In this particular case, the split blank was double-wide in cross section and had several small knots and advantageous buds. I plotted out the straightest section I could get between them, following the overall curve of the entire length. I used a marking gauge at one end and shaped that side parallel to my center line of the ramrod. Then the marking gauge could run along that and mark out both sides of the center piece to form the ramrod. I reduced that down with a very large half round rasp. One of the photos shows the heavily frayed wood from this coarse rasp. I had a lot of material to remove. I did short sections with a small block plane and draw knife, however, this piece of wood was very stringy and was difficult to handle with shaving tools. I reduced it primarily with a very coarse rasp followed by a smoother rasp when approaching the marking gauge lines. Once the center was cut out, the next stage was to rasp it roughly octagonal. From then a double cut bastard to prepare it ahead of the sizing tool. The tool is about six inches long, so as I moved along the rod, I straightened the bow, feeding it into sizing tool that I was turning by hand. This produced a 3/8" round stock with a long bow from end to end. I then straightened the bow by heating it over the eye of our gas range. In better weather, I do this over the forge. I got about 90% of the bow straightened. A small amount of bow is desirable, in that it keeps a tension on the ramrod, preventing it from working and rattling its way out. My thimbles are slightly graduated from large (full 3/8") to slightly smaller. The rear thimble is the smallest point, about 1/16" smaller than the front thimble. In this case, of the brass barrel rifle, the ramrod hole just barely touched the front lock screw and rested on the tenon of the trigger guard. In other words, about as perfect as one would like. The barrel inletting and drilling were done by Richard Sullivan, master of the gunsmith shop at Colonial Williamsburg. The inletting was done with rails and back saw, a process that I discovered in several originals back in the 1960s. (Just after we finished the gunsmith film, I found the first evidence of this on a fine rifle made in Shenandoah Co., VA. I have seen this evidence on 15 or 20 rifles since then. Partly I understand the saw kerf evidence from studying 18th-century cabinetmaking evidence where they used rails to set up the graduated drawer system, cutting dadoes for the rails that separate the drawers and dust boards.
