Lock and round ball questions

I have a couple of questions.

I have a large siler lock on my tvm and I was wondering what tool do I need to tighten the top jaw on the cock? The screw slot is too thin for any screw driver. I have just been tightening it down with my finger, but it won't hold the flint in place for more that a couple of shots.

Second question: I experimented with .495 round balls today and I was surprised that it fit with my .020 pillow ticking patches. It didn't take that much more effort to start than a .490 ball. Is this normally the case?

I ground down a turn screw until it fit the slot perfectly.

Doc

koauke said:

I have a large siler lock on my tvm and I was wondering what tool do I need to tighten the top jaw on the cock? The screw slot is too thin for any screw driver. I have just been tightening it down with my finger, but it won't hold the flint in place for more that a couple of shots.

Click to expand...

It seems many if not most repro Turnscrews share this problem. Of course the originals were made for the period "V" screw slots instead of the Square Screw Slots we mainly see today and when folks copy the originals, that is what you get.

Almost every period repro Turnscrew, Y Tool, etc. I have ever run across needed the blade/s thinned to fit our modern lock screws. Then they need re-hardened and annealed for long life.

Gus

:v They make all sizes of GUN SMITH screw drivers just need to get proper size. You should have set any way,all gun screws should be square slots.

Took a short, wood square handled screw driver and hollow ground the tip so it fits a narrow slot.... a hollow ground point contacts the narrow slot at the bottom so the slot isn't "buggered" up".

Or a transverse hole cam ne drilled through the knob and a small dia. rod is used.

Or the slot can be filed wider to "custom fit" a particular screw driver.


Or hex flats can be filed on the knob's dia which fit a small hex wrench. My squirrel LR has this done and it works well and the flats aren't noticeable.....Fred

What Fred said :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

As others have said, grind a screwdriver to fit or drill a cross-hole (3/32-1/8" dia.) thru the knob on the top at 90 degrees to the slot. You can then use a nail, short piece of rod or the end of a punch to turn the screw.

The Brown Bess has that hole, and it is really nice compared to a screw slot. You can get it way tighter and have less chances of marring the top jaw screw.

If you're going to go the route of modifying any components of the lock, I'd go with that.

Everyone else addressed the slot well. I will add a penny or two about ball size.
A.50 is mostly meaningless for a ml. In fact that goes for any ml rifle, as the size is based on however the maker cares to figure it. A look over sizes offered by mold makers you can get .487,.490,.495,.497 and .500 all fitting in a '.50'.
A .45 is the same or a .54 taking ball from . 526-.535. Smoothies are a little closer to stated size, since it's just a polished hole. Even so a .62 can eat anything from .575 to .610. You just have to get a ball that works for you.
A gun might shoot best with one ball that's a pia to load, so a load you find best might have more factors then smallest group. And then even to shake things up more a .495 in .20 may shoot better then a .50 on a .15 patch over 60 grains but not over 80 grains. You just have to play with it to see.

I drill a 1/8" hole perpendicular to the screw slot through the cock screw and use a length of drill rod (about 2 or 2-1/2" long) as my driver :wink: . The screw driver slot will not tighten the flint like the drill rod lever will :v .

I ground down a screwdriver to fit mine and put a copper hammer on the other end for knapping.

hanshi said:

I ground down a screwdriver to fit mine and put a copper hammer on the other end for knapping.

Click to expand...

Best idea yet. BTW, Zug, never, I mean never-never, never-ever, use drill rod for something like this. Drill rod is simply too brittle to handle lateral forces. You can hurt yourself with that stuff. Repurposing an old screwdriver is the easiest, cheapest, safest and mebbe the best way to go.

As Rifleman1776 says, drill rod is too brittle for safely using it to tighten the screw with.

To reduce its brittle nature, it can easily be annealed if you have access to some sort of gas flame. A butane or propane torch will work as will a good old fashioned gas stove in the kitchen.

Holding the rod with a pair of pliers or Vise Grips, heat the rod to a bright red color.

Then move it slightly away from the flame, letting the red color change to a dark red or black red color.

Then move it further away (keeping it somewhat in the gas flame) for 10-20 seconds. Then, remove it from the flame and let it air cool.

When your finished, it's up to you. You can leave it the dark gray color it is or you can polish it back to a shiny bright finish.

In any case, after doing this annealing the rod will be tougher than owl poo and it will never break.

When I was a tool and diemaker. a lot of O1 and 02 drill rod was used and it was always soft or annealed as purchased. Never encountered hardened drill rod as purchased. Perhaps the situation has changed since I ret'd........Fred

Drill rod or Music Wire as sold at Hobby Shops and hardware stores like Ace is pre-hardened. It is often lightly tempered but it is still very hard.

When I see those terms, I am not thinking about the raw, annealed, O1, O2, S1, A1 or other tool steels that are used for making tooling.

Drill rod is the round version of flat ground stock and both are soft. Drill blanks which correlate w/ drill sizes are hard.

Use 1/16 dia music wire for all the pins in my MLers and it's definitely hard but can be cut w/ pliers that have proper hardening of the cutting jaws. Larger sizes of music wire are called music wire and not drill rod.....anyways in my experiences.....Fred

Rather than taking and grinding a screwdriver I use an old small file. I grind the end flat and a side at the end flat as well. I then have 3 working surfaces, the flat (like a screwdriver), the side (like a wrench for torque), and the other tip where a handle would go (for inserting into a hole). IMO an ultimate tool for tightening that top jaw screw although not as good as a hardwood dowel on a Spanish lock.

I don't know where you buy your drill rod from but when I buy mine (Starrett or other brands) it is already anneled, ground to size and ready to machine. :v

As I have already stated to Zonie "I don't know where you buy your drill rod from but when I buy mine (Starrett or other brands) it is already anneled, ground to size and ready to machine". :v