longcruise
70 Cal.
will be off to a shoot in a few weeks and will be taking along some new shooters. After taking inventory on my range rods, I decided I needed at least one more.
Questions about range rods come up pretty often here so I decided to sorta document this one to show how simple and economical it is to just make your own. No need to wait for an online supplier to ship one or drive around looking for one locally.
I'll warn you in advance; the final product is not very pretty! But, it is very functional. I have build many of these over the years and all are still working without breakdowns or failures.
I start off with a steel rod from the hardware store or the big box. This one is nickel plated steel. You can use brass too, but the steel is less costly. It does not need to be nickel plated. Plain old steel works fine and your dirty greasy hands will prevent it from rusting. This rod is 5/16". The pictured ramrod tip is 3/8" OD and 5/16" ID. The steel rod will slide into the ramrod tip with a little dressing with a file.
First step is to insert the rod and simultaneously drill a hole through both like this.
Once drilled it will look like the pic below. No need to be anal about centering, etc. The only thing that matters is drilling a hole through both pieces at once so you can pin it.
Next, you will either solder or glue the tip in place with the pin inserted. I chose to solder this one, but epoxy or JB weld is much simpler and just as effective.
In this case I drilled with a 1/8" drill but the largest pin stock I had handy was 3/16" :shocked2: Oh well, you know what they say about neccessity and invention! I settled on the hook from a plastic hanger that was a pretty good fit. Other options: The shank of the drill you used to drill the hole or a nail.
I fluxed these parts before soldering but it may no have been needed since a piece of acid core solder turned up. Either way, you do it like a plumber solders copper pipe joints. Clean it up, flux, heat the parts in place and then apply solder to the heated parts. The solder readily flows into place.
Like I said, epoxy or JB Weld is much simpler! :haha:
Now is a good time to discuss bore guides. I reccommend a bore guide but suppose they are not absolutely essential. This first one is your conventional bore guide with a 5/16" ID rod hole through it.
Next is the economy model. These are plastic inserts that fit into a hole in the bottom of a chair leg to insert a roller wheel into. Hardware store item at about $2.50 for a three pack. For a 3/8" rod the hole through needs to be relieved a bit with a 3/8" drill to get a fit on the rod.
Now for the handle end. The handle you attach is limited only by your imagination. I have used steel rods attached at a 90 deg angle which works good. The easy simple and effective route is a hardwood ball from the hobby store. This one is a marble door handle that I came across at a garage sale and bought for .50 cents. The hole is square and needed to be opened up just a bit with a 5/16" drill. Then another hole was drilled across the handle and the rod. You would do this the same way with a wood ball. Just drill the hole and then drill across it for your pin. Don't fudge on the pin! It is needed to assure that your joint stays together. Same as the ram rod tip we already did. For this handle I used the same hanger hook wire and the same 1/8" drill. Not knowing how the door handle would respond to heat, I used JB Weld on this end.
Before you attach your handle, be sure to slide your bore guide on first! The bore guide is permanent since it is captured by the handle and the ram rod tip.
Just glue it up with a liberal amount of JB. Here it is glued up and with a light bulb under it to speed up the curing process. It cured up completely in about three hours.
Next, we dress the pins and the surrounding glue and solder with a file. Not the prettiest file work, but like I said, it's not real pretty. Just about anybody here can do a better looking job than mine!
So, starting with a 36" rod, we finished with a rod that has about a 35" working length. For longer bores, 48" rods are available.
So, that's how that is done. Pretty simple, eh?
Total investment in this project including all parts was about ten dollars.
You might be able to buy a perfectly good range rod for ten dollars or just a bit more, but if you are like me, you might rather just do it yourself. Kinda what much of this hobby is about!
Questions about range rods come up pretty often here so I decided to sorta document this one to show how simple and economical it is to just make your own. No need to wait for an online supplier to ship one or drive around looking for one locally.
I'll warn you in advance; the final product is not very pretty! But, it is very functional. I have build many of these over the years and all are still working without breakdowns or failures.
I start off with a steel rod from the hardware store or the big box. This one is nickel plated steel. You can use brass too, but the steel is less costly. It does not need to be nickel plated. Plain old steel works fine and your dirty greasy hands will prevent it from rusting. This rod is 5/16". The pictured ramrod tip is 3/8" OD and 5/16" ID. The steel rod will slide into the ramrod tip with a little dressing with a file.
First step is to insert the rod and simultaneously drill a hole through both like this.
Once drilled it will look like the pic below. No need to be anal about centering, etc. The only thing that matters is drilling a hole through both pieces at once so you can pin it.
Next, you will either solder or glue the tip in place with the pin inserted. I chose to solder this one, but epoxy or JB weld is much simpler and just as effective.
In this case I drilled with a 1/8" drill but the largest pin stock I had handy was 3/16" :shocked2: Oh well, you know what they say about neccessity and invention! I settled on the hook from a plastic hanger that was a pretty good fit. Other options: The shank of the drill you used to drill the hole or a nail.
I fluxed these parts before soldering but it may no have been needed since a piece of acid core solder turned up. Either way, you do it like a plumber solders copper pipe joints. Clean it up, flux, heat the parts in place and then apply solder to the heated parts. The solder readily flows into place.
Like I said, epoxy or JB Weld is much simpler! :haha:
Now is a good time to discuss bore guides. I reccommend a bore guide but suppose they are not absolutely essential. This first one is your conventional bore guide with a 5/16" ID rod hole through it.
Next is the economy model. These are plastic inserts that fit into a hole in the bottom of a chair leg to insert a roller wheel into. Hardware store item at about $2.50 for a three pack. For a 3/8" rod the hole through needs to be relieved a bit with a 3/8" drill to get a fit on the rod.
Now for the handle end. The handle you attach is limited only by your imagination. I have used steel rods attached at a 90 deg angle which works good. The easy simple and effective route is a hardwood ball from the hobby store. This one is a marble door handle that I came across at a garage sale and bought for .50 cents. The hole is square and needed to be opened up just a bit with a 5/16" drill. Then another hole was drilled across the handle and the rod. You would do this the same way with a wood ball. Just drill the hole and then drill across it for your pin. Don't fudge on the pin! It is needed to assure that your joint stays together. Same as the ram rod tip we already did. For this handle I used the same hanger hook wire and the same 1/8" drill. Not knowing how the door handle would respond to heat, I used JB Weld on this end.
Before you attach your handle, be sure to slide your bore guide on first! The bore guide is permanent since it is captured by the handle and the ram rod tip.
Just glue it up with a liberal amount of JB. Here it is glued up and with a light bulb under it to speed up the curing process. It cured up completely in about three hours.
Next, we dress the pins and the surrounding glue and solder with a file. Not the prettiest file work, but like I said, it's not real pretty. Just about anybody here can do a better looking job than mine!
So, starting with a 36" rod, we finished with a rod that has about a 35" working length. For longer bores, 48" rods are available.
So, that's how that is done. Pretty simple, eh?
Total investment in this project including all parts was about ten dollars.
You might be able to buy a perfectly good range rod for ten dollars or just a bit more, but if you are like me, you might rather just do it yourself. Kinda what much of this hobby is about!
