trouble with pedersoli flinter

Having trouble with the cock on my pedersoli flintlock. Flint comes loose with every shot. Have tried lighter leather (pigskin and deerskin) and have also tried heavier weight leather cow split pieces, none seem to hold securely. Currently trying a 5/8 inch flint and a 3/4 inch flint, have tried combinations of all leathers on both sizes of flints, and they all come loose on every shot. Any suggestions?

check the threads of the screw and the threads in the hole. are these damaged?

-matt

Is the cock coming loose ? fit to tumbler must be firm,threads male and female must be very good replace or repair correctly worn or loose parts .

Is the flint coming loose in the jaws ? tighten the screw tight a modern screwdriver is near useless for this job , use a proper turn screw that fits the top jaw .

I am new to this forum ,but I have had two Pedersoli 50.cal flinters and have never had that problem b-4. I agree wth Mat 85 and u should check you threads on both your jaws and your tightning screws ,sounds like they may be missing a couple treads at the ends.

in addition to what was already said, check that the top jaw is parallel to the lower jaw and the top jaw screw will NOT srew the jop jaw down on its "hammer end".
this leads to an "open angle" at the top jaw and could losen your flint.
if this is the case, a small wood on top of the flit would help.

IS your leather cut with a rear opening to allow the flint to rest directly on the jaw screw? If not, that often forces the flint too far forward, and the downward pressure pushes the flint out of the jaws, ... if not...

I agree with Matt85 too. If the machinist in Italy wasn't paying attention, I have seen Pedersoli locks with the wrong hole size drilled before the hole was tapped for threads, so the threads didn't hold, AND..., I have seen oval holes (also lack of attention by the machinist) which didn't hold well..., or it could be as simple as somebody installed the wrong screw from a slightly smaller lock into your lock's jaws at the factory.

If it turns out all is right, you might need to deepen the slot for the screwdriver in the jaw screw, to give you more leverage to tighten down and not "booger" the top of the screw, or you might try switching to a lead wrap as on a musket, instead of the leather.

LD

Don't know if this will solve anything, but I believe that Pedersoli suggests a 7/8 flint for the Frontier?? Or maybe you've tried this?

I am a firm believer that you can not get the jaw screw tight enough with a screw driver.

Bore a 1/8" +/- hole through the bulbous part of the screw. Find an old Allen wrench that will fit through the hole. Cut off the smaller part of the Allen wrench so you have a straight octagon piece of steel. Epoxy one end of the steel into a piece of wood or antler.

Now after you have tightened the jaws up as much as you can, you will find that you can stick this "tommy bar" into the hole and possible get one or two more turns of the screw before it is really tight.

I think you will find that your problem with loose flints will be over.

Many Klatch

Check the threads in the jaw screw. If they are not stripped than check the top of your flint. If it is not flat than grind one so the top jaw will have a level purchase rather than an angled one.
That should take care of it. MD

Try a chunk of lead instead of leather, might help with your issue if the threads are not damaged.

I have the Ky. and a Hatfield, and had a few other Pedersoli's over the years, and unless you go extreme with your strength, you can fairly well torque them using a 6 penny nail through the hole on the bolt. The leather will keep the flint from shattering, and at the same time grip it.

Lead will work too, but does not have the crush stopping point of the leather. As you torque, it will continue to thin until you get flint to metal.

P.S. If it wont torque down, then the jaw bolt or threads in the hammer for it are stripped.

Update: Thank you everyone for your advice. I ended up doing a little of everything. I checked the threads on both the cock and the screw first. Both were fine. I tightened down the jaw screw, and used a thicker piece of leather, and cut a slit in the middle to give the flint room to back up next to the jaw screw. then tightened the little sucker as hard as it would go. I have not tried drilling through the jaw screw to insert a rod yet for tightening. For now it is holding. Even managed to tweak the triggers a little while working on it, referencing another thread on here. Great info, great help. Thank you again everyone. Bring on spring so I can get this thing out and shooting again.

flyfisher76544 said:

Try a chunk of lead instead of leather, might help with your issue if the threads are not damaged.

Click to expand...

I always use a lead wrap on my flintlocks. Easy to make, just take a lead ball & flatten it to about 1/16th of an inch then trim it with scissors, clamp it down tight then recheck the tightness after several shots. Never have a problem with the flint working loose like with leather and the lead gives a stronger strike because it doesn't give.

bang out a pure lead ball with a hefty hammer till it's a thin, flat pancake. cut a strip off the width of yer flint. wrap around the backside of the flint and tighten the jaws. unlike leather, which behaves like a shock absorber to the hammer strike, the lead will lock in the flint solid. i use this with my pedersoli .45 kentucky. it works well. i'd never go back to using leather. ymmv.

My Pedersoli Flintlock came with a lead plate to hold the flint

One more vote for lead. I found a sheet of it around the house, used for making protective shields for outdoor electrical outlets I think. I've got enough for several dozen lifetimes. Works really well. Leather...not so much, for me anyway.

Best of luck.

Whatever works, use it. It's been an interesting read for me, because leather has worked fine in both of mine. But back in the first post he said pig or deer. Both are real soft. I use 2-3oz cowhide, and though thin, it has a much harder temper. Of course it's what I use on my other brands of flinters, so I never thought about it much on the Pedersoli's.