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TRESO ramrod ends

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Zonie gave good instructions. However...

Like my buddy Two Feathers and brother Mark Herman, I recommend a tubing cutter to make the circumferential cut to create the shoulder. You are guaranteed a square cut on an un tapered rod. I guess you could use a lathe to turn down the end to fit, but I just use a pocketknife and a file after cutting the shoulder.

For adhesive, epoxy is a good choice, but hot melt ferrule cement, which is used for attaching arrow points and the ferrules on fishing rods, may be even better, if you know how to use it. Either way, de-grease the inside of the ramrod tip with denatured alcohol or acetone on a Q-tip before gluing. A film of adhesive is better than a thick coat... You don't want glue getting up into the threaded hole.

I also recommend cross-pinning. I drill a slightly undersized hole through the metal tip and the wood, after attaching the tip, then counterbore just the metal to a slip-fit for the pin. The hole through the wooden part remains undersized, to grip the pin. Smear the pin with epoxy and drive it in, allowing some to protrude out both sides. When the epoxy has cured, cut the ends and file them flush. Peening is unnecessary with this method, and I have never seen a pin back out.

That's the way I do it, but there are a lot of ways to skin this particular cat!

Notchy Bob
 
When ever I make ramrod tips I make sure that the threads don't go all of the way through the tip to the larger bore where the wood fits. If the threads go through to the wood and you put in a ball puller or similar attachment and the male threads are to long it will act like a gear puller and can pull off tip even when glued and pined! If the tip has the threads already through you can put in a short set screw with locktight to block the threads if the threads are deep enough.
 
Another thing you might what to check, I have 3/8" ramrod popes on my current build, they were a little undersized so I ran a 3/8" drill bit through them after I inletted them into the stock. I have a completed ramrod from another project that I plan to use on the current build. It is supposed to have a 3/8" tip on it but it is slightly oversized and won't go through my pipes, I am going to have to sand it down a bit to make it the right size.

I didn't check to see if the tip would go through my pipes, I just assumed it would. It would have been much easier to turn down this tip before I installed and pinned it on a full length ramrod, I should have checked it for size first.
 
The only possible suggestion I can add to Zonie's write up is to check for grain orientation of the ramrod end before gluing and pinning. You want the grain running horizontal, like looking at a ham sandwich at table level, and install the pin vertical to that. If you install it parallel to the grain, it can pull out. I had that happen with a pistol tip, which has less wood between the pin and the end of the ramrod.

So with the roughed interior of the tip to give the epoxy a toe hold and pinned perpendicular to the grain is the most secure mount you can have. The only way it will come off is if you start bending the ramrod sideways before it exits the barrel as you will eventually break it off just where the ramrod tip begins.
 
Lots of great tips! Thank you!

Ohio Ramrod "When ever I make ramrod tips I make sure that the threads don't go all of the way through the tip... it will act like a gear puller and can pull off tip... "

I thought about that, but figured the threaded area should be long enough (about 1/2" in the case of these Treso ends). I suppose a short hole in the end of the rod should handle that situation.

I've already epoxied the ends on and have no clue how to tell if I'm pinning between the lunch meat or through it. I may be back asking you woodworkers for the trick on that one.
 
The ramrod is all finished except for the finish. Not sure what I'll do if it's linseed oil or something else. I know, there are many different ways of skinning that cat.

One of the first things I did after getting the Triso ends was to make sure they fit the thimbles and the stock. But it was good you mentioned it.

I liked Notchy Bob's method so I drilled the cross hole undersize. With a small reamer I carefully got the brass up to 1/16", which left the wood slightly undersize. Then I smeared some superglue in the hole and pressed in the pin. Once the ends were smoothed by chucking and turning in the lathe, it takes a close look with a magnifying glass to spot the pins.

Since the ends were already epoxied in I had to figure out another way of spotting the orientation of the grain sandwich. This ramrod came from a dowel 36" long. About 25" had perfect grain running parallel to the dowel. The last several inches the grain angles off a little. I positioned that section on the ramming end - if it shears, it'll be in the barrel. I could tell from that section which way the sections of grain lay and pinned accordingly.

The Cabelas site lists a TC Hawken ramrod with a length of 28 and 5/8". I made mine even with the end of the barrel - 29". It's too late now to change, but I think an eighth inch back would have looked best - 28 7/8".

Thanks again for all your help and answering a bunch of dumb questions. I've now got a mini ball mold, round ball mold, powder, jags are coming and just need patches, soft lead, caps and a short rammer. And some beeswax to make lube.
 
So my RR's remain nimble, I soak the RR in kerosene for 30 days in a 1" diameter PVC tube 36" long ($5 @ Home Cheapo), with a glued-on cap for one end & a removable cap on the other end.

When done, the kero odor disappears as the liquid evaporates. (the deer I've taken gave no indication of a strange odor on the wind)
 
Pietro - do you do anything else to the RR after that? Or is that the final finish? Does the Kerosene change the color? Will it stay clean and not stain?
 
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