Frizzen dragging on barrel

[greysmoke]

Dixie Cub kit gun (Pedersoli) in .36 cal. I put it together and have shot it maybe 400 times. Today the frizzen started dragging against the barrel. Hmmm- checked frizzen screw for tightness, checked lock screws for tightness, checked barrel for tightness, generally checked to see if maybe a piece of rock got wedged somewhere. MT summer weather is 90deg and 16% humidity. I was swabbing after every shot so the gun wasn't overheating. I just can't find any reason why a lock that's OK one minute isn't the next. I can fix it by dressing the edge of the frizzen to make it clear the barrel but I'd like to know why I'm fixing it. Any ideas?

 

[Stringbean]

The striking face of the frizzen is hardened and ridged but the toe is softer and more malleable. I'm wondering if after many many rounds the toe area that the frizzen hinges on was tweaked a little bit at a time with each firing until it started to make contact with the barrel. Just a guess?
String

 

[Flint311]

Is the lock bolt too tight? It may tip the lock top in if the supporting wood is squeezed in too much. Would t take much.

 

[hawkeye2]

Possibly the wood has shrunk or been compressed by the lock plate till the lock has moved in a little. I had similar problems many years ago and have gone so far as to coat the entire lock mortise with epoxy on a couple of Italian guns to harden and seal it after being sure I had clearance to do so.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

+1 for the idea that the wood has changed over time. Not uncommon. Might just need a bit of a rub with a stone to reduce the metal just a tad to get it to work right again.

LD

 

[garra]

I think you hit it with the wood compressing. I was wondering if a piece of hardwood dowel stock could be placed in the mortise cavity to create a stop for the lock in the area that has moved in. One could experiment with it to see if it changed the symptom without really changing anything permanently.

 

[Vaino]

Stone off some metal from the side , but also radius the corners. I do this on all the locks....doesn't hurt anything and ensures easy sliding of that part of the frizzen w/ the bbl.....Fred

 

[hawkeye2]

Garra, the hardwood spacer is an excellent idea and if it solved the problem it could be epoxied in place. One of the guns I had issues with was a Pederosoli rifle which basically was the same as the Dixie Cub except for length and possibly trim. I do remember having to remove some wood from the mortise on at least two occasions, possibly more though its been 40 years now so I don't remember why or where. I seem to think it was in the sear/tumbler areas and that the wood seemed to be soft. A number of guys in our group had the same rifle and I was helping a friend keep his running so I may have done some of that work to his too.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Not uncommon on factory guns. Or it could just be a matter of the lock screw (the screw that holds the lock in place) being too tight. It does not need to be cranked down hard. Check and loosen if necessary. And/or just take a file to the edge of the frizzen plate. But do remove only a tiny bit of steel at a time, you do not want a gap either.

 

[bigted]

awesome advise. thanks from me too.

 

[bob308]

if it uses only one screw for the lock plate check to see if the plate is straight. they sometimes get pulled in in the middle. I have straightened more then one. in fact the one on my gpr was bent.

 

[Scota4570]

The flash pan should be against the barrel. Wood fit has nothing to do with it. If the pan is touching the barrel and the frizzen is dragging badly, the frizzen is too wide. If it is slightly touching but it still shoots good forget it. That just helps make a better seal against rain.

Just take a little metal off the frizzen base using a diamond hone or sand paper backed by a file. You could also dress the frizzen base and pan at the same time. Leave the lock assembled. Work it with sandpaper, #320?? , backed by a hard flat surface. For the final relief of the frizzen base put pressure on the frizzen to cut it more, just a few strokes should do. Go slow.

 

[MSW]

The flash pan should be against the barrel. Wood fit has nothing to do with it. If the pan is touching the barrel and the frizzen is dragging badly, the frizzen is too wide. If it is slightly touching but it still shoots good forget it. That just helps make a better seal against rain.

Just take a little metal off the frizzen base using a diamond hone or sand paper backed by a file. You could also dress the frizzen base and pan at the same time. Leave the lock assembled. Work it with sandpaper, #320?? , backed by a hard flat surface. For the final relief of the frizzen base put pressure on the frizzen to cut it more, just a few strokes should do. Go slow.

fwiw, I thnik that's good advice ... 320 grit wet/dry on a bit of hardwood is a wise choice.

one guy's advice: free and no doubt well worth the price.

 

[greysmoke]

Thanks, everyone for the advice. Got it going again. Now,to see if it goes bad again.

 

[Dean2]

Remote diagnosis and fix repairs is pretty hard to do. I kind of like hearing what the fix eventually was to see who guessed closest to what the actual problem was. Also good to hear what the OP actually did to fix the problem. So in that vein, what was the fix?

 

[Pete G]

The flash pan should be against the barrel. Wood fit has nothing to do with it. If the pan is touching the barrel and the frizzen is dragging badly, the frizzen is too wide. If it is slightly touching but it still shoots good forget it. That just helps make a better seal against rain.

Not always exactly true. Bolster is against the barrel, but the bottom of the lock plate is set in wood, and if the wood swells it will tend to tip the bottom of the lock outward, thus tipping the frizzen towards the barrel. Wood will swell with exposure to moisture, like maybe let's say swabbing the barrel after every shot.

 

[Grenadier1758]

If you are getting enough moisture from the patch that you are using to swab the bore between shots to get the stock so wet that the stock swell, then you are using too wet of a patch. Too much moisture at the breech can dampen the powder and the result is misfires.

The patch used to swab the bore between shots needs to be just damp. You want the patch to slide down the bore over the fouling and bunch up when the rod is withdrawn. The bunched up patch drags a lot of the fouling out of the bore.

 

[M. De Land]

I'd check the frizzen screw to see if it's worn or cracked.
Had to make a new one on my match pistol as it was cracked right where the threads began on the fillister headed screw.

 

[greysmoke]

The fix was to carefully file down the edge of the frizzen until it just cleared the lock. I still haven't diagnosed the problem. The patches I was using to wipe the bore were just barely damp so I don't think extra moisture was the cause. I think I'm just going to call it gremlins. Thanks again for all your thoughts.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

Glad to hear you got it working!

Twisted_1in66:thumbsup:
Dan