New Ramrod

[Mercian]

Thank you all, for your interest and comments. As can be seen I have had a bit of a tidy up even swept the floor, still need to sort out that self along the back of the work bench, and a few other things besides. As they say Rome wasn't built in a day.

 

[Juice Jaws]

Good looking work shop, but I found one problem, you are letting all the luck run out of your horse shoes.

 

[Mercian]

Good looking work shop, but I found one problem, you are letting all the luck run out of your horse shoes.

Ah I found out a long time ago it don't matter which way up I hang them up it's always a case of if it wasn't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all.

 

[toot]

having all of your horse shoes hung up that way, all of your luck is going to run out. just am old superstition.

 

[Juice Jaws]

having all of your horse shoes hung up that way, all of your luck is going to run out. just am old superstition.

Superstition, I guess you don't believe in a Lucky Rabbits Foot either.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Excellent job Mercian!!!!! I have made Bows, and arrow shafts from local grown Red and or white ash and if hickory wasn't available I wouldn't hesitate a minute to use ash. Very nice!!!!
Robby

Some of my rods are made from Delrin which is grown on my own property.

 

[Robby]

Comes from the Polymer tree I believe.
Robin

 

[Grumpa]

This thread is entertaining...in sooo many ways.

Richard/Grumpa

 

[Jaeger]

Smartly done, old boy!

 

[kansas_volunteer]

It's been wet here, and i don't want to walk through the mud, but high on my to do list is to cut hickory on my place. The lower 6 feet or so will be used for bows. Above that ramrods. I'll split the wood, clean up the splinters and square it up a bit, straighten the blank as much as possible, take it to round, probably using a draw plate, and straightening the finished rod. It should yield really good rods. I'm thinking slow growth wood with close grain would be better that fast grown wood with wider grain. Which is best probably depends on the amount of porous and weak spring wood.

Ash does almost everything hickory does quite well. Ash is dieing out, just like American elm. Save your ash while you can.

 

[dave61965]

Excellent job, I need to make a couple my self, is that an old Drummond treadle lathe you have in your shop ?

 

[toot]

Juice Jaws, when you see a rabbit's foot on a key chain it sure wasn't lucky for the poor rabbit! lol.

 

[Howard Pippin]

Superstition, I guess you don't believe in a Lucky Rabbits Foot either.

For you or for the rabbit?

 

[BillinOregon]

Mercian, you have my respect and appreciation. Nothing like a shop with wood shavings on the floor!

 

[Mercian]

Excellent job, I need to make a couple my self, is that an old Drummond treadle lathe you have in your shop ?

Yep you got it, and I still use it as a treadle. Has it's limitations but I acknowledge them and work within them.
I still do a lot of shaping in the round at the bench by hand with files, as was shaped the brass head for the ramrod. I remember reading somewhere years ago that back in the day the sound that would have been heard the most in a gunsmiths shop would have been that of hand files being used.

 

[Mercian]

Now I feel ashamed I bought a indestructible ramrod.
Should have made one :-(

It not to late to have a go, find someone who has some suitable timber and get a suitably sized piece split down and like Black Hand says shaping the rod can be done with not much more than, a knife, time, patience and attention to detail. Another tool that I find very useful for working down wood into objects such as this is one that my old grandfather used to use, and is nothing more than a piece of broken glass bottle, particularly if it's broken in a way which allows the neck of the bottle to become the handle.
Go on, have a go.

 

[Mercian]

Mercian, you have my respect and appreciation. Nothing like a shop with wood shavings on the floor!

Thank you Bill, and yes I find shavings on a workshop floor does give it a kind of warm worked in atmosphere. In fact very little in the way of metal or wooden off cuts get either scraped or thrown away. When I start, to either make or repair something, the off cuts and that which many others would refer to as scrap, is the first place that I look through to find any material that might be necessary to carry out the task in hand.
However occasionally I do have to draw the line and have a little sort out.