Installing Ramrod Tips?

[Smokey Plainsman]

Friends, the hunt is on for a historically correct threaded ramrod tip for my 3/8” ramrod for my .40 caliber rifle. Something like this style:



To use with historically correct tow worms and ball pullers such as these:



Problem is though I have no idea how to attach the tip to the hickory ramrod. I do not have a shop, no lathe or drill press, I’m no builder. I have basic hand tools and a crappy $25 Ryobi drill from Home Depot.

Friends, is it possible? Could anyone here explain to me how in gods name I am to attach it to the rod?? :’(

-Smokey

[Mike Lyons]

Looks like that top picture is pinned.  I’ve pinned the ones I’ve made. I normally ask tons of questions before attempting things so someone with more experience probably gave me that advice.  Your Ryobi should be able to drill the hole for the pin. I’ve never used my hand made ones for ball pullers.   

[Mauser06]

Step 1-aquire or make the tip you desire to use as well as the rod.
Step 2-fit the tip onto the rod.  Can honestly probably whittle it down with a pocket knife. 
Step-3 drill a hole through the tip and ramrod.   
Step 4-drive pin through the hole you drilled.

If the rod is proud of the tip, or just to sand the rod....I Chuck it in my hand drill and use that to spin the rod as I run sandpaper down the rod. 



I will admit I cheat and slide some epoxy in before I pin.   My guns are hunters.  I build my rods with a 3/8" rod tapering to a 5/16" tip.  Both ends get threaded tips.  If I dry ball in woods or I need to pull a ball for whatever reason, I can put a ball screw on one end and these in my T handle in the other.  Thread the screw into the ball.  Spin rifle upside down and step on each side of the T handle and lift the rifle upwards.  I've never had an issue doing that. 


It's really not hard to put ends on a rod.  But, I guess if you've never done anything like that, it could certainly be difficult and confusing.   

[Clark Badgett]

Is your rod actually 3/8" for a .40 bore?

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Before I had a lathe, I used to 'whittle' my ramrods to fit the tips.
Calculate the length of the wood that will be in the tip and mark that on the rod.  Lay the rod on a table and with a sharp knife, roll the rod along that line just enough to cut a shallow groove.  Use a sharp knife to cut away the wood up to that incised line.  Cut away the wood at the tip of the rod too so that the rod tip will just start onto the wood.  Continue to reduce the wood moving up toward your incised notch fitting the tip as you go.  Keep it as tight as you can but still able to push it on and pull it off.  Continue until you reach the bottom of the rod tip and the incised line at the same time.
Lightly centre punch the rod tip, and drill a hole appropriate for the pin stick you'll use.  With the tip of another drill, a little larger than the hole, countersink the metal, just a bit.  Pass the pin stock through the hole, nip it off on both sides so that a little of the pin remains above the surface of the tip (use a file to get that length just right.  Place the bottom side of the tip and it's protruding pin on your vise, and gently tap the top side down to the countersink.  Turn it over and do the other side, and file off everything right down to the rod tip.  Polish to your happy point.
This takes about the same amount of time as typing this.

[Mike Brooks]

Chambers sells those tips

[SingleMalt]

Cabin Creek may have them as well.  https://www.facebook.com/CabinCreekMuzzleloading/

[L. Akers]

ALR member Darin McDonal has these tips for sale under "Member's Services and Products For Sale".

[WadePatton]

Is your rod actually 3/8" for a .40 bore?

from TOW's description of his gun: . The 3/8" diameter ramrod is fitted with a brass tip with 8-32 threads for loading and cleaning accessories.

Good to have a spare fo sho. I'm on my third stick with my first flinter. 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Thank you, friends, lots of good info.

Not I need to determine if these style tips are in fact period for a percussion rifle. I know they were used on earlier flintlock guns, but what about caplocks?

[rich pierce]

Again there are no hard and fast, one way of doing things, rules. If you are trying to figure out what belongs on a Vincent rifle you could say so and I bet there’s a collector of Vincent rifles here who may be able to help.

[B.Barker]

SP the photo you used of a tip is one of mine. I like using copper pins because they are soft enough to rivet easily. Frank House just explained how to make sheet tips and how to attach them on a rammer. It's on the CLA facebook page. If you don't do facebook you can still get on that page and read post you just can't post anything yourself.

[Smokey Plainsman]

SP the photo you used of a tip is one of mine. I like using copper pins because they are soft enough to rivet easily. Frank House just explained how to make sheet tips and how to attach them on a rammer. It's on the CLA facebook page. If you don't do facebook you can still get on that page and read post you just can't post anything yourself.

Awesome, thank you! What did you use (if anything) in the metal to give it an aged look, or did it naturally patina with time?

[Smokey Plainsman]

Thanks guys. I bought a tip and worm/puller set from Cabin Creek.

What epoxy should I get for the tip and do I need a drill press for the cross pin hole?

[Daryl]

JB Weld will do for epoxy. A drill press with table vice would be good, but a bench-vice and hand drill will work just fine
if you have a modicum of skill using them.

[B.Barker]

I mark my pin hole with a center punch and use a hand drill. I like accu-glass the thin stuff for an epoxy. As far as the color goes, I use aquafortis or browning solution for it.

[hudson]

Until the last three builds I have used epoxy and pined. Sometimes I make the ends sometimes I go commercial. Recently I have been threading the wood and the tip. No I don’t always get full threads and the threads on the wood don’t look good, a bit of judgment needed. I attach the tip using accu-glass and so far this system is working. This possibly could be combined with pinning. No really hard tests have been performed, this only on my rifles not customers.

[Smokey Plainsman]

Thank you, friends. The local sporting goods store carries Accra-glass. I am thinking mightily of getting the $64 Harbor Freight drill press and vice from here in town as it has quite a few stars on the google and many appear satisfied with it.

The order for the tips are in, as well as 3/8” hickory rammer blanks from Dan Putz, supposedly of straight grain and best quality. I bought the 10 pack from eBay so if I can’t get it down by the 10th rod, I’ll use the last one to smack myself in the gulliver!

Going to enstripen the rod. From my readings this can be considered correct for the late percussion period which is what I’m going for. I plan to use tape and some Fiebings chocolate leather’s dye for the job and maybe some sort of other, lighter stain for the bare wood.

I’ve got one more question, what is a good sealer or top coat for a ramrod?

[Angus]

A quick pointer from my mentor. Use a small tubing cutter (the cutter style with the sharp wheel and knob for adjustment) to make the initial score mark on the hickory, done properly this should give you an even scribe line darn neart perfect.

[Nordnecker]

Smokey, When you get your rammer blanks, take one and stick it in the barrel of your gun. Then, wrap a piece of tape around the blank at the muzzle end of your barrel. Then remove the blank and lay it on top of the gun with the tape in the same position as before. Is it about a half inch from the end of the barrel? If so, you can assume that the gun is unloaded and this is where your breech plug ends.
Then take the rammer and insert it in the RR hole. Is the tape now flush with the end of your barrel? That should give you an idea as to the length of the hole vs the length of your barrel.
If these two lengths are not the same, it means that some obstruction might be in the RR hole. If the gun is missing it's rammer, it's entirely possible that an insect has made a nest or stopped up the hole, or something else is in there.
Your blanks will most likely be longer than you need them. Get your tip installed first and make sure it goes in and out of the hole before you do anything else.
Realize that when you load the gun, the ball and powder will take up a lot of space inside the bore, and your rod will stick out of the bore quite a bit, especially if you use a jag when you load.
Many of us have a range rod that we use while target shooting. It is much stronger than your wooden rod in the likely event that you will dryball and have to pull the ball.
I like my finished rod to be flush with the muzzle when the barrel is empty. If the hole is deeper than the length of the bore, I think people put a mark on the rammer to show an empty barrel.

[smokepole45cal]

If I could do it then you can too.

Vise, sharp knife, a good light, inlet black for a good fit onto rod, drill that pin hole, cut off a small piece of steel coat hanger, ball peen both ends, file flush...done!

It was one of the first tasks I learned how to do on my own several years ago. No fancy tools required.

[Ky-Flinter]

A quick pointer from my mentor. Use a small tubing cutter (the cutter style with the sharp wheel and knob for adjustment) to make the initial score mark on the hickory, done properly this should give you an even scribe line darn neart perfect.

That's a great tip!  Thanks Angus.

-Ron

[Eric Krewson]

Accuglass is fairly expensive, two ton epoxy is cheap, I use two ton epoxy and a pin, never had one come loose.

[Daryl]

I mark my pin hole with a center punch and use a hand drill. I like accu-glass the thin stuff for an epoxy. As far as the color goes, I use aquafortis or browning solution for it.

acraglass, accu-glass, I guess they are the same thing.

[Craig Wilcox]

Built a wooden two-seat biplane of wood, used System 3 epoxy and never had a joint failure.  We hung a Lycoming O-320 on the nose, and when flying we could pull a bit better than 5 G's - we often tried for more, but the airplane was stronger than we were!
Good stuff, available from Aircraft Spruce & Specialty.