Just broke my unbreakable range rod...

[willtill]

...for my muzzleloaders. Had doubled up on two patches while cleaning me Hawken this morning, and as I was forcefully ramming it in... SNAP! Broke right off where the brass ferrule attaches to the shaft.

Now I gotta source another one. I think Bass Pro has them. Save on shipping.

 

[MeatGrinder]

Well, that's not supposed to happen. What was it made of?

 

[MeatGrinder]

Well, that's not supposed to happen. What was it made of?

 

[willtill]

Well, that's not supposed to happen. What was it made of?

Delrin. I think. Whatever that is...

 

[MeatGrinder]

Delrin is a brand name for nylon. It must have had some reinforcement in the middle.

 

[rseymorejr]

Horrible thread title.

Should have been: Just broke my almost unbreakable range rod

 

[willtill]

Delrin is a brand name for nylon. It must have had some reinforcement in the middle.

Ya, something is within the interior of it. I can be a cheap bastige sometimes though. I have half a mind to remove the roll pin out of the brass ferrule, and then reattach it to the rod with another drilled hole.

 

[mpollan1]

Ya, something is within the interior of it. I can be a cheap bastige sometimes though. I have half a mind to remove the roll pin out of the brass ferrule, and then reattach it to the rod with another drilled hole.

View attachment 436919

From one cheap bastard to another, that's what I would do.

 

[RFBfromDE]

You can put “breaker of things” on your resume now.

 

[willtill]

From one cheap bastard to another, that's what I would do.

I'm contemplating it. Not sure if the piece still stuck in the ferrule is glued in though. And... what happens when I use it next time and the shaft possibly separates while down in the bore of the muzzleloader? That'll be a pain in the arse to remediate.

 

[Allen65]

I'm contemplating it. Not sure if the piece still stuck in the ferrule is glued in though. And... what happens when I use it next time and the shaft possibly separates while down in the bore of the muzzleloader? That'll be a pain in the arse to remediate.

Delrin and Nylon aren't the same, chemically, although their material properties are similar. See: https://www.rapiddirect.com/blog/delrin-vs-nylon/

It's probably made of filled Delrin, that is Delrin with glass fibers embedded to make it stiffer and more fracture resistant. The edge of the ferrule formed a stress concentrator in the rod, starting a fracture that went all the way through and caused the separation.

Assuming the rod is long enough to still be useful afterwards, I'd drill out the remaining rod from the ferrule, fillet (round) the inside edge of the ferrule hole to reduce the stress at the interface, trim maybe 1/4" off the end of the rod, and epoxy it all back together. Don't use a good drill bit for this; if the Delrin is glass-filled, it'll be left pretty dull afterwards.

 

[MeatGrinder]

Yeah, a nylon coating on the exterior makes a lot of sense. That would add a slipperyness and is softer than the rifling.
Wouldn't your plan shorten the rod? How about drilling the centers and adding a reinforcement pin?

 

[MeatGrinder]

Allen, good article.

Will, what can you tell us about the inner materials? Interesting that the black exterior isn't under the ferrule. I guess that is to make the outer dimension all the same.

 

[Kman]

We can't keep anything nice with you damn kids!

 

[willtill]

Allen, good article.

Will, what can you tell us about the inner materials? Interesting that the black exterior isn't under the ferrule. I guess that is to make the outer dimension all the same.

I can tell you that the inner material went into my inner trash can.

 

[outrider58]

Oh you brute!

 

[welder516]

You must have put it in reverse cow girl

 

[John from MD]

I'm contemplating it. Not sure if the piece still stuck in the ferrule is glued in though. And... what happens when I use it next time and the shaft possibly separates while down in the bore of the muzzleloader? That'll be a pain in the arse to remediate.

Nah, it is actually very easy. You work some powder down through the nipple boss and shoot it out.

 

[willtill]

Nah, it is actually very easy. You work some powder down through the nipple boss and shoot it out.

Ya, that's the second suggestion I've seen here in the Black Powder forum; about sneaking a bit of powder into the flame hole and "persuading" the obstruction out.

It has been dutifully noted and filed away in my gray matter.

 

[Archeryrob]

Oh you brute!

Haha, the bear paws always break everything.

One a different note, was this after many firings? You need to brush or swab the barrel between a bunch of shots. Maybe too much fowling built up and bound everything up? Or the two patches exceeded what the ball will deform too to release pressure.

Also, why did it now break inside the barrel? Did you not use a starter and bend the rod too much starting a ball?