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Tow worm

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Daryl Crawford

50 Cal.
Joined
Oct 6, 2019
Messages
1,218
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2,097
Location
Lehigh Valley, PA
Sorry for a "new guy question" but I'm a little concerned on tow worms. I thought I wanted the simple spring that threads on the end of my ram rod. Others have suggested the screw in variety buy the ones I've seem to be hard steal and I worry about scratching my bore. Does the old style spring work well enough?
 
I have the spring shaped one that screw on to a plain ramrod end.
Run tow, or even strips of rag and it swabs well.
That said, at home most of the time I use a wiping stick with a modern style jag.
 
I've been using the coil spring style tow worm for a long time without problems. To make sure I never lose it, I whittled threads on the small end of my ramrods so the worm can screw on snuggly.

cleaning8.JPG

cleaning7.JPG

Spence
 
Couldn’t the spring pop off and enlodgen it and the tow in the bore?

They work like a Chinese finger trap, so they don't come off easily. It's certainly possible though. I had one for an old trade gun and used it from time to time. I never really used it hard but just to swab the bore every once in a while.

For regular threaded worms, just ensure you have enough tow wrapped around the tines and you don't need to worry about scratching anything.
 
Tow, raw wool, jute cord, hemp cord, manila cord or sisal cord will work very well. The string tied to the material or the spring is indeed a good idea. I use the tow and toggle which is a ball of tow with a linen string tied to it. The button tip of my ram rod on the land pattern musket (Brown Bess) doesn't always grip the ball of tow and I need the string to pull the tow out.
 
I've used them both in both rifle and smoothbore. With enough tow to fill the bore the scraping is not an issue with either. Spence's groove is the way to go and, keep giving the rod a twist to snug it up.
 
I've been using the coil spring style tow worm for a long time without problems. To make sure I never lose it, I whittled threads on the small end of my ramrods so the worm can screw on snuggly.

View attachment 18912
View attachment 18914
Spence

I love that so much. I want to make one just like that.

Does anyone know where to get a coil for a .40 cal?
 
Most of us have the makings of a tow worm in our closet. My coil wrap tow worm is made from a section of wire clothes hangar. I am assuming you have a 3/8" ramrod. First I took a 6" section of 3/8" dowel rod, chucked it in my electric drill and rasped or sanded a coarse blunt taper. Starting at just about the full diameter of the ram rod, start coiling the coat hangar around the tapered dowel. You need about 4 coils to catch the ramrod and about 4 to 6 more to wrap the cleaning material. Twist the coil on your ramrod and mark the wraps. Using a round needle file, make shallow grooves to guide the coil on your rod.

The soft steel of the wire clothes hangar is perfect for the tow worm. It will grab the rod and tighten up when twisted in the bore.
 
Made it today from a coat hanger. Thanks so much for the idea. Think the gun will end up waiting to be cleaned until tomorrow afternoon though as today has officially gotten away from me and I've got quite a few hours more grading I must complete today.
Again thanks for the tip!
 
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