WTB: .575" cartridge former rod

[FedericoFCavada]

I'd like to get started rolling paper cartridges. For that, I'll need a wood dowel rod tapered on one end, drilled out concave on the other, sized to .575" for a .58 caliber US M1855 or M1861 paper cartridge.

Any craftsman worth his salt could build one, I know. I'd have to whittle and sand, and I don't know anyone with a lathe or a set of rasps and files and so on. My digital caliper arrived broken, and I haven't got the replacement yet. So yes, I *could* build one, but I'd rather start out with one built by a more competent wood worker than I am at present. In brief: "Take my money!" Thanks.

Respectfully, &c.
FFCavada

[R. McAuley 3014V]

I'd like to get started rolling paper cartridges. For that, I'll need a wood dowel rod tapered on one end, drilled out concave on the other, sized to .575" for a .58 caliber US M1855 or M1861 paper cartridge.

Any craftsman worth his salt could build one, I know. I'd have to whittle and sand, and I don't know anyone with a lathe or a set of rasps and files and so on. My digital caliper arrived broken, and I haven't got the replacement yet. So yes, I *could* build one, but I'd rather start out with one built by a more competent wood worker than I am at present. In brief: "Take my money!" Thanks.

Respectfully, &c.
FFCavada

You don't need a lathe, or really much of any woodworking tools or much skill more than a pocketknife to rough it out with. And you can use a standard 1/2" diameter dowel from your local lumber supplier for the "forming dowel", which can simply be wrapped with paper to build it up to the required ball diameter, and with a little dab of wood or paper glue to hold it in place. If you have your bullets properly sized, you don't need any mechanical or digital calipers to judge the right diameter. A blind man could do it with his fingers by feel. As for the concave end, it need not be anything more complicated than drilling a 1/4" diameter hole in the end opposite the tapered end and beveling the sides with a pocketknife. But you can go right ahead and make it complicated if you like!

http://www.blockaderunner.com/Catalog/catpg8d.html

[Gary Van Kauwenbergh, 101]

I just drilled a hole in the base of a bullet, then a hole in the end of an over-sized dowel, then connected the two with a drywall screw. Start the threads in both the bullet and the wood, then cut the head off the screw and twist the bullet on.

Then you put another screw into the end of the wooden dowel, cut the head off that, and chuck it up in your hand drill. With a course grit piece of sandpaper in one hand, and your drill in the other, you can bring the diameter of the dowel down to the diameter of the bullet.

Viola, you now have a cartridge forming stick.

[FedericoFCavada]

OK. I have a bunch of 1/2" dowel rod in the shed. I'll try wrapping it up .07" with paper and glue and whittle the front part with a knife.

There's a lumber store not far away that can probably get me a 5/8" rod for musket ctdgs.

Thanks!
Respectfully, &c.
Dave "FFC"

[R. McAuley 3014V]

My grandfather used to make his own dowels and had a dowel maker made by Henry Disston (the founder of Disston saws) who also produced a line of carpenter's tools, including a dowel maker plate. These are still made today, and basically consist of a 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick steel plate with standard-size holes bored in the plate. The article below shows the "how to". To get a dowel even closer in diameter to a .575, you could use a 9/16" (0.5625) diameter or better yet a 14-mm (0.551) drill bit to bore a hole through a 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch thick steel plate, and then make your own wooden dowels. For that matter, you might could use a 14-mm threaded steel nut held in a vice and make a dowel that way.

http://toolmonger.com/2007/12/10/a-square-peg-in-a-round-hole/

[FedericoFCavada]

Good idea, certainly. Thanks!

Then I could sell 'em myself, no?
[Except that everyone makes their own or simply uses plastic loading tubes... So I'd not sell too many... Still... A thought.]

[Maillemaker]

The way I made my first one was to use a 1/2" dowel and then build it up with strips of tape until I had the correct diameter. I ground down one end to be bullet shaped. I used a bench grinder but you could do it with a pocket knife.

Steve