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Unbreakable ramrod

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A possible problem with soaking your ramrod in oil come to mind. The epoxy you used to reinforce the tip attachment will no longer have anything to stick to. You will be 100% on the cross pin.
 
I have to ask why are you breaking your rods? 5/16ths? I don't come close to breaking any of my hickory rods. :dunno:
Ames, original rod for this slim and lovely rifle does not appear to be of any standard diameter stock. Starts out at front end with a .340 diameter, slowly tapers to .325 just behind the end fitting. End fitting is .310 diameter. Appears to have been hand scraped to taper, has a few flattish spots. Fitted nicely in the ferrules, with just enough drag to stay in place.

My replacement started as a 3/8 inch diameter, which I rasped and scraped down to match the taper of the original.

Both instances of breakage occurred as I excitedly reloaded during a hunt for the wiley western cottontail.
 
It's not uncommon to soak hickory rods in kerosene, sometimes as long as a week. It does make them "more" flexible but certainly not unbreakable.

I have a couple uncut 48" replacement rods out in the shop that have been soaking for several years. My experience with them is that I can bend them in a circle and make the butts touch. That's my last quality control test to make sure they won't break before cutting them and fitting the tips. They stink to high heaven. After a couple of weeks the coal oil evaporates and they become about as stiff as if I didn't soak them, but they have passed my magnifier inspection for grain run out (before soaking in kerosene) and then were bent double without cracking or splitting. I have never had one of these ramrods break that did not involve abuse and misuse. They just won't break if there is essentially no grain runout AND you don't pull them sideways trying to remove the jag while it is still a few inches inside the barrel.
 
being SKEWERED buy a wooden ram rod sends SHIVERES up my spine, a horrible thought!! but it will happen to you sooner or later! get a SUPER ROD, it will be the last one that you will ever need.
 
It's not uncommon to soak hickory rods in kerosene, sometimes as long as a week. It does make them "more" flexible but certainly not unbreakable. You might look into the black flexible rods, not fiberglass. They are available in various calibers and can be fitted wit brass threaded tips. I have a number of them here
Delryn?
 
SKEWERED, that guarantees a trip to the Emergency Room since it's a puncture wound.

Imagine all the dirt, grime and germs on a wood ram rod.

My ram rods are either Super Rods or brass in the thimbles and solid brass for range rods. Have a stack of wood ones in my closet, tagged for the rifle that they came from.
 
Is there a specific reason kerosene is used? Coworker told me to liberally oil my newly made ramrods, I was going to use BLO since he wasn't specific. Good timing on this thread as I was going to oil them this weekend.
 
I am not sure about this, having never done it … but: Back in the early fifties an old ML hunter told me he soaked ramrod shafts in kerosene until thoroughly soaked through. He claimed it made them flexible and much less likely to break. FWIW … Polecat
I do that. I have a piece of pipe 4 ft long capped at one end. Filled with kero; drop a new rod blank in, and leave it until needed. I have never had one break on me, and I use only wood rods. I have worn a couple to the point where I retired them because they got a bit thin from rubbing against the muzzles. I give away more than I use myself, but as soon as the tube gets vacated, I put in another stick. I always get my blanks from the local builders' supply; I select dowels with straight, little or no run-out grain. Don't use a rod for loading that has cracked or begun to split.
 
Just because it is an old myth kero will make hickory rods very flexible. It will, for a few days. Then it dries out and you just have a stinky stick.
No you don't. Let it dry, then rub it down with any finishing oil. Kero treatment does not make them soft and whippy, but does render them very difficult to break in normal service.
 
I do that. I have a piece of pipe 4 ft long capped at one end. Filled with kero; drop a new rod blank in, and leave it until needed. I have never had one break on me, and I use only wood rods. I have worn a couple to the point where I retired them because they got a bit thin from rubbing against the muzzles. I give away more than I use myself, but as soon as the tube gets vacated, I put in another stick. I always get my blanks from the local builders' supply; I select dowels with straight, little or no run-out grain. Don't use a rod for loading that has cracked or begun to split.
Wonderful .. that confirms my old friend's recommendation. Someone said it would stink and the deer would smell it. I think if it sits out for a month or two that would then be no problem .. what is your take on that, Flintlokr? Polecat
 
even FIBER GLASS can splinters at times, not good . but DUROLON RODS, don't break. JMHO.
 
It was common to soak or wipe down wooden handled tools with 30 weight motor oil to keep them from drying out.
I’m not sure I understand why... unfinished wood will dry to the ambient humidity and no further. Tool handles like axe handles, picks, shovels etc. are thoroughly miserable if finished with lacquer or poly.
 
Hickory makes a fine rod.
Secret is to split, not saw, the wood.
The grain must run straight the length of the rod.
Old Douglas fir, the fine grained variety sometimes seen but was once common, is very good split the same way. It also makes a fine, heavy arrow shaft.
 
I’m not sure I understand why... unfinished wood will dry to the ambient humidity and no further. Tool handles like axe handles, picks, shovels etc. are thoroughly miserable if finished with lacquer or poly.
You've never seen old dry rotted wooden handles? Oil helps prevent that. Inside furniture also.
 
Oi
You've never seen old dry rotted wooden handles? Oil helps prevent that. Inside furniture also.
Oil allows wood to breathe; paint, varnish etc, don’t. An old timer once told me “never paint a wooden ladder” because it will dryrot.
Hickory makes a great ramrod.
One Muzzleloader supply house has a clever sales trick for ramrods “it costs the same to ship one rod as it does a dozen”
I have a big bundle of them, I keep falling for it.
I’ve soaked a few in kerosene, after a couple weeks I’m convinced the deer think I stink more...
 
Wonderful .. that confirms my old friend's recommendation. Someone said it would stink and the deer would smell it. I think if it sits out for a month or two that would then be no problem .. what is your take on that, Flintlokr? Polecat
WHEN i take them out of the kero, I sit them outside in a sunny place for a week or two. The smell is usually gone by then, and totally disappears under a coat of tug or some such. The rods are still well tempered. If a deer isn't put off by smelling you, I doubt if a bit of kero perfume would make a difference. HUNT UPWIND.
 

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