ideas on fixing ramrod failure

[hortonstn]

well i did it again this time it went out the bottom
4 inches from breech,
i think ill quit.......
paul

[Ky-Flinter]

Sheet brass wear-plate?

-Ron

[gunmaker]

Yep add a plate, lots of them on originals.....

[b bogart]

don't quit Paul, just do a little something like this:

[hortonstn]

Thanks for your thoughts but I love a pretty belly. I've put in a patch , it just doesn't trip my trigger if you know what I mean
If I add wood I think. It looks to fat it's hard to work on a project if it isn't what you like
I think I'll suck it up and order a blank with a rr already drilled
Education is worth every penny
Thank again your the best
Paul

[David Rase]

I think I'll suck it up and order a blank with a rr already drilled
Paul

Stocks with a predrilled ramrod holes are not always the answer.  I have heard of and seen my fair share of commercial "oops".  I would find the piece of wood that you cut off the bottom that has the same ray and grain pattern orientation and replace the area that broke through.  With a bit of ingenuity and strategically placed joints, you can hide the whole mistake.  Just make sure you scrape the ramrod hole to the proper orientation prior to installing the patch.
David

[whitebear]

You have been given some good advice but I personally order the stock with the barrel channel cut and RR hole drilled.  For all the labor and trouble you have to go through an extra $30 or $40 isn't bad.

[Dphariss]

You have been given some good advice but I personally order the stock with the barrel channel cut and RR hole drilled.  For all the labor and trouble you have to go through an extra $30 or $40 isn't bad.

I would rather not have the rod hole drilled.

Dan

[Keb]

One reason for drill run-out is improperly sharpened drills. If you keep getting run-out using the same drill, it may be worth checking.

[Long John]

Well friend, if its 4 inches from the breech it is almost covered by the TG extension.  This happened to me once.  I cut a nice rectangluar mortise in the bottom surface of the fore-end from the TG extension to well beyong the break-through and glued in a piece of wood from the same stock blank (the piece cut out above the barrel groove) that was matched for figure (curl).  I then re-drilled the ram rod hole and finished the gun.  The judges at the Gunmaker's Fair never noticed the patch.  That rifle has been in use for over 15 years, now.

If your ram rod drill breaks through the bottom of the stock it might be due to a slightly curved ramrod groove beneath the barrel.  If the ramrod groove is even slightly curved and you use a clamp to keep the drill up in the groove the clamp will impart a bend to the drill and it will follow that bend!

All is not lost.  You can fix this.

Best Regards,

John Cholin

[c deperro]

I agree with Long John .I have an original gun that was repaired the same way.Unless it's pointed out  it's not noticeable.

[sweed]

Long John  

Sage advise there, about the curve in the RR grove.  Suttle, and very easy to over look, but absolutely on point. Got to put that post in by builder reminder box, on my desktop. Man that thing is growin!!!!

sweed

[blaksmth]

Most the time its because of the bit not being sharpened correctly , if its not started straight is another problem, putting too much pressure on the drill (ie ) pushing too hard and trying to bore the hole faster than the bit is cutting, and not cleaning the hole from wood chips periodically can contribute to the bit walking or so in my experience .

 A lot of the ramrod drills i have are twist drills that have been threaded on the end and have a extension rod added for the length, and if they are not sharpened correctly they will walk  a lot.

If your bit is dull and you are pushing too much the stock might flex enough to maybe be causing the problem

 I normally leave the bottom of the stock heavy until after I drill the ramrod hole but a half stock plains rifle has a lot more wood to play with than a long rifle.

 I would think that a good machine shop could sharpen your bit

[hortonstn]

The bit is a twist type with a point in the center only used three times 1 good two bad