making 'wiping sticks'....

[alan in ga]

Got a couple of new T/C Senecas on the used market. Got out my 20 year old 45 cal "wiping stick" to help clean out the bore. A patched round ball loaded for a back yard low power test shot got 'tighter' at the barrel mid point. Pushed with both hands of the kerosene soaked wiping stick and 'crack'! I've read about how some have run a sharp broken wiping stick or ram rod into a forarm and this COULD HAVE been what happened with me except somehow I avoided  the needle sharp broken section
Read up a bit and learned that many have purchased "hardwood dowels" to make their own WS's - as I DID! Don't do it. They will never be safe enough to be trusted. Running a sharp stick inches into your arm could be deadly if not very incapacitating!
Hickory seems to still be 'the wood' for making wiping sticks and I have to agree. I also thought about fiberglass or even steel but weight could be a negative aspect.
What have you made your wiping sticks from? I keep mine in the bore.
I also see how some use a 'T' handle threaded device to thread to the gun's ramrod making it longer and much easier to grab [a sectioned wiping stick?
I have a longer fiberglass [?] ram rod from a Kentucky rifle I no longer have. It extended about 8" out of the T/C Seneca's bore and is MUCH handier than the shorty factory ram rods the Seneca comes with. I will measure it, and then search to see if even longer 'ram rods' come in synthetic materials [fiberglass, plastic, etc].
I'm just getting back into traditional muzzle loading. I'm 62.

[flintlock]

The trick is to grip the rod just a few inches from the muzzle and work your way down instead of leaving a foot or more between your hands and the muzzle...
 
Not sure if you were loading or cleaning but after a few years you learn how much pressure is too much...When cleaning, make sure your patch is damp and work your way to the breach with smaller strokes...When it gets too tight, it's too late...With a patched round ball the soft lead ball will actually be sized to the bore if using a short starter...After the first few inches it slides down easier, if going down a clean bore...
 
I often go to a thinner patch after the first couple of shots to make loading easier...
 
Yes, straight grained hickory with no runout is the product of choice among traditional shooters...

[Ranger99]

i'm thinking you're meaning what i've
 always called a range rod.
my first one was a brown fiberglass one
i think intended to be cut to length and
used for a replacement ramrod.
it worked good for a long time then i started
to get splinters in my hands whenever i used it.
way back when, there was a place called
mountain state muzzleloading that i bought
quite a bit from, and they came out with
these really strong polymer coated rods
that work great and had a ball screw under
the jag. i've had that (those) for a lot of years
now with no problems. it might not be acceptable
for primitive events, but i don't attend any of that
stuff anymore.
good luck

[hillbill]

im curious about how the old timers made their stiks.
 
for instance, say your somewhere in the rocky mountains, shoot at a elk and while hurriedly reloading you break your ramrod.
 
ok you have plenty of wood near by but none of it is hickory or even seasoned. what do you do now?

[flintlock]

There are accounts of that happening, they fashioned another and kept going...
 
But...You need to know, they didn't shoot the tight ball/patch combos we do and the typically didn't use as much powder either...
 
One fellow on the Lewis & Clark Expedition got seperated from the rest for a few days..He ran out of balls so he whittled a stick into a slug to load and was able to kill a rabbit with it...He caught up to them later...

[P.A. Myers]

• I feel wood rods to be basically ornamental. You can get replacement rods in a varity of materials. If you insist on a hickory rod your bore needs to be clean and no pits.

              P.A.

[alan in ga]

Wow - I never thought a out what the pioneers would do 'if' they broke their loading ramrods!
I made my 'wiping rods/sticks' after reading a few Fadala books, and not being able to GRAB the too small end of my ramrod. I made my WS's long enough to have two hands worth of stick to grab when it is inserted all the way in. From what I've read they are typically left IN the barrel when carrying the rifle. I wonder how many deer have been killed with a 4' wooden rod?
I don't go to rendevues and I'm sure those that shoot ML's a lot have figured it all out. I also see many use steel rods and if not for the weight would figure that's a good way to go. After all I use stainless steel cleaning rids for all my center fire rifles.
Question: how much stronger is hickory compared to 'hardwood' which is probably oak? When selecting a hardwood dowel, they were so pale that I could not see the grain very well, and this rod's break revealed a cross grain pattern I had not detected when examining it initially. It worked very well up to that point and was very LIGHT as well.
I guess I would try steel/brass/fiberglass if I found one.

[JonnyReb]

 I've been wondering the same thing Alan, about making my own rods. I've lots of Hickories out back but just haven't gotten started on that little project, yet.

  I don't use any of my original rods unless i'm reloading in the woods. I had a CVA range rod that i used for years but recently went to a neat T handles aluminum rod that breaks down into 6 7" sections. It came with a double barrel petersoli i believe but i snagged it and will be using it for a long time to come. I prefer the rigidity it provides, no fiberglass splinters and certainly no hickory splinter through my arm. When in the field i'm careful to grip my wooden rods very close to the muzzle.  J

[alan in ga]

Just yesterday I purchased a 'T' handle with male threads that fits nicely on an older LONG ramrod I had for a Pennsylvania rifle (CVA) years ago. It seems like a nice option but I'm still thinking of making another wipe stick out of hickory.
I use a small diameter PVC pipe with one end capped for the kerosene soak. Works great!

[kid_couteau]

Bought a Hawken a while back and the former owner made a solid brass ramrod and had it threaded for jags

Heavy but I don't think it will break

Kid

[Ranger99]

if you make a wooden rod from raw
material, it needs to be split, not sawn
so you'll get the strength of the grain
and won't get the stick-through-the hand
syndrome like discussed before.
look at some of roy underhill's books to see how
to make a round rod from a split. you'll
want to make a few and bundle them together
like the primitive arrow makers do to
prevent warpage.

[JonnyReb]

if you make a wooden rod from raw
material, it needs to be split, not sawn
so you'll get the strength of the grain
and won't get the stick-through-the hand
syndrome like discussed before.
look at some of roy underhill's books to see how
to make a round rod from a split. you'll
want to make a few and bundle them together
like the primitive arrow makers do to
prevent warpage.

 A very informative post, thanks!  j

[alan in ga]

Splits!...yes thanks, never thought [or read] of that! One sure way to get the grain run right!

[hillbill]

Splits!...yes thanks, never thought [or read] of that! One sure way to get the grain run right!

wow me either. and prob split a piece big enuf to just use the stronger heart wood.