Author Topic: Made Some Rammers  (Read 1036 times)

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Offline Swampman

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Made Some Rammers
« on: February 15, 2009, 02:24:49 PM »
I made up 2 ramrods today from oak dowels that I got at Home Depot for a little over a dollar each.  If they hold up, I'll report back. I checked the grain runout carefully. You can make a traditional bow out of oak, so they should be strong enough. We'll see.  I epoxyed & pinned the tips on.  They came from the junk box & off old fiberglass ramrods(which I hate).  Some of them were 8-32 so..........

I decided to tap them up to 10-32.  I went to Sears, and the tap & bit came in the same package.  I actually prefer 8-32 tips, but I no longer have very many 8/32 ramrod accessories. I just enlarged them to 10-32.

I stained them with Fiebing's Dark Brown shoe dye & slathered them real good with Purified Linseed Oil.

They look really nice and I saved my stock of hand split hickory rods for longer barreled guns.

This one is on my Renegade.  Notice the brass pipes I just put on it.



Here's the one I put on my Hawken.  I made the gun hangers too.

"Brother, you say there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it? Why not all agreed, as you can all read the Book?" Sogoyewapha, "Red Jacket" - Senaca

1st Special Operations Wing 1975-1983
919th Special Operations Wing  1983-1985 1993-1994

"Manus haec inimica tyrannis / Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem" ~Algernon Sidney~

Offline Winter Hawk

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Re: Made Some Rammers
« Reply #1 on: February 15, 2009, 05:43:48 PM »
I did the same when the ramrod for my Lyman GPR broke.  Bought a dowel at the hardware store and installed the tips off the old one, and "stained" it with shoe polish.  It has held up for several years now...

-WH-
"All you need for happiness is a good gun, a good horse and a good wife." - D. Boone

Offline Glanceblamm

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Re: Made Some Rammers
« Reply #2 on: February 17, 2009, 04:00:00 AM »
Nice job Swampman...I think that I will do the same on the if/when. Had previously just bought the replacement rod which was not too unreasonable.
I think that the original T/C rods like my 1981 vintage were made from Cedar. Is this stock avalible at the home depot's & such?

Offline Swampman

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Re: Made Some Rammers
« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2009, 05:16:02 AM »
Hickory is the most commonly used wood for rammers.  Birch and oak dowels, are the most commonly found in hardware stores.
"Brother, you say there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it? Why not all agreed, as you can all read the Book?" Sogoyewapha, "Red Jacket" - Senaca

1st Special Operations Wing 1975-1983
919th Special Operations Wing  1983-1985 1993-1994

"Manus haec inimica tyrannis / Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem" ~Algernon Sidney~

Offline Skunk

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Re: Made Some Rammers
« Reply #4 on: February 17, 2009, 05:22:30 AM »
I don't know too much about Rammers, but it looks like you did nice work on those.
Mike

"Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" - Frank Loesser

Offline Cuts Crooked

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Re: Made Some Rammers
« Reply #5 on: February 17, 2009, 01:58:40 PM »
Any of you ever stripe your rods? I've made a number of them from oak dowels and they look really nice with a spiral stripe pattern done with a butane torch.
Smokeless is only a passing fad!

"The liar who charms and disarms and wreaths himself in artifice is too agreeable to be called a demon. So we adopt the word "candidate"." Brooke McEldowney

"When a dog has bitten ten kids I have trouble believing he would make a good childs companion just because he now claims he is a good dog and doesn't bite. How's that for a "parable"?"....ME

Offline Swampman

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Re: Made Some Rammers
« Reply #6 on: February 17, 2009, 02:19:49 PM »
Do you use tape, or free hand the stripes?
"Brother, you say there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it? Why not all agreed, as you can all read the Book?" Sogoyewapha, "Red Jacket" - Senaca

1st Special Operations Wing 1975-1983
919th Special Operations Wing  1983-1985 1993-1994

"Manus haec inimica tyrannis / Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem" ~Algernon Sidney~

Offline Cuts Crooked

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Re: Made Some Rammers
« Reply #7 on: February 18, 2009, 05:01:53 AM »
Do you use tape, or free hand the stripes?

I've always done it freehand. Couldn't find "fireproof" tape. Besides, I think it would too perfect if done with some kind of tape. (just my preference to look kinda 'natural'. if one likes 'perfect', and could figger out a way of din' it, there ain't nuthin wrong with that!)
Smokeless is only a passing fad!

"The liar who charms and disarms and wreaths himself in artifice is too agreeable to be called a demon. So we adopt the word "candidate"." Brooke McEldowney

"When a dog has bitten ten kids I have trouble believing he would make a good childs companion just because he now claims he is a good dog and doesn't bite. How's that for a "parable"?"....ME

Offline S.S.

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Re: Made Some Rammers
« Reply #8 on: March 02, 2009, 12:40:25 PM »
I tiger striped an old mauser stock with a torch.
It actually looked kind of cool. It had already been bubba'd
so I had nothing to loose by doing it. I tried a ramrod but it didn't
look quite right.
Vir prudens non contra ventum mingit
"A wise man does not pee against the wind".