Splitting Out a Ramrod from Old Wood.

[Top Jaw]

This might be a fools errand, so I thought I’d ask if anyone has tried it and verified it to be so!  I bought a small pile of old tobacco sticks at a yard sale awhile back.  They are the older kind that we’re split with a froe, and are probably hickory.  Since this wood is likely 75 to 100 years old, is attempting to split it again with a froe and trying to work a ramrod from it going to be a poor and frustrating use of my time?  Thoughts (and experiences) are welcome.  🙂

[Mike Brooks]

This might be a fools errand, so I thought I’d ask if anyone has tried it and verified it to be so!  I bought a small pile of old tobacco sticks at a yard sale awhile back.  They are the older kind that we’re split with a froe, and are probably hickory.  Since this wood is likely 75 to 100 years old, is attempting to split it again with a froe and trying to work a ramrod from it going to be a poor and frustrating use of my time?  Thoughts (and experiences) are welcome.  🙂

I went through my "Home splits" era a while ago. I don't think you'll have any problem. There is a quick way to find out though.

[Tim Crosby]

 Dry is good, try using a Butcher knife instead of a Froe.

   Tim C.

[Mike Brooks]

I have a really tiny little antique fro that was inside an antique  wood cookstove I bought. Handiest little light duty splitting tool ever.

[Sawfiler]

All the old tobacco sticks on our farm are pine. I’m sure they used pine cause it split easier.

[Jeff Durnell]

I'm just getting started and I recently bought four ramrod blanks. In one of them, the growth rings are violated so badly, I was astounded anyone would bother with such wood for anything that requires any amount of integrity and resilience to flexing. I use hickory for all of my arrow shafts and only use the very best. I have a bunch of really nice, straight grained, seasoned hickory in the garage. Somehow, some way, I'll be making my own ramrods from now on too.

[BOB HILL]

As Sawfiler stated, all of the  tobacco sticks I’ve ever seen from the Carolinas and  Virginia were pine. Unless they used something else where you are, I don’t think tobacco sticks are going to make good ramrods.
Bob

[Stoner creek]

There are some split hickory tobacco sticks that can still be had here in Kentucky. It never occurred to me make a ramrod out of one. Most are really hard. I guess I should take a few to shows and sell them a ramrod blanks 

[Clark Badgett]

There are a few old tobacco sticks in my mom's garage from when my step father raised tobacco when I was a kid. Might need to check them out. Knock to old crud and patina off and you should know pretty quickly if they are pine or hickory.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Whether the wood is old or not should not make any difference in the way in which it splits.  Wood in my shop reaches a moisture content of 7.5 % minimum, and is stable.  Wood in Eastern North America, I suspect, does not go that low in moisture content, but it will reach a minimum and remain there.  The kiln dried wood you purchase at the lumber yard is likely not as low as it will eventually reach, but all will split about the same.

[longcruise]

If you shop the box stores and lumber yards with a critical eye you can come up with some straight grain hickory.

[BOB HILL]

Stoner, if ya'll have hickory sticks they should be great.
Bob

[Top Jaw]

I’m in Ohio.  I think these are hickory.  Issue 1 is finding a good straight one.

[Daryl]

If hickory, they will/should split out just fine, then straighten them with heat if crooked - may have to steam them or not.

If too dry, they might just break.

[Top Jaw]

Well I looked through all of them.  Only have about a dozen. But not one of them is straight enough to make a rod from.  They all have some kinks & crooks to the point of being unusable for that purpose.  Oh well.  It was a thought.

[G_T]

If the grain follows the curves of the sticks, don't give up hope just yet. Hickory doesn't steam bend well compared to many other woods IMHO, but it will bend with dry heat. You'll have to get it quite hot, but not flaming hot! Wood gets plastic when sufficiently hot. The question isn't whether it will bend - it will. The question is whether it splits when you bend it. That you'll have to find out. A heat gun is probably better than most other choices as it will get it hotter than the usual steaming, but won't have too much of a tendency to char the wood.

Note if fungus has gotten into the  wood, it will be rather weak compared to what it should be. Then it would not be suitable.

Yes, it is amazing how bad the available ramrod blanks are. I've been an archer, fletcher, bowyer. I think about the hickory I've made self-wood bows from, and the comparative lack of quality of the ramrod blanks I've seen. Sad, just sad...

Gerald

[Nhgrants]

I made a maple ram rod from some wood I had sawed out.  I ripped a piece that looked to have straight grain to 1/2 × 1/2  and using a 2 pound hammer I drove it thru different sized holes drilled
in a piece of 1/4 inch steel plate.  Used a block plane and sand paper to make a rod
That tapered from 7/16 to about 5/16.  My thought was if the pounding did not cause it to split then it should not split during loading.  This left a rough finish but I thought it looked ok with a trade gun.

[Huntschool]

Most of the tobacco sticks I have seen from central KY and TN have been hickory.  I would think with judicious splitting and scraping many of them would make great rods.....

[Daryl]

Here is ton's ramrod scraper too- wonderful device. Everyone should have 2?.