Range rod

[rebs]

I made a range rod out of hickory wood and glued the ends on with Gorilla glue. That went really well, left the wood under the ends a little rough fr the glue to hold on. The tips have rings in them for the glue to hold better. My question is would you put pins in the ends ? This is to be my range rod for bullet seating, cleaning between shots for removing a stuck ball just in case that happens.

[4V50 Gary]

Yes, I'd put pins in it to secure the end.

[Model12Win]

Same.

You don't want it to snap off.

[Smokin'Joe]

No pins. Drilling holes for the pins will weaken the wood. When applied properly Gorilla glue is plenty strong enough. I made one like yours and used glue without pins. Works great.

[Hawg]

Pin it.

[swathdiver]

Pin it. Hickory is plenty strong to run pins through.

[Old Stony]

Just redid a ramrod myself. I always pin them with a small piece of brass welding rod. Pulling a bullet can sometimes really put the glue to the test, and it's better to have all the support you can get on the tip.

[HiBC]

A pin within the ferrule will have no effect on the strength of the rod.It will help ensure the end will not come off.
Hickory is "the" ramrod wood.Not all rods are created equal.Best is one made of a "split" of hickory.That has to do with grain running the length.
If you have crossgrain it can fail,which may end up with your hand impaled.

While lacking in aesthetics,a very practical muzzle loader range rod is a GI .50 cal machine gun 1 piece cleaning rod.

[rebs]

which ramrod material do you guys feel is best , fiberglass, aluminum or ?

I do not have access to brass welding rod so what else can I use for a pin ? I do have a few brass screws and brass plated 3/4 x 14 brad nails.

[foolzrushn]

What is the glued end made from? Brass?

You need to look at a hardware store or hobby store, for small diameter aluminum or brass rod or screws. You want something that goes through the end, but is flush, and that won't scratch the bore. You might even use nylon or fiberglass, but brass would be nice if it matched the end.

With a brass or aluminum pin, you could brad the ends to retain the pin, as well as gluing it in place. Hobby shops have small diameter solid rods in foot long pieces.

There are some really small brass ( not plated ) countersunk screws. You could drill a pilot hole, countersink the head into the end piece and glue the screw in place. Then file the screw head smooth if necessary.

After all that...just had a brain storm...what about using the 'nail' part of a pop rivet? Bet you have some of those.

[kwhi43]

Stainless steel is the best thing to make range rods from. You can buy these
like this. I made this one for my pistol. It's only 10 inches long but I have 6
or more 35 inches long for my rifles. They are threaded on the end for different
jags. ball puller ect. The rod is 1/4 inch dia. Dirt won't stick to it. The muzzle
protecter can be made from a modern brass carthage case. This way the rod
is always centered in the barrel. This is the way we all do it who shoot atvFriendship.

[rebs]

Yes I do have some pop rivets, I'll give it a try.

[HiBC]

Rebs,as kiwi suggested,muzzle loader barrels are made of faily soft steel,and bore wear from the rod is not good.
While softer materials seem like a good idea,in truth the gather and hold grit,which is abrasive.
The stainless with bore guide shown will be best for the rifle.A steel rod can be kept clean.
The GI .50 rod I suggested can be set up with a similar bore guide.

I do prefer the traditional hickory ram rod for use in the field.

I' thinking even the big box building supply stores have brass escutcheon pins or brads.I think you can get them .040or .050 in dia.

[swathdiver]

Any hardware store will have 1/16" brass or copper rod, use that to pin your end through the wood. Hammer the ends down so that they are flush.

You want to use soft metals in these rods, unless using stainless rod with a bore protector. Stay away from fiberglass.

If you keep your hickory range rod clean and waxed, it will not impart dirt into the bore.

As for me and my house, we use a stainless range rod while working up a load. Our goal is to hunt with a load that is easy to load, so once that has been determined, the venerable hickory ramrod is all we'll need.

[Pahoo]

RangeRods;
These are rods that are dedicated to the range/bench. I am fortunate to have two TC rods that are yellow poly coated fiberglass. Over the years, they have taken more than their share of abuse, including pulling RB.s, Conicals and Sabots. I also have a "Delrin" Rod for my .36 &.32. All are supplied with bore guides. .....

RamRods;
On my SideLocks, I keep the Hickories for show, loading and swabbing. For hunting, I have Delrins duplicates that will take the beating of extracting projectiles.

Pinning;
I often make RamRods for folk and if the tips are drilled for pinning, I pin them with brass brads. You don't have to pin a rod but you better have a very good adhesive. Most polymer based adhesives, are very good. ....

Be Safe !!!

[rebs]

I found a piece of 1/8" brass rod. Is this about the right size to pin the brass ends or might it be too thick ? The rod is hickory and the ends are brass 3/8".

[swathdiver]

It should work but you may want to give it a stress test afterwards; if you haven't already made your rod to its final length! But, if you can get to the hardware store for some 1/16" rod, do it.

[4V50 Gary]

Like Reb, I think 1/16" is enough.

[rebs]

I went to two hardware stores, lowes and home depot and the smallest I could find was 1/8 th. I even tried a hobby shop.
I could not find anything smaller.
Does anyone have a small piece they could spare to send me ?

[Pahoo]

I think 1/16" is enough.

Plenty good for this service. .....

I could not find anything smaller.

Look at my previous reply where I reference "Brass-Brads" or nails. I think they also call them escutcheon pins. I use these on rod tips as well as my horns. These come in a package and have round heads. Look for them and I'm sure your will find them. A package will last a long time and work great !!! ...

Be Safe !!!

[swathdiver]

Sorry Rebs but I'm out or just can't find it right now.

Tower Hobbies has it and ACE hardware stocks K&S, the ones around me have a K&S display as do the hobby shops.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXCGCT&P=7

[HiBC]

If you have a Home Depot,or other home store,or even something like Hobby Lobby,
Ask for #18 or #16 by 3/4 Brass escutcheon pins.The # 18 will be .040 in dia,the #16 will be .051 in dia.

http://www.homedepot.com/s/brass%20e...n%20pin?NCNI-5

[foolzrushn]

Are you sure that your local welder or welding supply doesn't have some small brass brazing rod? The supply place might want you to buy a pound of rod unless they sell by the stick, but if a welder has some he would probably give you a couple inches.

But the brass brads would be good if they are solid brass, not plated steel, and long enough.

I think 1/8" is too big and might make the ramrod weak. And I think copper is to soft. I would rather use aluminum if I couldn't find brass. I got a stick of 3/32 ( .091") aluminum rod from a welding supply shop a couple weeks ago, they didn't make me buy a pound. That was the smallest diameter aluminum rod that they had. I don't think I'd want to use a larger diameter for a pin myself, and smaller would be better. I thought you were going to try the 'nail' end of an aluminum pop rivet??

[rebs]

I'll go back to home depot today and ask for the escutcheon pins, which size would be preferred the #16 or #18 ? The only pop rivets I have are a few large size.

[foolzrushn]

Yeah they would need to be the small aluminum rivets.....but brass is better any way.

A larger number is a smaller diameter pin. You don't need a very large pin to hold a cap on that is glued. You might look at your drill bits...even take a few along in your pocket, to see which pin would give you the best fit in the hole for the bits you have.