Wooden Ramrod ???

[Mr Hawken]

you know now that i see that picture i'm sure thats what mine looked like before it broke. i bought a unbreakable ramrod and would never gor back. i just purchased a frontier rifle and i'm going to try the virtually indestructible ramrod at the top of the page and keep my original for cleaning

 

[aloyalistdawg]

Hello Fellas
yes I agree even one part looks like this grain get rid of it... I snaped 1 too many because of this...My best regards a loyalist Dawg :hatsoff:

 

[paulvallandigham]

I dind't know that people did not what grain " run-out " meant, and needed to be shown a picture to understand the concept. My apologies. I have been told privately that some people don't even know what is meant by " grain " in wood. Some of us have known about these kinds of things as long as we remembers, and its too easy to forget that most people live and grow up in an orban culture, several generaltions removed from anyone who would know, and teach them these basic concepts about wood.

I still would not recommend using that indestructable rod, made of some synthetic composite. For one, the rods weigh considerably more than an equivalent diameter hickory rod. Second, they are just not as good as a good brass or stainless steel range rod for load and cleaning.. Third, they don't come with a good muzzle protector in place, so that you stil have the problem of grit getting into the surface of the synthetic material and cutting the edge of your muzzle as you wipe the rod in and out of the gun with each shot. Its much harder to get grit out of those synthetic materials than out of wood, and certain compared to steel, or even brass.

Get a good range rod with a muzzle protector , and save the wooden rod in the gun for use only in the field. If the rod has grain run-out, replace it with a good stick. You also want to use a better glue, and also pin the ferrels that are on the ends of the factory rod, or you will find them pulling off sooner or later, and usually in the gun barrel so that you have a huge bore obstruction.

 

[Pigman]

Also remember regional differences. What you may think everyone calls something may only be people from your area. I never heard the term Run-out used in reference to grain. My father and grandfather called that side grain. But they were farmers and lumbermen not carpenters.

Thanks,
Mark C. Foster

 

[Zonie]

paulvallandigham mentioned pinning the ferrels (tips) onto the ramrod and I figure that some of you folks who have only owned factory guns may not be familiar with pinning the tip on.

Here is a picture of what he's talking about.



This is fairly easy to do so rather than send you to the Gun Builders Forum I'll describe it.

You need a 1/16 dia drill bit, a 1/16 diameter brass rod (available at hobby shops or many hardware stores), a pocket knife a small flat file and a little hammer.

With the tip in place, drill thru the metal and wooden rod for the pin.

Use your pocket knife point to make a chamfer at each end of the hole.

Insert a short piece of the rod so about 1/16 is sticking out of both sides of the metal tip.

Using the hammer, carefully deform the ends of the rod down into the chamfers on both ends. (This may leave a small lump of the rod sticking out of both sides of the tip.)

File the lump(s) flush with the metal tip.

Using this method you are not only PC, but you are no longer relying on a press fit or some glue to hold the tip(s) on your rod.

Don't be tempted to use large pins. You want as much wood in this area as possible and the strength of a 1/16 diameter pin is much more than the wood in this area.

zonie

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

FWIW I find a slight countersink cut into each drilled hole makes the pin really hold much better when peened into place ... gives the peened metal a place to form into.

Also with this method, you can file it so flush as to not increase the OD at that spot.

 

[Walker357]

Ignorant question on my part! If the wooden ramrod is just being used to load on the hunt and not for range work or cleaning, why would the tips be required(can't spell necasary)? Couldn't the rod be used as is? :hmm:

 

[Zonie]

Mowrey50: Yup, that's what I was trying to say when I said "...Use your pocket knife point to make a chamfer at each end of the hole." and "...
Using the hammer, carefully deform the ends of the rod down into the chamfers on both ends...." :grin:

One of the many neat things about Muzzleloading is that a person can make/build a lot of the stuff they need from a simple unbent paperclip for a flintlock vent pick to a finished custom rifle.

zonie

 

[Zonie]

Walker357: Sure a ramrod can be built/used without the tips, but if it is used very many times, the end will become deformed and it may split.

Because I use a short starter, I noted that it came with simple wooden dowels (hollowed out to fit the ball). It didn't last very long before it split so, when I replaced the dowels, I used a hack saw and cut a brass cartridge case of the right size into a couple of short length tubes.
I then reduced the diameter of the dowels ends so the brass tubes would just slip over them and epoxied the tubes in place.
With this reinforcement, the starter has lasted for years. :grin:
zonie

 

[Robert an saa fan]

Zonie - thanks for those illustrations and comments!

Many moons ago as a newbie, I broke a T/C Seneca .45 ramrod while loading and almost put the jagged rod into my hand. Another time had a ramrod tip come off inside a barrel while pulling a PRB.

Thanks! :hatsoff:

 

[atki]

another nifty little item is the wood ramrod with a metal center. Here is a website for a fellow that makes these ramrods. I have seen several and know guys that use them and they are really nice. They are made to fit your gun and be darn near industructable. But they look PC
[url] http://www.periodramrod.com/[/url]

WB