Seasoning a hickory ramrod?

[76monza]

I picked up some hickory ram rods to replace all the hard wood dowl rods and fiberglass rods that I have. I've heard people talk about soaking them in kerosene or coal oil. Does this really help with making the rods more flexible?
If it does, how long does it need to soak.
I hate going to the woods walk with my steel range rod I've broken enough hard wood rods, that I don't have a lot of faith in them. I'd sure like to here what you guys know about this.

 

[shmrck1]

smokeydays,
i read someplace that they need to soak for at least 30 days. the aticle suggested using capped pvc pipe for the soaking. i have not tried this but it does seem reasonable.i'm sure you will get other thoughts on this.
snake-eyes eace: :thumbsup:

 

[Birddog6]

This seasoning a RR in Kerosene or Coal Oil like in the "Ol Days" is an old wives tale... Coal oil was not discovered until about 1855, in production in ? 1877, to where Some people could afford it in 1900 or so & etc.
Does it work ? some says it does, but IMHO it is a total waste of time plus you can't stain the RR to match the rifle after soaking it. I tried it 25 years ago & could find no difference in it whats so ever, other than it smelled like Kerosene for 10 years..

A ramod is either straight grained & good, or it is not.... it is quite simple.

You buy a straight grained hickory rod with no grain run out & it will last you forever & will not break unless you abuse it or cut a notch or ring around it at the muzzle. Of the ? well over 100 ramrods I have made for people, 3/4 of them brought or sent to me to duplicate had a notch or ring cut where they broke...

Another farce..... Ramrods should be straight...
No.
Ramrods are bowed so they will stay put... If I have a straight one, I intentionally bow it. If it keeps creeping out when you carry it in the woods it will get caught on a vine or small tree & snap it off ot tear the front RR tube lose. :imo:

I suggest using a Range Rod with a bore guide at the range & save the Hickory rod for hunting..

 

Another farce..... Ramrods should be straight...
No.
Ramrods are bowed so they will stay put... If I have a straight one, I intentionally bow it. If it keeps creeping out when you carry it in the woods it will get caught on a vine or small tree & snap it off ot tear the front RR tube lose. :imo:

I suggest using a Range Rod with a bore guide at the range & save the Hickory rod for hunting..

Is there an easy/safe way to bow an existing production ramrod? The ramrod on my GPR doesn't fit real snug... it's already finished with the brass ends and everything. How would one go about putting a slight bow in it? (I'm most certainly not going to soak it in kerosene... bleck! I would get sick every time I shot it from the smell!)

 

[RussB]

Another farce..... Ramrods should be straight...
No.
Ramrods are bowed so they will stay put... If I have a straight one, I intentionally bow it. If it keeps creeping out when you carry it in the woods it will get caught on a vine or small tree & snap it off ot tear the front RR tube lose. :imo:

I suggest using a Range Rod with a bore guide at the range & save the Hickory rod for hunting..

Is there an easy/safe way to bow an existing production ramrod? The ramrod on my GPR doesn't fit real snug... it's already finished with the brass ends and everything. How would one go about putting a slight bow in it? (I'm most certainly not going to soak it in kerosene... bleck! I would get sick every time I shot it from the smell!)

Just dampen it with a cloth and sit it in a corner at an angle for a few days. I sometimes forget and stand them up in a cabinet or somewhere, and they take on the bow all by them selves.
I "try" to lay the extra rods on top of a cabinet with a 1/2" piece of wood in the middle, depending on the fittings on the rod. (In other words lay the rods across the small piece of wood, so they don't take on too much of a bow.)
Living in the Pacific Northwest, rods that are bowed is a way of life due to the high humidity. Most folks even remove them from the rifle when they store the rifle for a few months...they swell up if they aren't sealed properly.

Russ

 

I actually tried the kerosene treatment but could not determine if it did any good. I used PVC and you have to cap it because the wood will float out of the end of the pipe. Glue the bottom plug but not the top one - just push it on and set the whole thing in a corner for a few weeks. The wood did soak up some kerosene because the level of fluid went down in the pipe but you cannot stain the wood afterwards. Six months after treatment, I can't smell any kerosene but that may be because it has worked its way back out of the rod and whatever benefit was there is now gone.

 

[Birddog6]

If it were mine I would work the finish gloss off it with 00 steel wool, then soak it in a tube or water for about 2-3hrs, (some hole them over a pot of boiling hot water) then take it to a board 1x4 x 48" long, tape it doen on each end & out a piece or 2x4 (rounded off so not having a sharp edge) in the center to make it bow. Then take a heat gun & dry the rod, let it set about 2 days & that should bow it. The take some Tru-Oil and reseal it with 2 hand rubbed light coats of finish.
:results:

 

Good stuff. Thanks for the info! I believe I'll try it and see what happens.

 

[76monza]

Thanks everyone for your tips. I think I'll soak one or two and leave the others plain and see if I can notice any difference and I'll still use my range rod on the range.

 

[Herb]

I make mine complete with ends (rod tip on each end) and sanded or filed to go through the pipes and into the stock. Then I stain the rod with Fiebing's dark brown leather dye. When dry, a couple of hours, I put it into a four foot piece of electrical conduit with the bottom end soldered shut with a cap. The conduit has enough 100 percent neatsfoot oil in it to cover the top of the rod. I tie a string to the top of the rod so I can fish it out, and put a cork in the top. Let it set a week or a couple. Scrape the oil back into the pipe as I draw it out. Wipe it off and set it aside to dry. Already stained, no odor. I don't know if it is really worth the trouble, but its what I do. I guess the rods can be straightened (or bent) with heat and pressure, but I've not done it.

 

[sse]

The ramrod that rollingb (birthday boy) made for the rifle I got (stole) from him was too straight and would sometimes slide out a few inches. He said to apply steam and set it with a weight on it to bow it a little bit. However, before I got around to doing so, I broke the thang and rollingb refused to honor the lifetime warrantee!! :: ::

OK, there was no warrantee against sumbody doin something dumb.

regards, sse