What to do with a drab ramrod...

[noahmercy]

My GPR is effectively done, with the exception of the sights (still waiting :curse and the "stick".

The ramrod is dull, plain, vanilla, grainless, well...you get the idea. I saw a picture of Claypipe's GPR and it had a red ramrod. I thought that was striking. (Anyone know if that was stained wood or what?) I was wondering how common it is to have a contrasting ramrod. And what kind of finish do y'all favor (regardless of whether it contrasts or not)?

Thankya big big for sharing your ideas and experience, all! :master:

:thumbsup:

 

[Bountyhunter]

We used to take our ramrods, especially for the mountain or plains rifles and take a piece of string, like the soft package wrapping string that comes in a ball, you get it at office supply stores. We wound it around the rod in a spiral that suits you, and then cut it off, took it off and soaked it in rubbing alcohol, then rewrapped it and set it on fire. We used to let it burn for a while until it either burned off or got a good char started on the rod, holding the rod by the ends and turning it a bit to make sure that it keeps burning till you are satisfied. It will burn pretty good, so dont singe your mustache. A pair of leather gloves might be in order. This method will leave a nice charred spiral up your rod.

I always finished my rods with linseed oil and beeswax, it never really dries and leaves them more flexible. It put a nice color on my rods.

Bill

 

[Bob Riegl]

Search out for some posts on the Forum for candy-striping ramrods. It's similar to what was previously mentioned ( good idea I bookmarked). First I used a Minwax Golden Oak ( or whatever is your choice) stain on the ramrod---then I sewed a 1" tube of patch cloth about 36" long---which I soaked in water---then wrapped the ramrod in a spiral---and judiciously applied a propane torch to the exposed wood---just darkening the wood (slight char). Then I wipe the residue with some steel wool ( 0000 ) and dropped the ramrod into my tube of kerosene for a week. My ramrod soaking tube is made of 1-1/2" poly plumbing with a cap on the bottom (glued) and one on top as a cover.BTW the cloth tube is saved for future work as it doesn't get destroyed by the process. :m2c: :front:

 

[LRB]

In my opinion, you should leave it as it is. It will darken with use and look more like it should.

 

[gordy]

I guess it's up to individual preference.I have never striped one,but have stained some to speed the darkening process.How far back in time the "barber pole" style is historically correct would be a subject of debate.

 

[Claude Mathis]

The ramrod is dull, plain, vanilla, grainless,

Get some "brown" stain. Stain the whole thing lightly. After it dries, make a few places darker than the rest. Not like polka dots, but so it looks used.

 

[noahmercy]

Thanks fer the replies, fellas. ::

I had given some thought to candy-striping, but with the strong grain of the stock, I thought it might clash, so I was leaning more towards a solid color. What Claude suggests just might be the way I go...I let the LMF browning solution sit long enough to etch the metal on the gun, so the steel parts are not smooth and shiny. (It has a rustic/rough matte finish that pleases my eye.) A mottled ramrod would probably fit with the overall appearance better than anything I was thinking of. :hmm:

Thanks again, friends!

:thumbsup: