soaking ram rods

[yip]

 i know this  was cover before but does anyone soak their ramrods? and if so how and with what.

[jerrywh]

I use to put my ramrods in a pipe with polyurethane. The pipe had a air valve on it and I would put about 25psi of air pressure in it and leave it for a week or two. In-spite of all this they would still brake at times. I finally decided it wasn't worth the trouble.

[hanshi]

A friend soaked several of my rods for a few weeks in kerosene.  He then aired them out for a few days and there was no smell.  I can't swear it helped anything but it didn't hurt them, either.

[Mike payne]

I soak mine in kerosene put the rods in a pvc pipe fill it with kerosene leave it for about a month.
It may be just in my mind but they seem to be more flexible and don't break as often.

Mike

[Hungry Horse]

I haven’t soaked a ramrod in years, but ai used to soak all of them. I used a big PVC pipe with a  screw on capon one end. I soaked them in turpentine and boiled linseed oil. I cut a piece off of an old ramrod laying around the shop last spring, and as I sawed through it you could still smell the turpentine. The center of it still looked oily as well. They have to soak for about a month.

  Hungry Horse

[t.caster]

I also do what Hungry Horse does. Turp & BLO at least 2 weeks to a month.

[Mauser06]

I'd assume you soak them AFTER you cut and shape them?   I  order 7/16" blanks and taper them to my liking. 

Also, does it color them? Or do you stain them first or ...?

[B.Barker]

Best way to keep a rod from breaking is to have straight grain. I have never seen commercial rods with no runout, you get pretty good but you have to go through a bunch. I stopped buying them and have went to making my own. The ones I've made myself are much stronger and will bend a bunch before they break. They aren't as straight as store bought but there aint no runout in them.

[Huntschool]

Always heard that you should soak em in kerosene for at least two weeks or more.  I have done that using a PVC tube as others have said.  I shaped mine and then stained after shaping with leather dye worked the color back if need be and then soaked.....  worked for me.  I also used various finishes on them.  I think it helped em.  Just me.

[WadePatton]

Of course it's been "covered" before, but just like patch lube and caliber "needs" everyone has an opinion.

It was fairly dismissed the last time I saw this one go around. I've never tried soaking, and don't care to.  I prefer making RR from splits rather than store-bought sawn stock.  Heat to straighten if necessary (but a slight kink here and there keeps it tight in the pipes). Grain is King in most all of wood strength/flexibility issues. If you look around you can buy split blanks to round out your own without taking a saw to the woods. 

Or soak 'em. Or go nuts trying all the various tree types for stock (where split will beat sawn again).  Have fun with them packin' sticks.  I shot one into three pieces once...(sawn!).

[Mikecooper]

boiled linseed oil will never harden inside the stick. 

[Daryl]

Got a new rod made for my 14 bore rifle. Osage Orange. The old rod, hickory is under it.
That rod has been in use since 1986-It has loaded close to or over 5,000 shots.
I was offered a rod blank by a local friend and Taylor finished it for me. Nice Job, using
the old furniture.
No soak.







 

[Craig Wilcox]

That Osage Orange/Bois d'Arc sure has a pleasing color and grain.
Friend of mine out in OK is air-drying an 8' length about 9" dia for me.  Was going to make a gun stock from it, for a cartridge gun, but life interfered and got me interested in fire locks!
He tells me the grain is pretty straight, so maybe some RR from it are in my future.