Made a new ramrod for my turkey gun

[Darren Haverstick]

I made a new ramrod for my turkey gun today. The old one was too skinny and wouldn't stay seated. I had an old hickory blank that I cut to length. I sanded the diameter down so it would fit in the pipes and then trimmed the end to take a fowler tip. I tiger striped the blank with a torch and then stained it. After it dried, I fitted the tip on, glued it in place, and pinned it. Lastly, I sprayed it with a couple coats of polyurethane. Come on, turkey season!

Darren

[Ohio Joe]

Good looking ramrod!!! 

[Winter Hawk]

   Very artistic, as usual and expected coming from you! 

How did you get the stripe so even, did you first wind string around it as a guide for the torch?  Inquiring minds need to know! 

~Kees~

[Darren Haverstick]

  Very artistic, as usual and expected coming from you! 

How did you get the stripe so even, did you first wind string around it as a guide for the torch?  Inquiring minds need to know! 

~Kees~

Kees, I just eyeballed it. I slowly rotated the rod as I moved the torch down its length. Hickory is hard to scorch so you have plenty of time to correct your course if the results are not to your liking.

I've had that hickory blank for some time so it got warped quite a bit standing in the corner for so long. I used a heat gun to straighten it out some but it was still crooked as a dog's hind leg. Hopefully, a couple months seated in the ramrod pipes will take some of the bends out of it.

Darren