Redux - Bamboo ram rods

[Paul R]

I spent some more time & extra effort, trying to see if bamboo would make decent ramrods. So, taking the face layers off of some salvage engineered bamboo paneling I had kicking around, and then gluing them together, resawing them into 3/8" strips and finally machining them round.
The results - perfectly straight grain, no runout, & somewhat flexible. Good so far.
The test - Holding the ends & seeing how far they would bend. FAIL! I found that the weak spot on the outside of the bend was the node, which was every 6-10" on each individual strip of bamboo. That was where they always failed & turned into a bunch of long splinters.
Conclusion - Every one who said 'stick with hickory', was right. Bamboo seemed to have all the right characteristics, but, with the final test, proved completely unsatisfactory for this use.
Paul

 

[hawkeye2]

How far did you bend them before they broke? While flexability is a desireable feature a ramrod shouldn't be subject to much bending in use.

 

Where and when were bamboo ramrods used in North America prior to 1865?

 

[Semisane]

Not bamboo, :hmm: but I have not the least bit of doubt that in the 1800's someone somewhere used a length of common river cane for ramming home a ball or packing the wad in a smoothbore. It just had to have happened. :wink:

 

[Rifleman1776]

Not bamboo, :hmm: but I have not the least bit of doubt that in the 1800's someone somewhere used a length of common river cane for ramming home a ball or packing the wad in a smoothbore. It just had to have happened. :wink:

Casreful with the common sense here.
Someone is sure to come along an demand you provide a link to prove that statement.
I agree, folks did, and still do, whatever needs to be done to get the job done.
Still, I don't think bamboo is worth considering using as a ramrod except in emergency circomstances.

 

[Prairieofthedog]

Moose in Canoe,I have a friend who makes Bamboo backed long bows.When he finishes the bow he only takes a slight amount of material off the surface of the Bamboo esp. at the nodes.If he takes to much off they will fail at nodes,otherwise they are a very reliable bow.

 

[Paul R]

I realy have no idea whether or not any one used bamboo for ram rods in the period you mentioned. IMHO, no one used engineered bamboo like I tried to work with. In a recent thread discussing ram rods,a poster inquired if bamboo could be used. Because I had some material on hand & the skills to work with it, I decided to give it a try. My results were as posted.
Paul

 

[Paul R]

The rods broke approaching 90 degrees. They were considerably more limber then hickory, though with careful handling probably would have worked as ram rods, but IMHO would have ranked right alongside of hickory with runout. That is why I can't recommend this method of making ramrods.
Paul

 

[Eljay]

Thanks - I was curious about this myself. Now I don't have to try it!

 

[Snow on the Roof]

Where and when were bamboo ramrods used in North America prior to 1865?

Don't know about 1865 but I have a 48"bamboo rod built in 1965. Still as strong as ever. I've used it as a range rod since the 1970's. It is made of split sections glued together much like a flyrod.

snow

 

[Paul R]

I did some further research in my library & found a 1982 woodworking magazine with instructions for building a bamboo fly rod. The difference shown in preparing segments, by hand, from raw cane, as compared to my attempt to use strips of machine-cut would explain why my attempts failed. The greatest strength of bamboo is in it's outer layer which must be maintained for the integrity of the segment, something a cold-hearted machine doesn't do well.
Gosh, that sounds just like hickory, where the best ramrods are made by hand.
So, I must admit I was wrong, again, for the first time today. Bamboo may work just fine for ramrods, just not made the way I did. However, I think I will leave it to someone else to do the fussy,careful, hand work to produce bamboo ramrods. But then, don't we all do fussy, careful, hand work if we build MLs?
Have a good day, all.
Paul

 

[tg]

The need to leave a single undisturbed layer of growth at the outside is probably as important as in bowmaking. There is no compreshion and expansion of opposite sides as much in a RR but jusy a bit can snap a wrongly made rod, the "physical" principal is the same with both items.

 

[Greenmtnboy]

after I built my strawbail house I had a bunch of bamboo left over(it's used to pin the bails)
For a wile I used them for larg cal field rods mainy for a conversation piece at shoots :grin: they worked fine but left a little to much sediment all over the place.

 

[Greenmtnboy]

Where and when were bamboo ramrods used in North America prior to 1865?

what does that have to do with the topic.
:shake:

 

[tg]

"what does that have to do with the topic.'

Well, this is the shooting accessories forum and bamboo has "shoots" so there is a typical connection I think :hmm:

 

[Fred_Dwyer]

If the winter nights are still long enough for some further tinkering. Bamboo fishing rods are made and meant to flex under quite a bit of varying load. They are constructed out of 6 small rectangles glued together with polyester glue. The nodes are still there but are backed up by 5 other straight grained sections. A 6 sided rod could be made and spokeshaved & sanded to round.

 

Where and when were bamboo ramrods used in North America prior to 1865?

what does that have to do with the topic.
:shake:

Nobody's talking to you shorty. :rotf:

 

[Greenmtnboy]

"what does that have to do with the topic.'

Well, this is the shooting accessories forum and bamboo has "shoots" so there is a typical connection I think :hmm:

ya no doubt T.G.
:thumbsup:

 

"what does that have to do with the topic.'

Well, this is the shooting accessories forum and bamboo has "shoots" so there is a typical connection I think :hmm:

Oh, TG, I'm surprised. You of all people. :wink:

"1. The focus of this site is "Traditional Muzzleloading"; The history of the people, the muzzleloading weapons and battles, up to and including the American Civil War. (From the inception of firearms through 1865)"

 

[hoochiepapa]

Living up to your reputation, eh, Jack?