

[Many Klatch]

Sorry, I haven't really bothered to figure out how to post pictures yet. FYI it's easy. I just bored a shallow hole the size of the outside of the barrel first and then bored my bore sized hole through the wood, that way it stays centered. It makes it handy for speed shoots.

Many Klatch

 

[Bountyhunter]

Chinese Elm, or Osage Orange, or Burr Oak will all work well if you take the wood from a large crotch where a limb comes off or in the stump where the roots come off for the tangled woodgrain fibers. Wood taken from a clear limb or trunk has straight grain and will split out on you. The crotch wood has a beautiful burl pattern also, the tangled grain of the burl prevents splits.

 

[paulvallandigham]

:hatsoff: Yep. Most people don'tknow that the quality of the wood from a particular tree varies according to what part of the tree is used. Its part of our ancient wood culture that we have " lost " to all but a few. What really blows people's minds is that even the season of the year when the wood is cut affects the quality of the wood and what purpose the wood can be used.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Probably 95% of the shots I take are loaded from a ball block. I like mine just maybe 1/8" above ball diameter so I can keep the lube off my shirt, jacket or shot bag.

The five-holer is purlpeheart and I carry that in a sheath sewn on the backside of my bag. The three-holer is tied to my horn strap and rides in a little "holster" on the horn strap. Makes for nice reloads when hunting that don't require digging cold, numb fingers into a bag and risking loosing something . . . or a very fast follow-up shot.

Rather than recess a thick block for the muzzle you can push the ball out a bit before ramming so the concave surface of the ball self-aligns itself in the bore.

 

[tg]

Here is one for the Chambers .62 Virginia smoothgun I bought second hand a few years ago, I did not make it, I have made some plain rectangle ones but never really used them. I find it handier to pull loose patches and ball out of the bag and lube with spit or from a small tin.

 

[MFP308]

Thank you all for the great info! I really appreciate the help.

Stumpkiller it looks like you have a great selection. Thanks for also telling me how you use them. I had been thinking about how to carry the board for quicker use and also about keeping the load clean so a holder or pocket would make sense. I'm trying to keep the weight down as well to keep thing as simple as possible.

Tg thanks for the image as well. Since I am looking to use these for hunting primarily I'm hoping that I can speed up my already slow loading process. That quick second shot might save an animal some grief.

Thanks again.

Mike