Fowler ramrod ends

I like how it had the screw on cover for the worm! Because my muzzleloading back ground to date has be rifles. The thought of an exposed worm on the end of the rod makes nervous!;-)

Loja man said:

I like how it had the screw on cover for the worm! Because my muzzleloading back ground to date has be rifles. The thought of an exposed worm on the end of the rod makes nervous!;-)

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That feature is pretty common on shotguns.

One thing to remember as you mentioned using Osage Orange. It wasn't known east of the Mississippi until Lewis and Clark brought it back from the west.
That is for the historically correct PC police.

Double-ended drawer-pull screws from your local hardware or cabinet supply stores are ideal for wad, card or ball pulling.
They can be obtained for pennies to fit the threads on most ramrod tips or re-threaded to fit.
relic shooter
https://www.homedepot.com/b/Hardware-Fasteners-Screws/Double-Ended/N-5yc1vZc2b0Z1z1s7op

So for those of you who use tapered ram rods. It seems you are only tapering from the end to the first entry pipe? What is your preferred method for sizing down most of a ram rod?

I use a small plane and work it down rolling it on the bench as I go, Loja.

Capt. Jas. said:

I would also add that using a metal disc on the swelled end was also common. I believe Kit Ravenshear mentioned these in his little booklets.
Here is an 18th century British painting by Mercier showing the iron tipped gunrod. For an American gun, I would personally go with a plain, flared forward end for ramming or maybe add the iron disc. I would go with a fixed worm like Dave describes for the small end that goes down the pipes.
View attachment 190564

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I think some of the "metal discs" may have been tacks on lower end guns.

If I'm building or using a smoothbore or rifle or pistol for shooting I favor use of black carbon fiber, see photo...
This material resembles Ebony, is self lubricating, somewhat flexible, will-not wear your muzzle & is less expensive & available at local plastics suppliers.
This material provides a good hand grip & is a tad heavier than wood & makes loading & seating the load bit easier in the field.
I drill & tap one end of the rod's material to accept cleaning jags, etc.

This rugged material will last a lifetime of heavy field usage but it is tougher to work with due to it's self-lubricating qualities.
Since disposing of my lathe, I chuck one end of the material in a drill & near the other end wrap a heavy piece of leather around the portion I'm working with clamped in a vice and grip an aggressive file on each side of the material while it's turning to put a taper on the rod..

To reduce the rod's diameter for R/R ferules I use my Dremel tool & cutters while the material is spinning in the same drill setup as described above.
The above method works equally well for making wood ramrods & turning down other small parts out of small diameter wood & metal round stock.
Relic shooter

Loja man said:

So for those of you who use tapered ram rods. It seems you are only tapering from the end to the first entry pipe? What is your preferred method for sizing down most of a ram rod?

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I came across a thread on here from a while back where someone said you can taper a ramrod by clamping a metal washer in a vise and drawing the rod through the washer. I'm going to give that a try soon, seems like it could work if the washer is stoned to a sharp edge.
The fixture that Larry Potterfield showed in the video in this thread also seems like a good idea and not too difficult.

Loja man said:

So for those of you who use tapered ram rods. It seems you are only tapering from the end to the first entry pipe? What is your preferred method for sizing down most of a ram rod?

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If one has pipes of the same diameter yes. A set of pipes that progressively get larger in diameter towards the muzzle requires tapering for all the various pipe sizes.
Here is an explanation and a handy tool for tapering
https://thosmachine.wordpress.com/

Sure like the tapered ramrods . Takes me a long time to make them but they are worth it

Rob M. said:

Sure like the tapered ramrods . Takes me a long time to make them but they are worth it

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Those are really nice! My current build will have thimbles that reduce in size so the ramrod can be tapered like that. I picked up two half inch blanks to make the ramrods. Nice work!

Hatchet-Jack said:

Those are really nice! My current build will have thimbles that reduce in size so the ramrod can be tapered like that. I picked up two half inch blanks to make the ramrods. Nice work!

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Very cool . Ramrod pipes that taper as the rod does ...thats cool . Post pics of your build when you get the chance , love yo see it