Ramrod choice question

[Hollowdweller]

OK so I broke the ramrod that was with my rifle. The wood one. I have a brass one I can use but I want another to actually fit in the rod holder on the rifle.

So I got some hickory rods from a mail order place and did one up. The first ram it broke in 3 pieces :rotf:

Well the way I had to order I got 5 of them so I took the tip off the broken one, put it on an intact one and sanded it down to where it will fit.

I haven't got a chance to check it out yet since I just fabricated it yesterday.

But my question is with these rods that were probably turned on a lathe or something I'm wondering if I might get better strength by just going out into my woods, selecting and barking a suitable sized hickory sapling or limb, letting it dry out and then putting a new tip on and whittling and sanding to size?

Also any suggestions of other woods that might be more suitable? I have numerous species and 85 acres of woods.

 

[Black Hand]

Make your rod from a (split) piece of straight-grained hickory. Make sure the grain runs end-to-end with little to no run-out. The last one I made was from a hickory plank that I got from the wood store. I looked through every piece they had to get one where the grain ran parallel to the wide faces/length of the board. I then ripped a piece 1/2" wide and went to work with planes, scrapers and sandpaper.

 

Hollow,
Finding something in the woods and then dresssing it down to a ram rod is going to be pretty tough. If you have gotten a couple of GOOD STRAIGHT GRAINED hickory blanks you are way ahead. Why the first one broke is anyone's question. Take the ones you have left and put them in a PVC pipe filled with lamp oil and let them soak for a week, or two. You should see the oil level go down as the rods soak it up, just refill the tube. If you let them soak for a week or two they should turn somewhat darker and in the end you will be able to "almost" bend them in half with out breaking. All that depends on how straight grained and inclusion free the blanks are.
Mark

 

[Black Hand]

Soaking your rods in kerosene/coal oil/etc. is a waste of time (and an old wives tale). It just makes them smell funny, hard to hold and doesn't do anything to increase flexibility....

Feel free to review numerous posts on this site and others covering this exact topic.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Soaking your rods in kerosene/coal oil/etc. is a waste of time (and an old wives tale). It just makes them smell funny, hard to hold and doesn't do anything to increase flexibility....

Feel free to review numerous posts on this site and others covering this exact topic.

Agree, kerosene drys and is useless after a couple weeks. I do soak my hickory rods in lemon oil. Mineral oil will probably work just as well. However, my 'using' rods are all synthetic. Mostly they are Delrin.

 

To each his own, has worked for a long time and will continue to do it. Hands don't amell, rods are not slippery and don't have any broken rods or splinters!
Mark

 

[Black Hand]

True.
The other side of the coin is that my unsoaked rods have functioned beautifully, with no funny smell, slippery grip or splintering.

In reality, if your rod breaks you had a crappy rod to begin with OR you did something wrong.....

 

[Walks with fire]

I am a fan of the black aluminum rods that are tapped on both ends. They are lighter than brass but rigid enough to seat a tightly patched ball without bending against the rifling.

 

[dcriner]

I think typical wood ramrods are too fragile to be used. I consider them ornamental - I leave them at home and use a steel or brass range rod. For hunting, various "unbreakable" rods will fit in your gun.

 

[Bill Hall]

Hollowdweller, you've hit upon a topic that has been plagueing alot of us lately, crappy ramrods. I only use the hickory rods that are part of the gun, but it's like pulling teeth to get a good one. Like you, I recently ordered a bunch of hickory rods, assuming at least half would be good. I think I got one 3/8" and one 7/16" that were good enough to use. If they have that "grain run-out", like Black Hand mentioned, they WILL break at some point. I learned the hard way many moons ago when I stuck a broken rod in the side of my hand. Lots of us have similar stories.

The thing is, if you get a good, straight grained rod, it will be nearly impossible to break (now don't quote me on that :surrender: ). You can bend the heck out of them without worry of breaking or splintering. They are either good or bad, not much wiggle room in between.

In the past, I've seen posts for a source for someone who specializes in good hickory ramrods. Don't remember who he is, but maybe someone will post his address again. I plan on trying him out on my next build. Good luck. Bill

 

[tg]

What Black Hand said or if you have to buy reday made ones buy from someplace you can pick them out so you can check for grain runout and do not order by mail.I agree that wood RR's if of good quality are very durable and will last a long time if you use them correctly,in the past they were about the only choice one had in a civilian gun, so they worked then and should work now,the use of as liquid to make them more flexinble is debatable one will never klnow how lonhg the soaed rod would have lasted if it had not been soaked, I have found it to be of no advantage that I could determine after about 40 years of trying both ways, I have broken some rods and knew most of them that broke would at sometime due to the grain, todays practice of using a very tight combo probably results in some broken ones when horsing the ball down to hard, short quick strokes work better :shocked2:

 

[Stumpkiller]

I select ramrods the same way I do arrows. As little run out as I can find.

Knock wood, since 1976 I have not broken a wood ramrod and have not used anything but - except for the steel rammer that my Bess came with.

 

[Erzulis boat]

Holy smokes! You too!

Last batch of Hickory rammers from TOTW yielded but 2 serviceable rods.

They all just snapped with maybe a 15-20 degree "test bend". I could plainly see multiple sections of grain "runout". Even the ones that passed muster were less than ideal.

I had none of these issues 5 years ago. :hmm:

 

[William O.]

Wooden ramrod with a steel core; http://www.periodramrod.com/

 

[roundball]

They all just snapped with maybe a 15-20 degree "test bend". I could plainly see multiple sections of grain "runout". Even the ones that passed muster were less than ideal.

Yes, and I was immune to it for the first few years into this great hobby because I used T/C Hawkens and their ramrods were made with resin injected into them in a special heat & pressure vessel...darn near strong as metal but were wood.
When the plant fire at T/C destroyed that facility, ramrods became not much more than hardware store dowels.

Reading about people injuring themselves with broken ramrods, and also not wanting to risk aborting a hunt if a rod broke, I switched to brass rods and never looked back...all my muzzleloaders have brass furniture so they seem to blend in OK and I never worry about them.

Here's a prime example of a ramrod that switched me to brass:

NOTE THE GRAIN PATTERN

AND WITH VERY LITTLE PRESSURE BEING APPLIED

 

[Birddog6]

For me, there is only one place to buy GOOD straight grained ramrod blanks. Steve Bailey. See his ad in the back of Muzzleblasts. I have bought over 100 ramrods from him. I probably have 40 here right now. I challenge anyone to come & find one with grain runout in them.
He hand picks the wood & makes them all, no junk & really good grain....

One guy told me "Dang, he wants a dollar more than the other places"....... My answer to that was "Do you want the RR working down thru the bore, or down thru your hand ?".

You build a guy a rifle & he runs the RR into his hand, I guarantee ya he is not thinking of the fine rifle you built him, he is thinking of this piece of sh!! ramrod you put with it !

Keith Lisle

PS: Guys..... Don't just glue those RR tips on.... You WILL be sorry....
Epory & Pin the RR tips on.

 

[Rifleman1776]

True.
The other side of the coin is that my unsoaked rods have functioned beautifully, with no funny smell, slippery grip or splintering.

In reality, if your rod breaks you had a crappy rod to begin with OR you did something wrong.....

Bingo. I agree. Bad rod to start with or doing something wrong will hurt you, no doubt. My approach is an extra measure of safety. If you never have a wreck you don't need seat belts either.

 

[hoochiepapa]

Ditto on Steve Bailey. I bought 10 ramrods from him 1/2 were 3/8", and half were 5/16". Very straight, and if I have any problems, I'll let you know.

 

[Hollowdweller]

Wow. Thanks Y'all.

My first post here and 17 replies.

Thanks for all the help :thumbsup:

I'll have to look at the remaining rods fairly closely but from what y'all are saying it's same as picking an hatchet handle.

The soaking thing occurred to me also. The one that cracked I put some light oil on but the second one I've been doing like I do axes and laying on the linseed oil to.

This is my first black powder gun and I've been loving the h*ll out of it. Soooo easy to hit the target with it. :thumbsup:

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you want to stop breaking hickory ramrods, learn to use as "hand-over-hand" loading technique. Never put your upper hand more than 8 inches( two palm widths, roughtly) over the one closest to the muzzle. Most Hickory rods don't come with muzzle protectors( bore guides) so you learn to use your thumb and forefinger at the muzzle to center the rod as you run the PRB down the barrel. You hold the muzzle of the barrel with the remaining 3 fingers, wrapped around the barrel. Easy. When the top hand drives the rod down to the lower hand, you move the thumb and forefinger out of the way, as you continue to run the PRB down. You three fingers in the upper hand spread out, and replace the finger on the lower hand on the muzzle, as the lower hand is finally moved off the barrel. The lower hand then replaces the former upper hand, and you repeat the process. Its nowhere as difficult as it is to describe in print. :shocked2: :v :grin:

You cab pull a rod out of the barrel by grabbing it on its end, but don't try to push the rod while holding the rod on the end when loading a PRB. Even working a bore brush down into the barrel requires a bit of a "feel", best done with the Hand-over-hand technique. The same if you are using a large cleaning jag, and tight patches. If there is resistance, either pull the offender out of the barrel, and try something smaller, or use the hand over hand method.

Its both safer for you, and safer for that rod. Every wooden rod I have seen broken by guys are the range over the years( and even at some Rendezvous!) happened when someone tried to show us all how strong he is, by shoving a PRB down his barrel in one STROKE. All that strength on the end of the rod simply bends the rod quickly, and it breaks before the shooter has time to STOP.

It doesn't have to happen, EVER. You do want a straight grained hickory rod- NO run-out of grain at all. But, such a rod is worth the extra cost, and will serve you a life-time. I have hickory rods going on 30+ years and there is NOTHING wrong with them. And, I don't have scars in my hands, and forearms from shoving a broken ramrod through them. I have friends who do. :shocked2: