Some fodder for Pletch

I was amazed at some of the results and slo mo videos that you have done on your web site and you tube..I always was a banked away shooter but you have opened my eyes on the NEW WAY for me .LOL,leveled..One thing I and am sure a bunch of others would love to see is a slow mo video of a T C lock new style and old style hammer configurations fired and really see on how they stack up against some of the other lock videos you have made..What really suprised me on the previous vids was how much the frizzen moved back and forth on impact.amazing!!..Figured I'd toss this suggestion in the mix when you get done with your other tests.....Thanks for your insight.Ray

Fishhog said:

I was amazed at some of the results and slo mo videos that you have done on your web site and you tube..I always was a banked away shooter but you have opened my eyes on the NEW WAY for me .LOL,leveled..One thing I and am sure a bunch of others would love to see is a slow mo video of a T C lock new style and old style hammer configurations fired and really see on how they stack up against some of the other lock videos you have made..What really suprised me on the previous vids was how much the frizzen moved back and forth on impact.amazing!!..Figured I'd toss this suggestion in the mix when you get done with your other tests.....Thanks for your insight.Ray

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Hi Ray,
Thank you for your thoughts. I think working on the comparison of the TCs before and after is a good idea.

Just thinking out loud here - Having neither lock, I wonder if TC would be willing to give/loan me a pair of locks to work with. Do they keep old style locks when fellows send them in for new style replacements? Would an old style be hard to find?

I can think of a number of things that might be of interest:

A. Time both old and new for an average speed and consistency - perhaps 15-20 trials and average.

B. Photograph both locks to see the quantity, quality of sparks. Also to see where the sparks are landing. (The lead/leather photos done sometime back are examples of this.)

C. Slow motion video - 5000 frames/second works well - again similar to earlier stuff.

I can do A & B any time; however the slow motion video was done with a borrowed $40,000 camera. (An Olympus Tech came with the camera.) That I can't do every day. I've taken advantage of this offer twice and suspect that the next time I might have to rent the camera.

I'm interested in any other thoughts.
Regards,
Pletch

Hey Pletch,
I can't recall, have you made any slow-mo video of a patched roundball exiting the barrel? I'd love to see that.

Great work on everything you have done so far :thumbsup:

HD

Huntin Dawg said:

Hey Pletch,
I can't recall, have you made any slow-mo video of a patched roundball exiting the barrel? I'd love to see that.

Great work on everything you have done so far :thumbsup:
HD

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HD,
Yes I did one of a .40 with a small Siler lock. The frame rate was 15,000 fps. Otherwise you couldn't see the ball. Even at 15,000 it pretty quick. Also the amount of light needed is huge. We had 600 watts and could have used 3x that much. If I ever have a crack at that camera again I'll have bunches of extra light ready. When you see it you'll understand. The link is below:
Link

Regards,
Pletch

Is that the one where you can see the patch flared back away from the ball?

roundball said:

Is that the one where you can see the patch flared back away from the ball?

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The link in the message above is a youtube series of slow motion videos - starts with a locks and ends with slo-mo of the rifle being fired.

You could also be thinking of stills that I took of a patch separating from a ball. I am unable to provide a link my site, but the article is titled "Black Powder Photography" in the feature article index.

The successful photos are at the bottom.

Regards,
Pletch

Pletch, amazing work as usual. This is some of the most instructive videos I've ever seen. Hey, in your spare time, :haha: ever think about timing Pyrodex? I know that's almosr sacrilidge but, BP is getter harder to find all the time.
Steve

I would be interested in seeing just how much barrel sway there is in an off hand shot from the "pulling" of the trigger to the ball exiting the barrel. Thanks Doug

Awesome stuff Pletch!

Thanks for posting the link.

:bow:

HD

Good Morning,
Thank you each for your comments and encouragement. It seems that with each answer comes the chance to find out more.

Steve -- I haven't tried playing with Pyrodex because of the difficulty of igniting it in a flintlock. It seems like a comparison could be made by using BP and Pyrodex in a percussion gun, but that is difficult too. I haven't been able to time a percussion because I can't think up a fixture that includes a way for the hammer to hit a nipple. A flintlock can be fired off the gun while a percussion can't. So rather than fight new problems, so far I just limited myself to flints and BP.

Doug -- Barrel sway during the firing sequence is measurable. There a couple of ways of doing it. One I thought about trying this uses a barrel attachment that records vibration in two or three planes. The sensors feed information to the computer that graphs the movements. This would pick up vibrations in the barrel itself as well as movements of the barrel. Both would be interesting. The source I look to for this stuff is Vernier, Inc. - they make physics equipment and software for high schools. I don't have this stuff right now and don't know its cost.

Thanks again for your thoughts and ideas.
Regards,
Pletch

well, it's 'fess up time...

i haven't fired the T/C in some months and it certianly qualifies as an 'old style' inasmuch as it was purchased in or around the spring of 1981 and the only modification was a new frizzen in the late eighties.

if you need to borrow it, send me a PM

sounds like an interesting experiment!

MSW

MSW said:

well, it's 'fess up time...

i haven't fired the T/C in some months and it certianly qualifies as an 'old style' inasmuch as it was purchased in or around the spring of 1981 and the only modification was a new frizzen in the late eighties.

if you need to borrow it, send me a PM
sounds like an interesting experiment!
MSW

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MSW,
THank you for the offer. Let's see where this leads. Next week I am going to email TC and ask about testing one of the new ones. Maybe we can coordinate this to have both types at the same time.

Regards,
Pletch

Pletch,been away from the computer for a while and see some interesting thoughts have been brought up..I also have an older lock you could use but the pan has been polished and the innards have been smoothed,if you can use it I have it..Also got my new lock assy from TC can send them both when the time comes if TC dosen't come through with any locks. another test could be bevel up or down :stir: .Would still love to see what the TC looks like in slo mo...Maybe one day...Ray

Fishhog said:

. . . . .One thing I and am sure a bunch of others would love to see is a slow mo video of a T C lock new style and old style hammer configurations fired and really see on how they stack up against some of the other lock videos you have made... . ..Figured I'd toss this suggestion in the mix when you get done with your other tests.....Thanks for your insight.Ray

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I emailed TC last night to see what they might do to help the cause. Best case is that they have BOTH before and after style locks in new, unmodified condition available. I also asked about vent liners in case there were changes along the way with those. I asked for a rifle with the possibility of comparing velocities with different locks/liners installed. (It never hurts to ask.)
So - we'll wait and see. I've heard good things about their cooperation. I'll keep you informed.

Regards,
Pletch

Thanks Pletch,look forward to your other tests as well.Ray

Pletch said:

Fishhog said:

. . . . .One thing I and am sure a bunch of others would love to see is a slow mo video of a T C lock new style and old style hammer configurations fired and really see on how they stack up against some of the other lock videos you have made... . ..Figured I'd toss this suggestion in the mix when you get done with your other tests.....Thanks for your insight.Ray

Click to expand...

I emailed TC last night to see what they might do to help the cause. Best case is that they have BOTH before and after style locks in new, unmodified condition available. I also asked about vent liners in case there were changes along the way with those. I asked for a rifle with the possibility of comparing velocities with different locks/liners installed. (It never hurts to ask.)
So - we'll wait and see. I've heard good things about their cooperation. I'll keep you informed.

Regards,
Pletch

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Pletch,just bringing an oldie back up ..Any word from TC about the lock tests..Anything in the works yet?.Ray

Awesome stuff Pletch. :hatsoff:
Two things amazed me made evident in the super-slo mo video:
1) the small amount of spark it takes to set off the prime -- that should be a lesson to anyone to keep their horns tightly plugged when shooting! (There was another thread on that recently)
2) the sequence of events from the flash to the charge going off -- the flash was almost completely gone when the jet from the charge came out of the touch hole!
again -- awesome! thank you

Pletch,just bringing an oldie back up ..Any word from TC about the lock tests..Anything in the works yet?.Ray

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Hi Ray,
I hadn't checked in for a while and this caught me off guard. No, I haven't any new info from TC. I kind of "back burnered" it for a while. I do have a timing comparison that Jim Chambers suggested at the spring Nationals. He wondered if I had done a flint/percussion comparison. One thing lead to another, and we will eventually try a pistol with a small Siler flint, small Siler percussion, and a mule ear built in a small Siler plate. It requires a new fixture and a variation on the photo cells, etc. This is down the road a ways - maybe a winter project. There is also a possibility of more high speed work. It will depend on NMLRA involvement.

Regards,
Pletch

Sounds interesting..I wondered myself on how much difference if any there really is..Looking forward to them all....Ray