Tow worm

[Daryl Crawford]

Sorry for a "new guy question" but I'm a little concerned on tow worms. I thought I wanted the simple spring that threads on the end of my ram rod. Others have suggested the screw in variety buy the ones I've seem to be hard steal and I worry about scratching my bore. Does the old style spring work well enough?

 

[tenngun]

I have the spring shaped one that screw on to a plain ramrod end.
Run tow, or even strips of rag and it swabs well.
That said, at home most of the time I use a wiping stick with a modern style jag.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Couldn’t the spring pop off and enlodgen it and the tow in the bore?

 

[Frogman]

Tie a string onto the spring that if it does come off you can pull it out, done it a few times

 

[George]

I've been using the coil spring style tow worm for a long time without problems. To make sure I never lose it, I whittled threads on the small end of my ramrods so the worm can screw on snuggly.

Spence

 

[tenngun]

Couldn’t the spring pop off and enlodgen it and the tow in the bore?

No it ‘screws’ on to the wood. It’s tapered and gets pretty tight.

 

[jbwilliams3]

Couldn’t the spring pop off and enlodgen it and the tow in the bore?

They work like a Chinese finger trap, so they don't come off easily. It's certainly possible though. I had one for an old trade gun and used it from time to time. I never really used it hard but just to swab the bore every once in a while.

For regular threaded worms, just ensure you have enough tow wrapped around the tines and you don't need to worry about scratching anything.

 

[Daryl Crawford]

Does raw wool or jute chord fiber work as well on the spring?
Thanks for the tip on tying a string to it.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Tow, raw wool, jute cord, hemp cord, manila cord or sisal cord will work very well. The string tied to the material or the spring is indeed a good idea. I use the tow and toggle which is a ball of tow with a linen string tied to it. The button tip of my ram rod on the land pattern musket (Brown Bess) doesn't always grip the ball of tow and I need the string to pull the tow out.

 

[spudnut]

Couldn’t the spring pop off and enlodgen it and the tow in the bore?

Once you twist it on a few times it kida forms oa thread into the wood. They can still slip off, but you just snag it with another one, I use them all the time in my smoothbores

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

I've been using the coil spring style tow worm for a long time without problems. To make sure I never lose it, I whittled threads on the small end of my ramrods so the worm can screw on snuggly.

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Spence

That’s a great idea.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I've used them both in both rifle and smoothbore. With enough tow to fill the bore the scraping is not an issue with either. Spence's groove is the way to go and, keep giving the rod a twist to snug it up.

 

[Grenadier1758]

When you get the wad of tow to the breech, twist the ramrod clockwise to tighten the twisted wire worm on the rod.

 

[Cruzatte]

When you get the wad of tow to the breech, twist the ramrod clockwise to tighten the twisted wire worm on the rod.

Not only does that tighten up the worm on the rod, but it also scrubs the face of the breech plug as well.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

I've been using the coil spring style tow worm for a long time without problems. To make sure I never lose it, I whittled threads on the small end of my ramrods so the worm can screw on snuggly.

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Spence

I love that so much. I want to make one just like that.

Does anyone know where to get a coil for a .40 cal?

 

[Grenadier1758]

Most of us have the makings of a tow worm in our closet. My coil wrap tow worm is made from a section of wire clothes hangar. I am assuming you have a 3/8" ramrod. First I took a 6" section of 3/8" dowel rod, chucked it in my electric drill and rasped or sanded a coarse blunt taper. Starting at just about the full diameter of the ram rod, start coiling the coat hangar around the tapered dowel. You need about 4 coils to catch the ramrod and about 4 to 6 more to wrap the cleaning material. Twist the coil on your ramrod and mark the wraps. Using a round needle file, make shallow grooves to guide the coil on your rod.

The soft steel of the wire clothes hangar is perfect for the tow worm. It will grab the rod and tighten up when twisted in the bore.

 

[Golfswithwolves]

Tow worm sounds like an unpleasant disease.

 

[Cruzatte]

Does anyone know where to get a coil for a .40 cal?

Track of the Wolf. One size fits all. I use one on my 20 ga fusils, and my .54 rifle. They work a treat. But I like the DIY approach above even better.

 

[Daryl Crawford]

Made it today from a coat hanger. Thanks so much for the idea. Think the gun will end up waiting to be cleaned until tomorrow afternoon though as today has officially gotten away from me and I've got quite a few hours more grading I must complete today.
Again thanks for the tip!

 

[Grenadier1758]

I forgot to tell you to sharpen the final point to better catch loose tow or cleaning patches that come loose in the bore.