# ramrods



## fishfryer (Feb 7, 2013)

Anyone have a source for 5/16 hickory ramrod stock? Have any of you used the imported varieties of wooden rods? The synthetic rods work very well,but a nice wooden rod with striping around it looks very nice. Do y'all soak your wooden rods in kerosene to toughen them? Brass and stainless rods work great,but don't go too well with  the older styled rifles,as far as looks go. It's raining and I can't get to my shop,and I'm bored,so feel free to give me your thoughts on ramrods/wiping sticks/range rods etc.


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## FrontierGander (Feb 7, 2013)

you gonna melt if you get wet?


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## NCHillbilly (Feb 7, 2013)

Track of the Wolf usually has it. Synthetic rods are great for cleaning, rain, etc., but I couldn't bring myself to put one in a flintlock. Last one I made was 3/8" hickory sanded down to fit the pipes snugly, then I layed the bear grease to it several times.


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## fishfryer (Feb 7, 2013)

FrontierGander said:


> you gonna melt if you get wet?



Who knows,I might sprout! Besides there's too much humidity to put on finish,that's what I've got going. Y'all might not understand 98-100% humidity.


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## fishfryer (Feb 7, 2013)

NCHillbilly said:


> Track of the Wolf usually has it. Synthetic rods are great for cleaning, rain, etc., but I couldn't bring myself to put one in a flintlock. Last one I made was 3/8" hickory sanded down to fit the pipes snugly, then I layed the bear grease to it several times.



We're on the same page about flintlocks. This ramrod is for one I'm building. I know about TotWolf,there is another place,I believe it is October Country that sells an imported wood they say is better than grits. I've got some hickory that I can rip make a homemade rod out of. I'm fresh out of bear grease though,maybe kerosene will do.


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## tv_racin_fan (Feb 7, 2013)

Make sure whatever you get wooden has straight grain.

I grabbed a piece of dowel from Wal Mart one day made sure it had nice straight grain and made myself a range rod. It has no ends on it but does have a big ole drawer pull I need to get an end and pin both the end and the drawer pull.


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## fishfryer (Feb 7, 2013)

tv_racin_fan said:


> Make sure whatever you get wooden has straight grain.
> 
> I grabbed a piece of dowel from Wal Mart one day made sure it had nice straight grain and made myself a range rod. It has no ends on it but does have a big ole drawer pull I need to get an end and pin both the end and the drawer pull.



10-4 on the straight grain. After the posting that you saw,I read an article from Muzzle Blast magazine about suitable woods for ramrods. He said in that article that the birch dowel rods normally found in hardware stores were next to hickory in suitability. He also rated our native woods for use as ramrods. Surprising to me was that yellow pine was a pretty good choice. Locust was a good one too,they are pretty scarce around here though. I'm looking for a birch one now,very possibly that's what you've got. Ain't the internet wonderful? In a few respects,anyway.


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## Whiteeagle (Feb 7, 2013)

Like NChillbilly, my 35+ y/o ramrod broke and i got a hickory dowell rod ay Home Depot, sanded to fit and put several coats of boiled linseed oil no it. Looked better than the original and matched the walnut real good! And yes, be sure to check the grain.


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## White Horse (Feb 8, 2013)

I wouldn't put a synthetic rod on a traditional rifle, like y'all have said. However, as I just posted on another thread, I shoot a .32 a little bit, and that ramrod has to be really thin, so I mostly use a steel range rod with it.

With my .50 cal. flintlock I use a hickory rod made by the same gunsmith who made the rifle. It was soaked in coal oil when it was made, and it never has broke.


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## Nugefan (Feb 8, 2013)

fishfryer said:


> imported wood they say is better than grits. .



ain't no way it's better than grits ...


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## pine nut (Feb 8, 2013)

I made one for my Flintlock from a hickory tree.  I should have started with a smaller tree though.  Long story.  LOL! Cut a sapling down that is straight and long er than you need .  Drill, saw and file a flat piece of steel making slots of progressively smaller diameter with the drilled holes at the bottom of each slot.  Split the sapling and start pulling it through the slots until you work it down enough to the diameter you want.  This way it will follow the grain and you can heat it if needed to straighten it.  Do not start with an eight inch in diameter tree trunk!  Make several out of your sapling..  I left one end a bit fatter to better fit the bore and make grabbing it out of the rifle ferrels easier.


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## fishfryer (Feb 8, 2013)

Nugefan said:


> ain't no way it's better than grits ...



Tell it brother,A bowl of Aunt Jemima with extra sharp cheddar is hard to beat. Add some yard eggs, and some hot whole hog sausage with a couple of catheads,and you can achieve nirvana. And no,that's not a furbearing animal in Louisiana.


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## fishfryer (Feb 8, 2013)

pine nut said:


> I made one for my Flintlock from a hickory tree.  I should have started with a smaller tree though.  Long story.  LOL! Cut a sapling down that is straight and long er than you need .  Drill, saw and file a flat piece of steel making slots of progressively smaller diameter with the drilled holes at the bottom of each slot.  Split the sapling and start pulling it through the slots until you work it down enough to the diameter you want.  This way it will follow the grain and you can heat it if needed to straighten it.  Do not start with an eight inch in diameter tree trunk!  Make several out of your sapling..  I left one end a bit fatter to better fit the bore and make grabbing it out of the rifle ferrels easier.



I've seen pictures of, I guess dowel makers. What I'm talking about is the appropriate size hole drilled through a steel plate,and undercut on the back side. You force your square cut of wood through the opening,and pull from the back to make a dowel. I haven't seen it work,but it might. The dowel that is made might be weak,who knows. I may give it a try one day. In the meantime your method using a shaving horse is probably best.


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## pine nut (Feb 9, 2013)

I forgot to say that about undercutting the back side of the hole and taper the slots down to the holes drilled so you can strip the wood down until it fits the bottom drilled hole contour.  Not sure I communicated well.  It acts like a shaving horse somewhat.


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## Redleaf (Feb 10, 2013)

I read somewhere that you can soak a wooden rod in antifreeze to make it less brittle too.  Never tried it.  Coal oil is supposed to work too,  but I think WalMart is sold out of coal oil.  On the subject of range rods,  I've seen a lot of muzzleloader shooters who do not know how much easier it is to load and clean with a good range rod, vs the rod in the gun.  I make my own on a bench lathe using 1/4" or 5/16" stainless rod (depending on the caliber).  I drill and pin a 3/4" T handle (SS also) on it and make brass jags and nylon bore guides that slide on the rod.  I've probably made a 100 over the years for friends and other shooters.  A good range rod is a necessity if you ever shoot more than 10 or 12 times a year.


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## fishfryer (Feb 10, 2013)

Redleaf said:


> I read somewhere that you can soak a wooden rod in antifreeze to make it less brittle too.  Never tried it.  Coal oil is supposed to work too,  but I think WalMart is sold out of coal oil.  On the subject of range rods,  I've seen a lot of muzzleloader shooters who do not know how much easier it is to load and clean with a good range rod, vs the rod in the gun.  I make my own on a bench lathe using 1/4" or 5/16" stainless rod (depending on the caliber).  I drill and pin a 3/4" T handle (SS also) on it and make brass jags and nylon bore guides that slide on the rod.  I've probably made a 100 over the years for friends and other shooters.  A good range rod is a necessity if you ever shoot more than 10 or 12 times a year.



Yessir,they certainly are nice when target shooting. The bore guides do help protect the bore rifling. When traveling to and from the range though,you need that wooden rod in the rifle to look purty.


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## jeclif (Feb 10, 2013)

fishfryer said:


> Tell it brother,A bowl of Aunt Jemima with extra sharp cheddar is hard to beat. Add some yard eggs, and some hot whole hog sausage with a couple of catheads,and you can achieve nirvana. And no,that's not a furbearing animal in Louisiana.



you forgot the texas pete


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## fishfryer (Feb 10, 2013)

jeclif said:


> you forgot the texas pete



The sausage is covered,you mean for the eggs? Texas Pete is good,but I'm partial to Frank's.


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## mmarkey (Feb 11, 2013)

Another source for 5/16" is Knob Mountain Muzzleloading. 

Do not, repeat DO NOT use that South American wood known as rammin. Cheaper than Hickory but very brittle. In 40 years of Muzzleloading the only rod I ever broke by accident was made of rammin. 

I test all my hickory rods by bending them severely in all directions. If I don't break them I use them. I don't soak them in anything. All I do to them now is stain them to match the rifle somewhat, and apply a coat of wax. I don't apply finish, (other than wax) I think it makes them to slippery and they slide out when shooting, then the muzzle flash burns the finish off. 

Just the way I do it.


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## fishfryer (Feb 11, 2013)

mmarkey said:


> Another source for 5/16" is Knob Mountain Muzzleloading.
> 
> Do not, repeat DO NOT use that South American wood known as rammin. Cheaper than Hickory but very brittle. In 40 years of Muzzleloading the only rod I ever broke by accident was made of rammin.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the heads up,that Ramin sounds good from the writeup by Track',but I'll take your endorsement over their's. I didn't like the imported part anyway. So you don't soak your rods in kerosene or anything? I can well understand the slippery part,when you get one stuck you need all the traction you can get. Do you pin the tip to through the rod,or use two-part epoxy to hold it on?


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## flintlocker (Feb 11, 2013)

fishfryer said:


> Thanks for the heads up,that Ramin sounds good from the writeup by Track',but I'll take your endorsement over their's. I didn't like the imported part anyway. So you don't soak your rods in kerosene or anything? I can well understand the slippery part,when you get one stuck you need all the traction you can get. Do you pin the tip to through the rod,or use two-part epoxy to hold it on?



 Do you pin the tip to through the rod,or use two-part epoxy to hold it on?

I pin AND epoxy mine, They aint coming off. LOL
I strongly suggest Hickory its all I use while hunting, but I use a brass range rod during regular shooting sessions.


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## mmarkey (Feb 11, 2013)

fishfryer said:


> Thanks for the heads up,that Ramin sounds good from the writeup by Track',but I'll take your endorsement over their's. I didn't like the imported part anyway. So you don't soak your rods in kerosene or anything? I can well understand the slippery part,when you get one stuck you need all the traction you can get. Do you pin the tip to through the rod,or use two-part epoxy to hold it on?



I pin my ramrod tips with 1/16" Brass wire peaned on both sides. You can also epoxy but that's like a belt and suspenders. I also make extra long 48" hickory rods for range rods. I use a steel rod with a muzzle protector for cleaning only.


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## F.A.R.R. (Feb 12, 2013)

The last one I did was for a .50 cal flintlock. Used a hickory dowel with a brass end.  Epoxied and pined the brass tip on it.  I also figured out a neat way to remove the wood with a router to get best fit of the brass tip. I use this one for hunting-on the range I like a steel rod with a brass bore guide.

There is a place in Marietta called Deer Creek Gunshop and they sell the hickory dowels and tips. Realizing its a long way off you could call and see if they would ship to you.

If you call them talk to Pat he is a good fella and knows allot about everything and is someone you could trust to pick you out a good hickory dowell.


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## fishfryer (Feb 13, 2013)

F.A.R.R. said:


> The last one I did was for a .50 cal flintlock. Used a hickory dowel with a brass end.  Epoxied and pined the brass tip on it.  I also figured out a neat way to remove the wood with a router to get best fit of the brass tip. I use this one for hunting-on the range I like a steel rod with a brass bore guide.
> 
> There is a place in Marietta called Deer Creek Gunshop and they sell the hickory dowels and tips. Realizing its a long way off you could call and see if they would ship to you.
> 
> If you call them talk to Pat he is a good fella and knows allot about everything and is someone you could trust to pick you out a good hickory dowell.



Thank you for your reply,I have done business with Deer Creek years ago. Pat is a good fellow. I've got everything I need coming soon. My plan is to do what you describe.


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## Nugefan (Feb 13, 2013)

fishfryer said:


> Thank you for your reply,I have done business with Deer Creek years ago. Pat is a good fellow. I've got everything I need coming soon. My plan is to do what you describe.



be sure and post up some pix fer us ....


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