Drilling the Ramrod Hole First?

[Daniel Coats]

I would like to start a conversation about the sequence of events. Is it better to drill the ramrod hole first when building from a blank? Pretty sure it's not HC but seems a good way to locate from the end of the ramrod hole before in-letting the barrel which can allow enough wood to not break into the lock area or barrel channel or bottom of the stock.

[Tim Crosby]

  This may help, Mark does a good job of laying out a build:

  https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=23449.msg224624#msg224624

  Tim

[James Rogers]

I've never done it. Kit Ravenshear suggested it in his writings.  I believe Josh Wrightsman may use that procedure.

[smart dog]

Hi,
It really won't matter if you draw good plans first.  Certainly, ramrod drills can migrate when drilling the hole but most of the difficulties of fitting components can be resolved simply by drawing out plans first. If you drill the ramrod, you also need to cut away the bottom of the forearm to the rear pipe unless you plan to drill the hole all the way down the stock so you are setting the bottom profile before fitting the barrel.  This could be a disaster in progress unless I you have good plans and measurements.     
dave

[rich pierce]

Tapered and flared barrels make the whole business complicated. I take a lot of measurements. I mount the underlugs and cut them to height. Then lay a long straightedge along the underlugs. This helps me understand how the ramrod groove and hole need to be. Drilled on last week that just touched the barrel at the breech. With a very large breech and fast taper it came out just fine. Still room for forward lock bolt. Ramrod channel and hole just skimming the underlugs.

[Mike Brooks]

I always send my barrel and stock to Dave Rase first.

[Cory Joe Stewart]

Yeah Wrightsman does it that way on his Youtube channel.  Pretty neat idea, but not one I think I will adopt.

Cory Joe Stewart

[flehto]

After the first 4 blank builds, realized that doing  the bbl/RR work didn't teach me anything....so early on used Fred Miller and then Dave Rase for that work. Don't quite know {have an idea} how Dave achieves the specified webs, but he always came very close w/ a web of 1/16"at the breech and 5/32" at the muzzle. Thanks Dave.....Fred

[mikeyfirelock]

I drill ramrod hole after inletting the barrel, and determining the lower stock profile from measurements made from the top of the barrel.  My goal has always been to drill parallel to the center of the bore , so I use calipers to set the ramrod groove depth and that is my guide for drilling.  Depth is usually not a problem for me……….just keeping the hole centered is where I go afield.

[Daniel Coats]

I'm using the technique of laying out the stock profile shaping the lower forestock profile and then drilling the ramrod hole first. It's only the second time doing it this way for me but I am seeing a couple of problems. If I plan on inletting the barrel to match the ramrod then that can change the layout slightly and I may end up inletting the barrel to depth more than once.

We'll see how it goes but I think next time I will go back to inletting the barrel first and making it its location rock solid. My belief is that this will cause less shifting of the parts.

Of course my primary interest is hobby gunsmithing I'm not trying to do this for a living or make money at it. That being said I'm still keenly interested in doing things as cleanly and simply as possible which makes it more fun right?

[mikeyfirelock]

One of the reasons that I position the barrel first, and then drill the ramrod hole is that the position of several other pieces like the lock and thus trigger(s) will be determined in great measure by the barrel placement, and likewise the ramrods position may be determined by these parts……….and vice versa.   
By the way, what sort of ramrod drill does everyone use?  I have used single flute, and those with a twist drill welded/brazed to a rod.  Can’t see much difference as long as they’re straight ( and sharp.)

[Daniel Coats]

Here's one I made by riveting a drill bit to a 4 foot steel rod.




Nothing fancy going on but drills right where it's pointed.

[Bob Roller]

I am a firm advocate of the K-I-S-S ideas. Keep it stupidly Simple or Keep it simple,stupid .
Bob Roller

[deepcreekdale]

I always inlet the barrel first then the RR hole. I have not had any problems with a drill wandering for many years and over a hundred stocks. The only secret is careful measuring, drawing ACCURATE lines and then remeasuring everything again. And then rechecking the lines and measurements again. I never drill until I am 100% sure I know exactly where the hole will end up. And yes, I learned that the hard way with a few ruined blanks. A big factor when drilling to prevent drill wandering is frequent and I mean frequent (every 1/4 inch or so) clearing of chips while drilling. If you think you can drill just a little bit more before clearing wood chips, you are asking for trouble. I used to get nervous about it, but now, just by drawing accurate layout lines and exercising diligence in checking everything, I don't give it a second thought. Anything is better than using a pre-carve with those horrible 1/4 inch think webs.

[Clint]

however you sequence the inlets-holes etc, don't forget to sharpen the drill with a whet stone and check the length of the cutting edges with a caliper. All of our cutting tools are very sharp and the ramrod drill also needs to be very sharp.

[Not English]

I run my blank through a planer and a jointer to make sure the top of the blank and the side are at a right angle. I then lay out the profile on the side of the blank with all important measurements noted and drawn along with a centerline on the top. Next, I take off half the barrel thickness off the top profile before inletting the barrel. After the barrel is inlet I then remove half the ramrod thickness from the bottom of the stock blank. Next the ramrod channel is laid out on the bottom of the forestock. After carving/routing the groove I make 3 or 4 flat wood guides that are clamped to the forestock bottom to keep the ramrod drill located properly. These need to be semi tight when the ramrod is inserted so the drill won't wander. I lube the drill with bar soap every time I clear the drill bit. At this point the blank is still full width - 10/4s". I do not start shaping until the barrel channel and ramrod hole are drilled. One other point, I have drilled exactly 1 ramrod hole with a brace and regretted it for a week after. Now it's strictly a hand power drill.

Dave

[Craig Wilcox]

Just have to laugh at your last comment, Dave.  It only takes ONE of those l o n g holes with a brace to convert forever to a hand-held drill!

Probably gonna have arms like Popeye if you do another that way.  I have a nice 1/2" hand drill bought just especially for that chore.

[mikeyfirelock]

Drilling ramrod holes with a brace produces an expanded vocabulary

[Ats5331]

Mark Weader is the best at it. Worth the $$ and cool to visit his shop!

[WESTbury]

Hi,
 Certainly, ramrod drills can migrate when drilling the hole but most of the difficulties of fitting components can be resolved simply by drawing out plans first.
dave

Here's a picture of a ramrod hole that drifted up and toward the lock cavity. One barrel flat had to be relieved a little to clear the end of the rod when it was seated home.

The barrel of this old original rifle is 47-1/4" long.