straightening hickory ramrods

I recently received some hickory ramrods from Dixie and 3 of the 4 were, and still are, as crooked as a dogs hind leg. Can I steam them to straighten them or can I use my arrow straightener, or, any of you gurus got a better way? I'm certainly open to suggestions! Thanks!

Vic

 

[musketman]

Steam should work, holding the rod straight until cool...

The Native Americans use to heat large stones (softball size, thereabouts) in a fire and then roll them out of the fire and work the crooked arrow shafts over the hot rock to straighten them...

The rocks would retain the heat for an hour or so, there was no need to rush, they would also heat more rocks while working the heated ones to minimize their down time...

Originally this method was for arrow shafts, however this should work on ramrods as well...

 

I use a tea pot for steam and my hands to straighten arrows - would think it would work on ramrods. I bend the crooked spots past "straight" and let them spring back. After you've done a few, it's pretty fast and surprising how straight they will get.

 

Thanks musky and anvil. I have straightened my arrows as you described and was what I intended to do with the ramrod. Musketman....I ain't never used hot rocks for that but I can't imagine why it wouldn't work....think I'll use my tea kettle...doesn't take as long to heat up and the wife would probably protest rocks in the oven as it's too hot for the fireplace. I'm grateful to both of ya!

Vic

 

[RussB]

I've used "coal oil" "Kerosene", or "lamp oil", in a 1/2" pvc pipe, cut to length, plugged on one end, filled, put the ram rod in it, plug the other end, and lay it on a flat surface for two/three days.
Seems to make the rod straight, and much less brittle.
Oh, forgot the electrician tape on both ends. (Helps keep the ends from getting soaked.)
Russ

 

[tg]

You can heat the wood with flame or a other source of dry heat as well if you grease the wood to avoid scorching, this is also a NA method used by many plains tribes, the grooves and designs they scrathed in the shafts before the process were to help keep the shaft straight.

 

Russ: i've read that the wooden rods soaked in kerosene also gives them some additional stregnth. I don't know why that is. I've also read the pvc pipe trick to hold the rods in the kerosene should be used to soak them for up to one year. Seems like a long time but it's supposed to work.

 

[Ohio Joe]

I use the lamp oil and pvc method for 3 to 6 months just to be sure the lamp oil has penetrated good. I then set the rod in the sunshine for several days, sand it, and seal it with a polyurethane, or Danish Oil... I have found by soaking the rod in lamp oil it gives it more flex, and I think that is where the extra strength comes from... I've never broke one by using this method... You can actually do several rods at one time depending on the size of the pvc you use, and have them waiting in the wings if needed... I have about a half dozen I have had ready for years and the last I checked they were all in good shape, setting in the corner of the gun cabnit tied to a piece of ready rod to keep them straight...

 

The Native Americans use to heat large stones (softball size, thereabouts) in a fire and then roll them out of the fire and work the crooked arrow shafts over the hot rock to straighten them...

The rocks would retain the heat for an hour or so, there was no need to rush, they would also heat more rocks while working the heated ones to minimize their down time...

Originally this method was for arrow shafts, however this should work on ramrods as well...

You wanna watch out which sort of rocks you use for this. Some rocks will explode like grenades when heated by fire. :shake:

 

Well, I found out tonight what the oldtimers did when a ramrod broke in the middle of a fight. I stacked the pieces and finished the ramming, dumped the fragments out of the barrel then fired the last shot of the night. Normally, I use a steel range rod but did not take it this time.

I have been using hardwood dowels from Home Depot but that practice stops here. The dowel broke in two places even though the ball wasn't that hard to seat. It also didn't sliver but snapped cleanly right across the grain. I don't know if soaking in kerosene would work or not but I'm sticking to hickory or equivalent from now on.

 

[RussB]

Well, I found out tonight what the oldtimers did when a ramrod broke in the middle of a fight....I don't know if soaking in kerosene would work or not but I'm sticking to hickory or equivalent from now on.

Anvil...Ya gotta try that kerosene thingy at least once. It works! I left a rod standing in my lube locker a little while back, probably stood there 6 months or more, anyway it had taken on a bend, or sloping curve from standing.
A little before this thread started I found it, and put it in kerosene, in a pvc pipe, laid it out on the back of the boat in the sun, and after 3/4 days I took it out and it was straight. Problem was I didn't tape up the fittings on the end, I don't know if they are going to work loose now or not, but I've always heard they should be taped tight with electricians tape for about an inch above each fitting.

And....."flexing" the rod is easy, without breaking it.
Give it a try with those "cheaper" wooden dowels, you just might be surprised what a nice range rod they can turn out to be. Of course you can't put no finish on'em later, but I think they look real good the way they are...more "natural".

And, Hickory is still the wood of choice for these things, no matter how we slice it, hickory is still hickory.
Russ

 

[RussB]

I recently received some hickory ramrods from Dixie and 3 of the 4 were, and still are, as crooked as a dogs hind leg. Can I steam them to straighten them or can I use my arrow straightener, or, any of you gurus got a better way? I'm certainly open to suggestions! Thanks!

Vic

Vic...have you resolved your problem with the ramrods yet?
I haven't looked at the Dixie rods lately, but that was ALWAYS a problem in the past. I would say two out of five orders ended up as you described. Others claim they were a great deal??? Just the luck of the draw...maybe
Russ

 

Hey Russ....

No, I haven't had time to bother with the rods. I scraped down the straightest one to fit my 36 thimbles but other than that the rest are standing in the corner becoming more crooked I'm sure. We're 4-6 weeks away from finishing our house so nearly all my attention is directed there. ONCE WE GET IN THE DARN THING I'll set my reloading/fly tying/bullet csting benches up and I'm going to soak them in kerosene/fuel oil for a few months. I'd read of that method 30 years ago but never tried it. I believe it's time. I suppose hickory ramrods are the same as building lumber, there isn't a lot of good stuff out there.

Vic

 

[TwoShadows]

Best thing I ever came up with is to always have 3-4 extra ramrods on hand...whether you soak them or not....bundle them together and put rubber bands along the length of them every 6 inches or so....that keeps them straighter....it is also a good idea to fasten them all around a straight piece of pvc pipe or any straight object.

 

[RussB]

Best thing I ever came up with is to always have 3-4 extra ramrods on hand...whether you soak them or not....bundle them together and put rubber bands along the length of them every 6 inches or so....that keeps them straighter....it is also a good idea to fasten them all around a straight piece of pvc pipe or any straight object.

V-e-r-y good advise.....It took me years to learn to stop standing them up in a corner somewhere. It got to the point where I thought you were supposed to automatically order new ones every two / three years because I believed all rods were "prone" to breaking and warping. It never dawned on me that I was creating the warp from how I stored them....duuh! It's been several years now since I've had to replace any, and since I've started laying them down flat, I seldom find a crooked one anymore.
Russ

 

Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Best thing I ever came up with is to always have 3-4 extra ramrods on hand...whether you soak them or not....bundle them together and put rubber bands along the length of them every 6 inches or so....that keeps them straighter....it is also a good idea to fasten them all around a straight piece of pvc pipe or any straight object.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I shoot traditional archery and do this with arrows. Put a dozen together and they stay straight.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I've been wondering if I should hop in wityh some tips I have gleaned from straightening cedar arrows for a gozillion years. I don't know if hickory plays as nice as cedar.

Heating the spot first always helps make a straightening last longer. Even rubbing it very hard with a rag or bit of leather until warm will help. Sight down the rod (or roll it on a flat surface) to find the high spot. Then, heat (with air gun or rag) and roll the meat of the palm of your hand at the base of your thumb into that spot while sighting down the rod and supporting it in your hands. If you try by pushing with both thumbs you'll break many.

You can also use a "button-hook" shaped piece of heavy wire or a section of antler to apply force to counteract a bend(instructions below). Burnishing with a piece of wood or antler also gives a nice, smooth surface.

http://www.primitiveways.com/arrow_straightening.html

http://www.stickbow.com/stickbow/arrowbuilding/

You do realize a nice, straight ramrod will slip out of the thimbles when carried or fired? A bit of crooked keeps it in place.