1842 Ram Rod

J

johnm1

New member
The 1842 Musket my wife gave to me on Fathers Day came with a ram rod that appeared to be too long. Upon investigation, the ram rod is the correct length but does not seat far enough in its channel to be flush with the end of the barrel. We took off the trigger guard/plate and found what I think is a square nut that is threaded to receive the end of the ram rod. My photo editing skills are apparently not good enough. In the below picture the artifact that is in question is in the trigger cut out to the right of the rightmost hole. It is rust colored.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60323943@N07/7476038892/in/photostream/lightbox/

Is this a nut to receive the end of the ram rod? The parts diagram I have doesn't show all of the parts and certainly doesn't show this part.

The next question is if it is, the drilled hole for the ram rod must be full of 160 years of 'stuff'. Has anyone tried to open this ram rod channel up and how did you do it?
 
That is indeed a nut to secure the ramrod. If it already has a hole on the top side of the stock, get a small appropriately sized punch and tap the nut out. If it doesn't have the hole. carefully drill one. Then you can clean up the threaded hole in the nut and/or chase the threads.
 
Well I wasn't trying to stump the group. Maybe I'm not explaining this well. Here is a photograph of the ram rod installed as far as it will go.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60323943@N07/7411881114/in/photostream

I don't have a photograph of the disassembled musket showing the ram rod retention spring in the stock. But just rear of the retention spring the ram rod channel begins to be a blind hole drilled in the stock.

I expect the end of the channel should extend to almost the breach of the musket. When disassembled I can see where the ram rod channel starts into a blind hole. I am assuming that this 'blind hole' is full of waste material. If I can find a #10 drill bit that is around 12" long I may be able to lightly pull any waste material out of this channel.

The real question is if there is a device in the stock to allow the end of the cleaning rod to 'screw' into or was the ram rod retention spring the only thing that held the ram rod in place?
 
The original ramrod was probably lost. The channel is probably partially packed with old grease. It's pretty common for rifles that have lost their ramrods.
 
Careful use of a 1/8" diameter 12" long drill bit, spun with a shoe string and the crud has been removed from the ram rod channel.

The more I think about it, I believe this ram rod to be a reproduction. Although it was the correct length and shape, it was not threaded on the end. Using the correct die, it is now threaded. I seem to remember reading that one of the reproduction companies produced a ram rod without threading. I can't remember which one.
 
'42 Ramrod

Hi John,

The metal piece that you see under the trigger guard is a metal stop that was installed to keep the ramrod from going any further in the stock. I have not seen one that is threaded. If yours is threaded, it was probably just a replacement that a resourceful individual used. Rarely are the originals missing though. Some ArmiSport C.W. Repops have a slot for the piece but for some reason many are not installed. The stops are not anything fancy. Just bar stock.

Your ramrod is a reproduction. When you place your ramrod into your empty
barrel, how far does it extend from the barrel? I have seen originals that extend from a 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the barrel.

Just a standard question. Are you sure your barrel is empty? Many an old musket still has a load in it.

When I needed to clean out a clogged channel I was lucky enough to have a old repo rod. I welded an appropiate sized bit to it and very sowly turned the rod to clean out the crude in the hole.

Hope this helps you some.
 
Thanks Col. Mosby,

I was questioning if the stop should be threaded or not. I doubt mine is. I did manage to clean the channel though I didn't reach the stop before the end of the rod was about even with the end of the barrel. My ram rod extends about 1/4" beyond the end of the barrel when fully inserted into the barrel.

Hawg - never underestimate the ingenuity of the novice. I did manage to load a ball this weekend with the powder charge still in the funnel. I learned how to remove a ball without a charge.

Thanks all for your help.

(I need to replace that video with one that doesn't have that stupid grin)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top