how to make a tapered ramrod hole?

[rich pierce]

I've heard that on originals, ramrod holes were often tapered.  I can't figure out how to do this or how it was done (if it was).  

One way: use 2 drills:  I can't see how this would work.
Another way: Use a tapered drill.  I can't see how this would work either.
Third way: drill a smaller hole then enlarge with a scraper device.

Do you think original ramrod hole drills were round stock all the way to the tip which was relieved?  Or is there a chance they were like boring bits and had a twist portion that could have been tapered?  Wouldn't this gouge the groove when starting?

just curious.

[LynnC]

Rich'
I can't tell you that original RR holes were tapered but if I were to want to make one that way, I would make a long tapered square reamer to ream an undersize hole.

That being said, I taper my RR and drill a straight hole.  The only reason I can see to taper the hole is to further slim lower forend a little bit.

Hope I help a wee bit............................Lynn

[rich pierce]

Yeah, I was figuring that tapering the hole would solve the foreward lock screw problem.  I usually taper the rod about .030 in the hole.

[Stophel]

I drill my holes at 5/16", then, I ream them out with a square tapered reamer I made from a piece of 3/8" round stock.  LOTS of work to make that thing.  LOTS of grinding, LOTS of filing.  All the while I wasn't sure if it was even going to work, but by golly, it works like a dream!!! (which is especially amazing, considering I made it.)

I have a ca. 1830 German rifle that has a tapered rod hole, as well as an early 18th century German bird gun with a tapered hole.  My Massachusetts rifle MIGHT be tapered...it's pretty small, anyway.

It gives you just that much more room for the front lock bolt...and often you need every bit you can get.

[rich pierce]

OK, Chris, I'm going to ask a stupid question.  You run the 5/16" drill in the 3/8" channel/groove, right, when you drill the hole?  When you "open it up" I would think it would remove wood from all sides (including the ramrod groove direction).  Does it scrape up the ramrod groove?  I'm probably over-thinking this.  Almost certainly.

[LynnC]

I can see you gaining a tiny bit by tapering the hole if you can drill it exactly where you want it to go.  Not impossible

[Stophel]

That's exactly what I do.  It will line itself up with the groove, no problem.  The shaft of the tool is completely supported by the rod groove, so it has to scrape its way downward (or upward, since the stock is upside down...).  It centers itself in the hole as it goes further in.

I'm scared to death of thin wood under the ramrod (or anywhere), so I'd rather have the hole go up than down.  It ends up almost the same as a straight hole would be on the top, but with more wood left on the bottom....more or less.  With the smaller hole, you have a little more room for variance.  My holes always drop down just a little bit towards the bottom of the stock when I drill them, so even though I may start out at the 3/8" level, by the time it reaches the end, it has dropped down just a little bit, so it works out.  Don't ask me why, but it does.  After 15 years, I finally think I have a handle on drilling ramrod holes.

Did any of that make sense???

[LynnC]

Rich,
Thats why I drill straight holes.

I would think you'd have to start the hole full diameter, then drill on that center with your small drill and it would have be sleeved to center it in your RR chanel.

I know I've over thought this out for quite some time.

And thats why I drill straight holes.

Now maybe Chris will tell us how to really do it.....................Lynn

[LynnC]

See, Chris beat me to it.

So I over thinked it, or is that over thunk it?

[flintriflesmith]

I'm fairly certain that American longrifles usually had holes that were the same diamenter end to end. I can't say there were not some tapered holes but in examining several busted up stocks I was restoring over the years I have never seen a tapered hole.

My personal opinion is that it would not be worth the trouble. Besides, a tapered ramrod in a parallel sided hole would give the same or greater clearance for the front lock bolt because it could deflect downward if need be.

Gary

[rich pierce]

Good, now I don't have to worry about how to do it anymore!

[Pete G.]

I've built a couple of rifles where the forward lock bolt intruded into the top edge of a 3/8" hole. The first time it happened I got distraught (even to the point of waking up at night thinking about it). I put a 5/16" tip on the ramrod and worked the diameter down to that. You could feel a small bump as the rod tip passed the bolt, but that was it. The bonus was the discovery that a tapered rod finds the thimbles like it has eyes, and the lock bolt puts just enough pressure on the rod to keep it from falling out. The second time the lock bolt hole broke into the ramrod hole I was still aggravated, but I slept well.

[Stophel]

It is sort of superfluous, and unnecessary, but it's a neat feature, I can do it, so I do.     Once the tapered reamer is made, it is easy to do.  Making the reamer is a PITA.  So, unless you are as bizarre as I am, there's no real need to do it.