pin punch/dry fire wear

I am getting ready to make an order for supplies for my new .50 cal flintlock with full stock and 3 pins in barrel. I believe they are finish nails or similar. Any suggestions for the best tool to remove these for removing barrel to clean? I have heard of 'pin punches'. Seems like I only see 'sets' at places like TOTW. I don't want to pay for a 40 plus dollar set of different sizes...just need one. What do you use and where should I look to fetch it?

Also, (and you'll tell right off I'm an obsessed newbie with this) is it okay to dryfire my flintlock (with wood flint) 5-10 times a day for practice? Will that place undue wear on the Siler lock?



Thank you!

Daniel

If nothing else, another "pin" of the same or slightly smaller diameter, will work to punch out your pins.

As for the wood flint dry firing, it causes less wear on the lock than a live flint, as none of the frizzen is being scraped away. I have cycled my locks hundreds of times that way with no issues. If you wear something out, there are plenty of parts to be had. Nothing to worry about.

Get ahold of the builder and ask him what he used, that'll give you an idea what size punch to get. He might even give you a few tips.
Or set's can be had elseware for much less.
Sears, auto stores,, https://www.google.com/search?q=dbrass+drift+punch&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#tbm=shop&q=brass+pin+punch

Harbor Freight has a pin punch set for 9 bucks that should do what you want it to.

Doc

Any sturdy, pointy, piece of pin, rod, nail, icepick, awl, etc. will work to get the pins started moving. Then just pull them out.
BUT, you don't need to do that very often, if at all. Just clean with the barrel in the stock.

It is not necessary to remove a pinned barrel for cleaning. Removing the pins will cause undue wear in the wood of the holes over time. You are better off leaving them in place.

Plug the vent and put an absorbent patch in the pan and close the frizzen. You can then pour some solvent (I use windshield washer fluid) into the bore and cover the muzzle and slosh it back and forth a few times. After that let it sit for a few minutes and then pour it out. Now you are ready to swab the bore with patches until one comes out relatively clean and dry. Follow up using one of the "Cleaner Lubricant Preservative" products on a clean patch. Use the last patch to wipe the exterior of the barrel and you are done.

OK, this may be one of the most common things one has to learn about taking barrel pins or any small pin out of guns. You DON'T want just one punch, but you HAVE to have two punches. Both have to be right at or preferably slightly smaller diameter than the pin. One is the full length punch needed to drive the pin all or most of the way out. The second one has a SHORT length of the size punch you need and is commonly known as a "starter punch." A starter punch is REALLY needed when the pins were filed flush with the stock and are curved on the ends.

The Starter Punch is the key to get the pin moving. With the length of the pin punch very short to no more than 1/4" or 3/8" at most, the pin section will not bend/flex/break and will allow more force to break the initial mechanical bond when you first begin to drive the pin out. (After you get the pin moving, you use the longer length punch.) You can make an excellent starting punch out of an old Nail Set that is the correct size for the pin you want to drive out. Also, you can take a full length pin punch and cut it short by using a Dremel Cut Off Disc. Make sure the outer edge of the punch is slightly rounded or chamfered, so you don't have a sharp edge.

MANY muzzleloading, both original and repro, had their barrel pins filed flush with the curved surface of the fore end. This did not matter because most people never took/take the barrels out of the stock and the pins filed flush were "esthetically pleasing." If you run into this, you sometimes have to go to an even smaller starter punch to get the pin moving and so the punch doesn't skip off the pin and mar/damage the wood around it. Fortunately some builders today are using slightly shorter pins that are square and perpendicular to the body of the pin to make it MUCH easier to start the pin moving. There will be a little curved open space over the pin holes and that can be filled in with beeswax or one of those coloured crayon type wood filler sticks.

BTW, I ran into those curved ended pins on EVERY Brown Bess I worked on. I deliberately shortened the pins a tiny bit so the ends were square/perpendicular to the length of the pin, then filled the open space with beeswax JUST as so many original gunsmiths did. That makes it easier for the NEXT guy to get the barrel pins out, even if I never took the barrel out of the gun again.

Dry firing a flint lock with a wood flint 5 to 10 times a day will not hurt the lock at all, but it WILL make you a better shot!

Gus

Sir, thank you so much for your helpful advice! I appreciate it greatly! I guess these forums make up for not having a mentor in person...

I'll keep up the dry firing so the clack doesn't cause my eyes to flinch shut and I can hold the front site steady...plus, its something active to do besides just sitting by the fireplace petting the gun all evening!

Daniel

It might also be a good idea to fire "flash in the pan" a few times so that doesn't cause a flinch.

The key to dry firing is concentration and follow through. 5 to 10 dry fires a night where you concentrate properly is far better than doing more and not concentrating/following through.

You are most welcome.
Gus

Mike Brines said:

It might also be a good idea to fire "flash in the pan" a few times so that doesn't cause a flinch.

Click to expand...

Good point. The last dry fire session in the week before one fires a match, informal target shooting or hunting should be done with a good flint. It will also help ensure the flint is placed correctly and the first live shot will spark well. Of course, it is ALWAYS a good idea to check the flint before stepping up to shoot live rounds.

Gus

Artificer said:

Mike Brines said:

It might also be a good idea to fire "flash in the pan" a few times so that doesn't cause a flinch.

Click to expand...

Good point. The last dry fire session in the week before one fires a match, informal target shooting or hunting should be done with a good flint. It will also help ensure the flint is placed correctly and the first live shot will spark well. Of course, it is ALWAYS a good idea to check the flint before stepping up to shoot live rounds.

Gus

Click to expand...

Yessir. Worth repeating. I was told "practice does NOT make perfect, PERFECT practice makes perfect".

TC

I use a .45 automatic punch. There is one that is about 1/16" that disassembles something on the 1911 pistol. The only reason to pull the pins is to replace the touch hole liner or other maintenance. No need to do it for cleaning.

pinemarten said:

its something active to do besides just sitting by the fireplace petting the gun all evening!

Daniel

Click to expand...

Don't let your good lady wife, (the very one who brought this new love home for you) get jealous now, ya hear ? :wink:
O.

There's no need to remove the barrel more often than once or twice each year for a check and a "once over". It simply is not needed.

Just remember, if you do remove the barrel from a fully pinned fullstock rifle, usually the rear bolt that holds the lock in place must also be removed.

The reason for this is, the rear lockbolt often passes thru the breech plug lug at the rear of the barrel.
If just the pins and the tang screw are removed, the rear lockbolt that passes thru the stock from the side opposite the lock may still be engaged with the barrel so it won't pull out of the stock.

This does not apply to most of the rifles with quick disconnect hooked breeches where the rear breech block remains in the stock.

Mike Brines said:

It might also be a good idea to fire "flash in the pan" a few times so that doesn't cause a flinch.

Click to expand...

This is a very sound idea. I do it on occasion. Just make triple sure the gun is empty before even thinking about filling the pan for that purpose, and make sure your aim point is something you wouldn't feel bad about actually hitting, were there an accident.

A method I prefer to a full length punch is to start them with a short punch then clamp the protruded end into a small machinist vise or my full size bench vise with copper jaws and pull them out.
Less chance of wallowing out the hole with the punch shank.

Agreed, since the length of many/most full length pin punches in smaller diameters are not long enough to drive the pin all the way out. I usually use lineman's/parallel jawed pliers to do the same thing.

Gus

Do not get in the habit of removing the barrel from your gun. It is rarely necessary.
After a year or two, you may remove the barrel and check to make sure everything is still okay, then rub Johnson's Paste Wax or something similar on the areas of the barrel covered by the wood on the fore-end, and forget about it for the next several years.

Regarding pin removal, be sure you put each pin back in the specific hole it came out of.