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Author Topic: Finishing ramrods  (Read 7518 times)

Offline Mauser06

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Finishing ramrods
« on: March 20, 2018, 09:03:15 AM »
On my last build, I used a normal hickory ramrod.  I didn't know what to finish it with...so I used Kibler's iron nitrate like I did on the stock and Chamber's oil finish.


I want a huge fan of the color.  Wine red.  Didn't really match the rifle...



Curious as how you guys finish them.  The finish I'm shooting for will probably be on the darker side. I was thinking maybe a dark stain would look better?   
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Offline rich pierce

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2018, 01:38:46 PM »
I use home brew iron saturated AQF and get a warm brown on hickory.
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Offline flehto

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2018, 03:08:49 PM »
Rarely will the RR look the same as the rifle if the same stain is used. Hickory stains differently than maple ...usually lighter. I go w/ a darker stain and apply a few coats and then rub back w/ alcohol if needed. When the stain is dry, wet w/ water and that's the  color when the finish is applied. I don't care if the RR's color doesn't quite match that of the rifle.....just so it doesn't stand out.....Fred
« Last Edit: March 20, 2018, 03:10:56 PM by flehto »
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Offline Dennis Glazener

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #3 on: March 20, 2018, 04:17:28 PM »
Quote from: rich pierce on March 20, 2018, 01:38:46 PM
I use home brew iron saturated AQF and get a warm brown on hickory.

I do the same as Rich and occasionally I will use my propane torch to purposely burn a few areas that, in my opinion, look pretty good on finished product.
Dennis
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Offline Mauser06

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #4 on: March 20, 2018, 06:20:35 PM »
Thanx guys!
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Offline D. Taylor Sapergia

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #5 on: March 20, 2018, 07:37:21 PM »
Once a rod is fitted to a rifle/gun, I polish it to 320 grit, stain it with a mix of Fiebing's leather dye to get the colour I want, burnish it again with steel wool, and finish with Circa 1850 floor wax.  The colour fades on a rod like that, and takes on its own warm colour.  I reapply wax from time to time, and it keeps the rod like new.  Other finishes, such as varnishes and oils, scrap off and look bad to my eye.  The wax is good protection for the rod, repairs easily, and is very quick to finish.
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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #6 on: March 20, 2018, 08:15:59 PM »
I used tannic acid then AQ, blushed with heat and seemed to come out darker.  Still put some stain on it though and it came out pretty close.
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Offline Hungry Horse

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #7 on: March 20, 2018, 08:27:12 PM »
Way back when, many shooters, and builders, soaked their ramrods to make them more flexible, and less likely to break. I can’t remember what the recipe was now, but the ramrods took on quite a shine with use. I think the original recipe might have been published in the Buckskin Report.

  Hungry Horse
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Offline Dave R

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #8 on: March 20, 2018, 09:07:55 PM »
Hungry Horse,
Are you possibly thinking the recipe is soaking ramrods in kerosene for a few weeks? Some old timers thought the kerosene lubercated the wood fibers and reduced breakage!
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Offline Hungry Horse

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #9 on: March 20, 2018, 09:15:51 PM »
I think you are right Dave, but I seem to remember adding a little BLO to the mix. I don’t remember why I quit soaking ramrods, but I think is was because the pipe I was using leaked the mixture all over the shop floor.

  Hungry Horse
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Offline Old Ford2

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #10 on: March 20, 2018, 09:35:34 PM »
Hungry Horse,
The main reason for NOT soaking a ram rod in kerosene is the STINK on you, your clothes, and everything else that comes in contact with it.
I am not sure whether it ( kerosene ) makes a hickory ram rod more elastic or not, but it was a common application to make the ram rod more durable???
Now does that really answer your question.
I have done it before, and have several stinky ram rods that don't break.
Fred
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Offline Daryl

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #11 on: March 20, 2018, 11:24:39 PM »



I stained it and finished it with oil in 1986 - maybe it's time to re-do it.
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Offline Robert Wolfe

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #12 on: March 20, 2018, 11:43:13 PM »
On soaking a ramrod, seems to me Bevel Up and Bevel Down the Gard? Brothers did a test some years ago in Muzzle Blasts and found no benefit?  Anyone else remember that?
« Last Edit: March 21, 2018, 04:00:07 AM by Robert Wolfe »
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Offline moleeyes36

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #13 on: March 21, 2018, 12:15:33 AM »
Based on what I heard from some old timers about 30 years ago I tried soaking the ramrods in lamp oil for a few weeks.  No strong smell but I didn’t notice any benefit from doing it so I stopped.

Mole Eyes
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Offline Mauser06

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #14 on: March 21, 2018, 12:29:51 AM »
Interesting stuff.  I'm not really concerned about breakage on this one...strictly a shotgun.  Id just like it to look like it belongs to the gun. Maybe finish the gun and see what colors I get on it then decide on the rod. I just looked at my last one again and it's OK but really looked out of place on the gun.

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Offline hanshi

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #15 on: March 21, 2018, 12:36:58 AM »
A friend soaked several of my ramrods in Kerosene for a few weeks.  After several days in the open air there was no smell whatsoever.  My thought is that kerosene evaporates fairly quickly, certainly within a couple-three weeks.  I don't soak them now since I don't think it helps, either.  A problem with soaking is that it makes hickory even more difficult to stain.
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Offline WKevinD

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #16 on: March 21, 2018, 01:41:11 AM »
I usually stain with LMF Walnut and then LMF Ebony with a steel wool buff between coats and a finish with Ebony Briwax and cloth buff.

Kevin
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Offline Stophel

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #17 on: March 21, 2018, 02:01:18 AM »
Apparently I'm the only one, but I don't bother finishing ramrods much at all.  Any finish I ever tried to put on one got scraped off pretty quickly.  Straight grain hickory doesn't soak up anything very easily, including stain, so it doesn't go very deep.  I just put some linseed oil on it (what little of that it will soak up) and call it good.   ;)
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Offline Clark Badgett

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #18 on: March 21, 2018, 02:04:19 AM »
Quote from: Stophel on March 21, 2018, 02:01:18 AM
Apparently I'm the only one, but I don't bother finishing ramrods much at all.  Any finish I ever tried to put on one got scraped off pretty quickly.  Straight grain hickory doesn't soak up anything very easily, including stain, so it doesn't go very deep.  I just put some linseed oil on it (what little of that it will soak up) and call it good.   ;)

Same here.
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Offline Dennis Glazener

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #19 on: March 21, 2018, 02:35:20 AM »
Quote from: Robert Wolfe on March 20, 2018, 11:43:13 PM
On soaking a ramrod, seems to me Bevel Up and Bevel Down the ??? Brothers did a test some years ago in Muzzle Blasts and found no benefit?  Anyone else remember that?

No but I put several in a piece of PVC and forgot and left them there for well over a year. I used them later and did not see any benefit to the soaking at all. Waste of time and good kerosene oil
Dennis
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Offline longcruise

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #20 on: March 21, 2018, 06:15:55 AM »
Quote from: Clark B on March 21, 2018, 02:04:19 AM
Quote from: Stophel on March 21, 2018, 02:01:18 AM
Apparently I'm the only one, but I don't bother finishing ramrods much at all.  Any finish I ever tried to put on one got scraped off pretty quickly.  Straight grain hickory doesn't soak up anything very easily, including stain, so it doesn't go very deep.  I just put some linseed oil on it (what little of that it will soak up) and call it good.   ;)

Same here.

X3.  Mine are "finished" by my dirty oily hands. :)
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Mike Lee

Online Curtis

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #21 on: March 21, 2018, 06:58:10 AM »
I like to stain mine with AF, then hit them with a heat gun and bees wax.  A rod will soak up a great deal of hot wax, which is in the wood and won't just crape off.  Just don't let it build up on the outside.  It makes a good durable finish and is quick.

Curtis
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Offline Mauser06

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #22 on: March 21, 2018, 07:07:30 AM »
The beeswax (or any wax) makes sense...the last one basically refused to take much of anything.  Feels kinda like a dry porus wood so that was surprising to me.   
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Offline Darkhorse

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #23 on: March 21, 2018, 10:17:10 PM »
I just finished a new hickory ram rod for my .40 and after a final sanding and whiskering I slopped on a few coats of Chambers oil finish to help seal the grain. Followed by a couple of coats of wax. This only adds a tiny amount of color but I'm counting on  my dirty hands to add some color.
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Offline smylee grouch

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Re: Finishing ramrods
« Reply #24 on: March 21, 2018, 10:48:35 PM »
My last rifle had an american walnut stock and I wanted to fill the pours so I made a thin slurry of the super fine walnut dust and some danish oil walnut color. it did a good job so I used the danish oil on the hickory rod and it really turned it a very dark brown.
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