tnlonghunter
40 Cal.
I came up with a method for tapering and sanding ramrods to fit that I thought I'd share. Maybe someone's already thought of this, but hopefully it'll help someone.
I needed to sand a regular 3/8" rod down enough to fit the pipes and stock of my york kit. Here's what I did. I used a Craftsman benchtop power sander with the disc and the 2 " verticle belt sanders. I used the disc attachment. I also used a high speed cordless drill.
1) I used two pieces of scrap wood, one of which was about 3/8" thick. I placed it exactly perpendicular to the disc, sandwiching the ramrod between the block and the disc so that the rod is was tightly sandwiched and would not move without being sanded.
2) Then I placed a second block on top of the first, flat up against the disc. This essentially is the same function as the featherboard on a router table, set up to reveal a small hole about 1/32 smaller in width than the ramrod.
3) Then I put the end of the rod into the chuck of my cordless drill and tighten.
4) Turn on the sander, set my drill to the highest speed and start the rod spinning.
5) Very carefully, insert the end of the spinning rod into the slot of the "featherboard" jig on the sander. Quickly, SMOOTHLY, and with consistent speed, run the spinning rod through the slot, and then pull it out.
6) Move the bottom of the two blocks in about 1/64 to 1/32 more, and repeat as many times as necessary to thin the rod to the necessary size. The top block will keep your rod from popping out of the slot. My goal was to remove about 1/32 per pass.
If you try it, make sure your blocks are at exactly a right angle to the disc and the rod is fairly straight (I know we'd use the straightest rods anyway).
This set up took me about 10 minutes and 3 passes. There were no sanding marks anywhere on the rod, and required only light handsanding with 220 next.
I know it ain't exactly PC, but it was fast, effective, and easy. Hope it helps someone!
I needed to sand a regular 3/8" rod down enough to fit the pipes and stock of my york kit. Here's what I did. I used a Craftsman benchtop power sander with the disc and the 2 " verticle belt sanders. I used the disc attachment. I also used a high speed cordless drill.
1) I used two pieces of scrap wood, one of which was about 3/8" thick. I placed it exactly perpendicular to the disc, sandwiching the ramrod between the block and the disc so that the rod is was tightly sandwiched and would not move without being sanded.
2) Then I placed a second block on top of the first, flat up against the disc. This essentially is the same function as the featherboard on a router table, set up to reveal a small hole about 1/32 smaller in width than the ramrod.
3) Then I put the end of the rod into the chuck of my cordless drill and tighten.
4) Turn on the sander, set my drill to the highest speed and start the rod spinning.
5) Very carefully, insert the end of the spinning rod into the slot of the "featherboard" jig on the sander. Quickly, SMOOTHLY, and with consistent speed, run the spinning rod through the slot, and then pull it out.
6) Move the bottom of the two blocks in about 1/64 to 1/32 more, and repeat as many times as necessary to thin the rod to the necessary size. The top block will keep your rod from popping out of the slot. My goal was to remove about 1/32 per pass.
If you try it, make sure your blocks are at exactly a right angle to the disc and the rod is fairly straight (I know we'd use the straightest rods anyway).
This set up took me about 10 minutes and 3 passes. There were no sanding marks anywhere on the rod, and required only light handsanding with 220 next.
I know it ain't exactly PC, but it was fast, effective, and easy. Hope it helps someone!
