Need a 3/8” ramrod drill

[Terry Reynolds]

Is there a source for a 3/8” ramrod drill? After 7 kit builds I’ve decided to step it up to my first plank and starting to accumulate some tools for the build.

Thanks

[Jim Spray]

Muzzleloader Builder's Supply has them.

[Birddog6]

TOW & Log Cabin used to sell them. You can easily make one with a long piece of all thread
& some drill bits.  I drill all mine .015 to .020” over RR size. Makes it allot easier to get the
RR & tips in.

[Daniel Coats]

I'm sure you can't beat store-bought quality on these long drill bits. They're also surprisingly easy to make I made my first one out of chunk of rod and simply filed a spiral cutting edge on one end with a round file. My second one I spliced a store bought bit to the end of a rod and didn't bother to braise it just used  rivets. The trick to drilling a ramrod hole is all in the preparation of the ramrod groove if it's straight and true the drill bit will go exactly where it's pointed...most of the time!

My next one will be store-bought...

[wapiti22]

I got one from Track of th eWolf about 2 months ago. Looks to be of good quality. I've only used it so far to clean out an existing hole.

[okieboy]

 Wapiti22, did you find this on Track's site? If so, where? I can not for the life of me find ramrod drills on their site, and their search function leaves much to be desired.

[tecum-tha]

I used a 3/8" Hard metal steel rod and ground a gun drill cutting surface on the front.
Takes longer to drill than a spiral drill, but also stays true to its direction. Needs to be removed frequently to get rid of shavings.
Essentially that drill form, just homemade:

[WadePatton]

Wonder if compressed air would work in that drill to push out wood chips.  Just a thought, not like I'm going to use a rig capable of such.

[Terry Reynolds]

Wapiti22, did you find this on Track's site? If so, where? I can not for the life of me find ramrod drills on their site, and their search function leaves much to be desired.

Can't find them on TOW either.

[Clark Badgett]

You can buy a piece of drill rod and have the flute milled into the end and then heat treated. Not very hard to do.

As you can see in this link, you can get the rod in many diameters and lengths.
https://www.mcmaster.com/drill-rods/tight-tolerance-easy-to-machine-w1-tool-steel-rods/

[P.Bigham]

Look up the member on this site DGB.  Makes the best ramrod drills. ⁸

[mikeyfirelock]

I’ve found the commercially available drills just fine, although I do have a drill made by a local guy when I started building that I still use ( drill bit brazed to a rod….I recommend the commercially available ones over the Jack of all trades type.).  Daniel Coats hit it on the head…..preparation is the key.   The hole will come out nicely if the ramrod groove is properly prepared, and the drill is not “crowded”  and withdrawn frequently to clear the chips.

[Hatchet-Jack]

Hey @Terry Reynolds Muzzleloader Builders Supply has a 3/8" bradpoint ramrod drill for $32.00. Just search "Ramrod Drill" on their page.

[rich pierce]

Look up the member on this site DGB.  Makes the best ramrod drills. ⁸

+++++

[borderdogs]

I got mine from Muzzleloaders Builders Supplies too straight and does the trick. When I bought mine I bought some ramrod blanks too
Rob

[Dphariss]

I never use a twist drill for any deep hole in wood. The cut aggressively on the sides and can run off. Gun drills just don’t deviate.

[wmrike]

As a kid back in the sixties I was working in the model shop at A O Smith.  Great bunch of guys.  I was wrestling with my first build and there was the issue of drilling for the ramrod.  The fellas took it upon themselves to get me fixed up, and to that end brazed a 5/16" twist drill to the end of a v nicely straightened length of hydraulic tubing.  It worked great and I still have it, but much prefer a gun drill.  Simply, they are tough, get the job done correctly, and are easy to sharpen.

[Ghfgyrb75638]

Hey. Muzzleloader Builder's Supply has them

[flehto]

I used  36" unhardened tool steel  drill rod, drilled a hole for a turned down shank of a 3/8  drill ,chamfered the end of the drill rod and shoulder of the drill, the fit between the 2 was a tap fit and then high temp silver soldered together. The  other end had a drilled hole to accept a soldered in  length of Allen wrench   for chucking in a brace.

Many kinds of drill points can be used and I chose a flat bottom because it cuts somewhat like an end mill and also is easily sharpened by hand.....a brad point drill is much  more  difficult  to sharpen by hand. Used this drill for  my first 4 LRs  and the holes were right on. After this I sent the  blanks to Fred Miller and later on to Dave Rase for the RR work and bbl inletting and who could achieve a 1/16" thick web at the breech and 5/32" at the muzzle.

Took a trip early on   to visit Fred Miller who did RR and bbl  work for a living and when he was showing me around I looked  at the drill points he used....they were all flat bottoms

Noticed that a length of RR groove that ended at the lower forestock  tended to go up hill so actually made this length a little lower so the drill was pointing in the right direction.....Fred

 

[wapiti22]

Wapiti22, did you find this on Track's site? If so, where? I can not for the life of me find ramrod drills on their site, and their search function leaves much to be desired.

Sorry for the confusion. I got mine from Muzzleloader Builder's Supply, not Track of the Wolf

[Not English]

I've always used a twist drill welded onto a mild steel rod. I've rarely had a problem with deviation. I taught a Kentucky Rifle Building class for ten+ years at the local technical college. They required a minimum of 10 students  for the class to be a "go". So, considering that plus my own guns, that works out to 100+ holes I've drilled or supervised. I will admit that I've beedn curious about a flat single flute drill and how it would work. I think I've had only 2 or 3 holes that went awry, so there hasn't been a real big mental push to change.

[rmnc3r]

I made mine from 72" long  1/8" IPS Lamp tubing (not all thread).  The OD is 3/8" and I turned down a Drill bit to fit the ID, then soldered together.  Having several tubes, I made some with Brad Points and some with Twist Drill Bits.

[c deperro]

Tom Snyder makes a nice one if he is still doing them.