Happiness is a ramrod hole that comes out right

[rich pierce]

I fiddled with the groove for quite a while and it paid off.  To set the groove up for hole drilling success, I put the drill in the groove then measure from top of barrel to bottom of the drill.  Subtract the barrel diameter plus the drill diameter from the total measurement at that point and I have the web measurement. I measure at each thimble location and keep deepening the groove till I hit my desired web thickness. In this case I was able to leave my underlugs covered by a skin of wood in the ramrod groove.  The hole came in about 1/8” below the lug in the forearm, and about 1/8” of web was left where the front lock bolt will go.  It still amazes me when it works out. 

I’ve got one Tom Snyder ramrod groove plane and another I adapted from an antique wooden plane. They make for reasonably quick ramrod groove work.

[Mark Elliott]

I am happy for you.   

I have that task coming up soon.   You have to get the drill bit laying in the ramrod groove perfectly flat and parallel to the center line of the bore.   I use the centerline I drew on the stock to start as my reference.    You also have to clamp the drill bit down at the rear entry so that it doesn't climb out of the groove and set it on a disastrous trajectory.    I don't worry about the barrel tenons breaking through as the original makers didn't.   

I have to say that I am starting to rethink sending my stocks and barrels out to have someone else do the inletting and cut and drill the ramrod hole.   I probably won't, but I have been thinking about it.

[P.Bigham]

Rich did you get your ramrod drill from Dave Brandenburger? He makes the best IMHO. 

[Dennis Glazener]

   

I have to say that I am starting to rethink sending my stocks and barrels out to have someone else do the inletting and cut and drill the ramrod hole.   I probably won't, but I have been thinking about it.

Mark,
I hope you decide to do that! You and I have argued that point and I know your feelings but unless you cut off the power to your shop and use candles/lanterns/etc for light you might as well have someone fit the barrel and cut the rr channel and drill the rr hole! Oh, and you might want to build you a new log shop with all the conveniences of an 18th century gun shop, and in case you want to build early 19th century rifles I guess you might need a different shop for that era as well  (just kidding you but you get the idea).
Dennis

[rich pierce]

Rich did you get your ramrod drill from Dave Brandenburger? He makes the best IMHO.

Ha, no, I did not but he helped me add an extension to my old drill.  He brought a beauty of a SMR that he has just finished to the Tuesday night Gemmer club gathering on Tuesday.  There’s a lot of talent there!

[Bill Raby]

I cheat and use a ball end mill in the milling machine to cut the ramrod groove. I think that if you get the grove cut just right, drilling the hole is not that big of a deal.

[rich pierce]

I cheat and use a ball end mill in the milling machine to cut the ramrod groove. I think that if you get the grove cut just right, drilling the hole is not that big of a deal.

If you’ve got a milling machine, that’s not cheating, just good use of a tool at hand!

[elkhorne]

Anyone have contact information for Dave Brandenburger if he sells his ramrod drills? Would appreciate the information if available. Thanks.
elkhorne

[bob in the woods]

I don't have power in the shop, and do use candles and lanterns.      Good thing I don't do this for a living !
[ I guess I could fire up the generator, but that would be cheating ]

[little joe]

Why do we build a muzzleloader  of some sort to see what GGdad had to contend with to take care of his family and nation and when we build the project we use every modern gadget possible.

[bob in the woods]

Ram rod groove - gouge, plane   Rod hole- brace and long spoon end bit.   It really doesn't take that long at all

[rich pierce]

Anyone have contact information for Dave Brandenburger if he sells his ramrod drills? Would appreciate the information if available. Thanks.
elkhorne

I see him often. PM me and I will put you in touch.

[t.caster]

Rich, I know the feeling! I just did one last week on the French trade gun and it turned out as perfect as any I've ever done. I big smile came over me and I decided to quit for the day. Hey why push my luck

[PPatch]

You got it Rich, a successful ramrod hole is indeed cause for happiness. For me there is always some anxiety when I set in to drilling a RR hole even when I am sure I have that RR channel leveled and ready. I suppose if you did them day in and day out it wouldn't loom as such a big deal, but for me it is like a pass-fail test every time.

Congrat's on a successful drilling.

dp

[freddiej]

For $30-40, you can buy a milling table that will make the milling of the ramrod groove (and many other operations) less time consuming and more precise. If you use an magnetic base inclinometer ($8-10) to set up the barrel stock combination on the table, you can get it it routed precisely. You can also clamp the stock between two straight pieces of 1/4 x1/4 x 2" angle iron and use it as a reference to guid the router.

[deepcreekdale]

Drilling your own ramrod hole is not that big of a deal. All the time and the effort is in the preparation and double checking that the groove is paid out properly in the forearm. That, and while drilling the hole, to  keep it clear of chips, I pull the drill bit out of the hole every 1/4 inch or so to make sure all the chips are out of the hole. Failure to do this will lead to any drill bit, no matter how well laid out, wandering off line. Even so, the actual drilling of the hole only takes a few minutes. I have drilled over a hundred of them over the years and other than one or two instances when I was a beginner when I did not properly check my work, I never have had one mess up.

[flehto]

Hi Rich.....when first starting to build LRs {1976}, the type of drill point had to be decided. Having been familiar w/ vertical milling machine cutters, I decided that a flat bottom "point"  would cut more independently considering the grain direction,  than a normal, angled drill point.

I also have experienced the "happiness" feeling....especially after the 1st RR hole was done.

Did four LRs and the RR hole came out fine on all 4. Later on when visiting Fred Miller, I saw his RR drills and they also were a flat bottom. One advantage of  a flat bottom grind is that they're easier to grind correctly and therefore can be sharpened more often.

I agree that the direction of the RR groove is probably  more important than the type of drill tip, but grain deflection can sometimes make the drill wander.....especially near the breech.

What type of drill point do you prefer? By the way, after the 4th LR blank  was drilled, I began sending the blanks out for the bbl/RR work......Fred

[rich pierce]

Fred, I grind a twist drill flat then relieve it a little in sort of a “U” fashion.  So far, so good.  I would like to try a spoon bit sometime as I bet that’s what was used in the flintlock era.