ram rod finishes

[brain]

what can i use to finish a rod?
i was just looking for a quick project and made a new rod.
i'd like to do a striped one.
aqua fortis on hickory?
blo?
thoughts?

 

I treat my rods like the stock. Aqua fortis and LMF sealer and burnish in between coats with white Scotch-Brite.

For striped rods I roll a piece of aluminum foil as wide as I want the lighter spiral to be and wrap it in a spiral around the rod and slightly char with a propane torch. The aluminum protects the wood from char and gives you a nice looking rod. Any kind of tape is going to be trouble to remove after the adhesive gets cooked onto the rod. The aluminum foil just slides right off. No problems with having to remove nasty cooked on adhesive. :thumbsup:

 

[lizz]

The last one I did which was several years ago. I used a small tourch and free hand, than went over everything with walnut stain. I think Cooner54 has a good idea with the tin foil. Doc

 

[Birddog6]

I take a long strip of bed sheeting, fold it, wet it & wrap it on the rod & then take a torch & scorch it, then unwrap. Stain the rod with whatever ya want to acquire the color ya want, finish with Tru-Oil to seal it up good, then if gloss not wanted just a light 0000 steel wool rub.

I will say I have never seen a striped RR I liked on Any rifle. It just takes away from the rifle regardless of how fancy or plain ithe rifle is & just doesn't fit a ML. IMHO. Have done several for mine & every time they end up as kindling & I make a plain RR for them. :wink:

 

[Bubba45]

I just freehand mine with a propane torch,stain and then soak several days preferably outside on hot sunny days in a 50/50 mix of blo and mineral spirits in a pvc pipe.I let them hang and rub them down every so often until cured .

 

[Zonie]

I use a razor blade to cut down into a roll of black electrical tape to get a strip that is about 3/8 inch wide.
I then wrap that strip around the rod leaving a 3/8 inch gap between the spirals of tape.

I apply a alcohol based Walnut stain to the exposed wood. Usually two to three coats.
I remove the tape and then coat the entire rod with another coat of the Walnut stain and finish it off with two to three coats of Boiled Linseed Oil.

If I want it to have a glossy finish I use a coat of BC Tru-Oil over the BLO.
zonie

 

[mgcrumster]

Brain, I use 1/8" cotton light rope, and attach one end of the rope to the end of the rod using a tack. I then wind the rope so there is about 1/8" space between rope winds. and run it all the way up the rod. Once you reach the end use another tack to pin it to the other end of the rod and cut off the extra. Use your garden hose to soak the wound cotton rope, and rod together. Use a propane torch and carefully run the torch over the entire rod making sure the wood gets scorched evenly, make sure you don't burn through the rope, just keep the flame moving. If you burn through the rope the tightly wrapped rope will unwind, and the scorched twist will be uneven. This job is better done using an extra pair of hands, but can be done by yourself. Once completed, add a ramrod tip, and stain with aqua fortis, and finish with multiple coats of BLO... Happy Trails... Mgcrumster

 

[brain]

i just wanted to try something different. there's nothing wrong the one i have now.
a buddies dad has an orignal double barrel cap lock scatter gun that has a striped rod, and i like the look of it.
just thought i would try one myself.

 

[paulvallandigham]

That ramrod is not the original rod. It may be old, but its not original to the gun. People have been dandifying ramrods for as long as they have been used. There seems to be an infatuation with the ribbons and streamers of medieval jousts , and the Romance associated with such events. Some gun owners just have to gussy up their ramrods because they saw someone else do it. I do think that striped rods draw the eye away from the gunstock, both the wood and metal work. If you are shooting a true " ugly stick ", then perhaps that can be justified. But, if you are shooting a gun with good lines, well executed finishes on both metal and wood, and the wood has any kind of interesting grain to admire, why would you want people looking at a faked, " striped " ramrod instead of your fine gun? To each his own,of course.