Ramrod Hole Scraper

[Dphariss]

I ran into the old front lock screw in the ramrod hole thing again. I found a solution. I made a scraper from a scrap piece of stainless rod 5/16" by 48".
By beating a lip on the end then doing some grinding and filing to shape and sharpen the cutter and taper it opposite the cutter I made a scraper to open up the hole before and after the screw so it will accept a 3/8" rod full depth.
Once the scraper is made bend the rod about 2"-3" back of the cutter to make it tight in the hole.
If you over do this it may not go through the pipes or will be too aggressive and if too straight it will not cut. Took 4-5 tries at straightening/bending and some slight filing of the cutting edge to get it the right size, once right it will not cut too much and jam (be careful) but will scrape out the hole. mark the "up" side so you can rotate it as you scrape to make the hole wider and deeper.
Will also scrape away any misalignment at the entry pipe. It will also scrape the rod channel so keep the cutting edge "up" as its inserted and removed.
I first tried simply beating it on the side to enlarge it but bending was required to get the fit right. Chips will pack in the bottom of the hole but a rod hole drill or sharpening the other end of the scraper rod to a flat point will clean these out.
Once the rod was done it only took a few minutes and some of that was getting the scrapings out of the hole.
This is 303 stainless so a piece of hot or cold rolled would work just as well unhardened.
Of course before scraping make sure you have enough wood. This stock did.

Dan

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Well Dan, I had to read it several times for it to sink in but now I understand.  And I have an application where I need such a tool, so thanks very much for this.  I have in my shop right now, a Berks Co. rifle from a friend in Kansas.  He bought it on TOW's site and overall, it's a nice rifle.  But the ramrod hole allows only a rod with a 1/4" end inside.  There's lots of wood so I can't imagine why he made the hole so small.  The rod pipes are also graduated - smallest at the entry of course, and the pins are so tight, they cannot be removed.  So your tool is the perfect answer.  I'll let you know how I make out tomorrow.

Thanks again.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Complete success.  I made a 5/16" scraper just like Dan's and was able to quickly and accurately enlarge the rod hole.  Very much appreciated Dan.  Where only a 1/4" rod tip would pass, now I have ramrods whose tips are .340" which is lots.

[Dphariss]

Glad this was of use.
This just popped into my head one day when thinking about the front lock bolt being in the way and it actually worked.

Dan