Ramrod troubles

[BigDuke634]

I was out on the rifle range today, teaching my nephew about safety and shooting my Springfield, and noticed my ramrod was a bit shaky. On closer inspection , the sucker came apart! I thought that I had done something to break it {I'm a klutz sometimes} , but saw that the ramrod was pieced together, and appeared to have been just soldered together. Do yall think that a little dab of JB Weld would do the trick and bring the pieces back together? Of course I would sand it as flush as possible.

[Suppelsa]

Just buy a new one. Mine broke last weekend.

Chris Suppelsa

[cblodg]

I was out on the rifle range today, teaching my nephew about safety and shooting my Springfield, and noticed my ramrod was a bit shaky. On closer inspection , the sucker came apart! I thought that I had done something to break it {I'm a klutz sometimes} , but saw that the ramrod was pieced together, and appeared to have been just soldered together. Do yall think that a little dab of JB Weld would do the trick and bring the pieces back together? Of course I would sand it as flush as possible.

Unlike the originals, repro ram rods are two pieces. As such, it is possible to snap off the "tulip" when twisted enough.

Just be safe and buy a new one, they are not that expensive.

Chris

[flattop32355]

Another alternative is to get it re-welded, which can make it stronger than the original weld when done properly. There are several stories on the forums speaking to this occurring.

[1stTexas]

Never use anything but 100% cotton for a cleaning patch and if in doubt about the composition of a rag you cut the patch from, don't use it in a bore that the ramrod must be reversed to be removed. Purchase a bag of the correct size patches for a 58 cal. bore that are available at most gun shops or from on-line gun parts suppliers. They should be labeled "100% cotton" and if they are not, don't buy 'em.

Cotton/polyester patches can make your ram rod stick in the bore because polyester will stretch and lock up in the bore when you reverse direction to pull the patch out. If you get the ramrod stuck fast, you must put the exposed end of the ramrod in a vise and pull the rifle off the ramrod. That can cause the ramrod to separate leaving the patch and part of the ramrod stuck in the bore. When that happens, you must remove the barrel and breech plug and pound the stuck patch and ramrod through the bore with another ramrod or wooden dowell.

A tool called a ramrod puller is helpful if you are in the field or do not have access to a vise. You can pull a stuck ramrod or stuck mine ball out of the bore in a sitting position using your feet. A ball/ramrod puller is cheap insurance for $20.

Cotton/polyester patches are sold commercially but they are only for use in rifle or pistol bores that can be pushed through and you do not have to reverse the ramrod to pull the patch out.

P53 Enfield ramrods are available at the larger sutlers who sell muskets and musket parts. I bought a spare P53 Enfield ramrod at Blockade Runner for $29 that has a threaded accessory stud with correct 10-32 thread . Dixie Gun Works offers P53 Enfield ramrods for $19 but the accessory stud is not threaded.

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

Original ramrods are two piece as well.

A few years ago, a number of makers were offering limited lathe-turned "one piece" ramrods. However, a number of well known suppliers were selling high priced "one piece" ramrods that were in fact the same type "two piece" and broke accordingly. That pretty much ended the one-piece ramrod craze whether they were duped by their suppliers or they just duped their customers.

As with Springfield socket bayonets there were many steps in the making of
original ramrods that the modern Italians neglect in the interest of time and money and money.
And the last, but not least, is "Quality Control."

IMHO, the problem with say reproduction M1861 Springfield ramrods lies in a mix of the lack of proper manufacturing in general- more particular in the fact that original two piece ramrods, were pinned and brazed unlike the repro's that are just stock that is just inserted or shallowly sleeved together- and disguised with weld that is further taken down to be "invisible."

Curt-Heinrich Schmidt

Who might just add that if one cleans in a Period manner, one rarely encounters Modern problems... ;-) :-)

[Rob Weaver]

Am I just exceptionally lucky or what? I've had my share of stuck ramrods over the years, with a 63 and more lately with a 61. Never with my Brown Bess, strangely enough. I guess with a bore the size of the Holland Tunnel, no patch is going to get stuck. I've learned a) to flush the barrel thoroughly with water until it runs clear b) cut your patches from thin natural material c) never turn it backward on itself when the rammer's down the bore. d) lube the barrel liberally after firing. I may go through a pile of patches when I clean, but my guns are clean and I've never broken a ramrod.

[BigDuke634]

Actually , it looks to me like whatever they used to tack it together just wore out. I swear it looks like super glue.

[1stTexas]

The two-piece reproduction P53 Enfield ramrods are a press fit and if you tug on them hard enough they can part. American gun retailers have sent complaints about this problem to the Italian gunmakers but so far there has been no response.

The best fix is to take it to a gunsmith and have him drill and pin the ramrod about .020" on the jag side of the parting line. It will take a a good eye with a jewelers glass to see the parting line but a gunsmith will be able to find it easily.

A local gunsmith told me he would pin one of my Armi Sport P53 Enfield ramrods for $20 but as usual I have been procrastinating. The next time I am in his shop to buy some dry cotton patches for a 50-60 cal. bore, I will leave my ramrod to get pinned.

Never lube your barrel prior to ramming down a minie ball. The bore should be dry when you ram the minie ball or the excess lube will collect and ruin half of the powder before it gets to the breech. When you ram the lubed minie ball it will distribute enough lube in the bore for the shot and you can have least ten more shots with lubed mine balls before using a cotton bore swab or patch to remove the fouling. The .570" round balls use a lubed patch every shot.

[1stTexas]

Sorry, my mistake...the ramrod should be pinned .020" on the OPPOSITE side of the parting line from the jag. In other words the stud part of the fit is on the jag part of the ramrod and it is pressed into the longer half of the ramrod and that is where the pin should be.

I have never had my ramrod apart but I looked at a exploded view of a P53 Enfield rifle and the ramrod is shown that way.

[Rob]

When my Enfield's ramrod got stuck during the one (and only) time I used the business end of it for cleaning, I had to use a ball-peen hammer, a pair of visegrips, and a few squirts of CLP down the bore to extricate it.

It survived in one piece.

[WestTN_reb]

Most folks are talking about the patches. One way to ensure that your patches are 100% cotton is to do what I did. Cut up the old whitey tighties that you no longer wear. Just be sure to wash them beforehand.;)

[Rob Weaver]

Never lube your barrel prior to ramming down a minie ball. The bore should be dry when you ram the minie ball or the excess lube will collect and ruin half of the powder before it gets to the breech. When you ram the lubed minie ball it will distribute enough lube in the bore for the shot and you can have least ten more shots with lubed mine balls before using a cotton bore swab or patch to remove the fouling. The .570" round balls use a lubed patch every shot.
Concur absolutely! Sometimes if I know I'm going to be shooting later, I just leave the bore dry, or clean it the night before shooting it.

[BigDuke634]

Well , a patch wasn't involved in the process. I had just seated the Minie ball,and when I was putting the rod back into the rifle, it was wobbly , then popped apart. As for patches I do only use cotton, no blends. Wal Mart sells them and we have a rag box at work that I paw through and get out 100% cotton rags, which I take home and cut into pieces.

[1stTexas]

To save the aggravation of a stuck P53 Enfield ramrod, never use it for cleaning the bore with a patch and only use it for loading the minie ball when live firing. You can screw a brass jag with 10-32 female thread on the end of the ramrod that has the stud for cleaning with a patch.

When a P53 Enfield ramrod gets stuck in the bore with a patch on it, you will find that it will only move towards the breech and when you try to reverse directions, it is stuck fast. If you continue to push the stuck ramrod towards the breech, and it becomes stuck all the way down the bore at the breech, there is not enough of the rod left sticking out the muzzle to use a ramrod puller or vise. Then you must remove the barrel, remove the breech plug and push the stuck ramrod out the breech end.

That is because if you look at the design of the Enfield ramrod , you will see that a patch can get wadded up behind the bullet button when you reverse direction. That is not the case with a 58 cal. self aligning jag that is designed for use with a patch that is also sized for a 58 cal. bore. Attempting to cram a patch that is too large for the bore can also get the ramrod stuck or at least difficult to remove. .

For live firing, it is also a good idea to purchase a T-handle with 10-32 female thread so you can get a good grip on the ramrod. You cannot avoid having slippery hands when firing a musket.

[BigDuke634]

Just to let yall know, JB Weld works like a charm! i mixed up a batch and smeared a little bit on both the pin and the hole, wiped off the excess, and let it dry. It's better than new IMO.