Ramrod Tips?

[Smokey Plainsman]

What are some HISTORICALLY CORRECT examples of ramrod tips in the 18th and early 19th centuries?

Today we use rods with 8-32 to 10-32 threaded tips, where we screw in modern style brass button jags and ball screws and stuff.

Did such things exist back then? How did they remove a stuck ball? What were there ramrods and accessories REALLY like back then?? :idunno:

-S.P.

 

[Black Hand]

https://ruxtonmuseum.org/tag/muzzle-loader/

http://www.cablesfarm.co.uk/ramrods-and-loading-rods/
https://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com/2016/10/ramrods.html

 

[Crewdawg445]

I personally use a rod screw for all my cleaning tasks.

Just like the examples BH posted, good information indeed.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I have seen many 'wiping sticks' in museums which were just whittled tapered sticks with a jag carved in the tip. The jag shape was very much like our present day brass ones. Some items from shooting bags had screws and worms. But, for details on how that got a stuck ball out under wilderness circumstances, I just dunno. :idunno: Methinks there had to be times the angry griz or injuns got them first.

 

[Black Hand]

But, for details on how that got a stuck ball out under wilderness circumstances, I just dunno.

I have seen accounts where the ball was pulled with a screw on a wiping rod (these were in a military context, though I'm certain they were used by civilians). From what I understand, some rods had a sheet iron end that was tapped to accept attachments - I have one I made on my rifle rammer...

 

[tenngun]

Phot please..... if you can, my computer skill is just a little better then Attila the Huns

 

[Black Hand]

Tapered end to match the rod. Sheet steel bent into a cylinder and brazed to join with a piece of steel rod inserted & brazed in place that was drilled and tapped. For what it is, the most time-consuming and fiddly thing I've ever made...

 

[Elnathan]

I don't think it was uncommon for people to remove a stuck ball or bad load by disassembling the gun and removing the breechplug. I think that is why you often see rifles with keys instead of pins but with a standard breech instead of a hook breech.

Jonathan Alder's Narrative mentions an incident in which one of Alder's neighbors removed a wet load by taking the breechplug out and I know that there are several other mentions of the practice in period accounts.

 

[tenngun]

:thumbsup:

 

[smo]

Excellent work! :thumbsup:

 

[Black Hand]

I think that is why you often see rifles with keys instead of pins but with a standard breech instead of a hook breech.

I think you might be overstating use of keys, at least in earlier periods. Admittedly, it has been a few years since I've looked through Shumway's excellent books, but I don't recall one gun (rifle or smoothbore) with a standard breech (which were all examples shown) having keys...

 

[Elnathan]

I don't recall anything specifying early rifles, though I think that the Adam Haymaker piece is an early example. There is another early example in Michael Brigg's book on Mecklenberg County rifles, too. Mostly, though, I was thinking of 1790s and later pieces, in which the barrel keys/standard breech combination was quite common - I haven't looked through Kindig, but a quick scroll through some of my Virginia and NC rifle books brings up dozens of examples.

There are are a bunch on Aspen Shade, though I can't link them individually: http://aspenshadeltd.com/inventory.html

 

[Grenadier1758]

The 1803 Harper's Ferry rifle has a standard breech plug with a wedge key.

Henry Deringer used wedge keys and a standard breech for his early 19th century rifles.

My Derringer (2 r's for a replica) rifle follows that tradition with wedge keys and a standard breech. Well you can see one wedge key of the three on the rifle.

Now for what its worth, breech plugs weren't as long as the modern breech plug, threads were coarse and the plug wasn't tightened as much as the plugs are tightened. Members of our gun club have seen originals that had breech plugs that could be removed by hand, no tools needed.

As a grenadier during the F&I war, the unit's serjents and the artificers carried the ball pullers to pull the ball after a round of guard duty. The steel ramrods had threaded ends to install a wad puller or tow jag for cleaning. The wooden rods did not have provisions for attachments other than a wire wrapped round the tip for catching tow or one of the few strips of cloths issued for cleaning.

 

[Crewdawg445]

I don't think it was uncommon for people to remove a stuck ball or bad load by disassembling the gun and removing the breechplug. I think that is why you often see rifles with keys instead of pins but with a standard breech instead of a hook breech.

Jonathan Alder's Narrative mentions an incident in which one of Alder's neighbors removed a wet load by taking the breechplug out and I know that there are several other mentions of the practice in period accounts.

I've read a few accounts of such.

However what is much more practical (can't account it's HC) and what I personally have done is affix the ball puller and cinch a leather thong around the rods end, tie the other to a small tree and pull.

 

[mark/wi]

That works great. Mark