My antique flintlock needs work

Won’t let me upload videos. But basically the hammer is out of alignment with the internals and I’m not sure how to fix this. I thought I was just gonna be able to pull the hammer and put it in the correct way but it’s a square insert so that wasn’t feasible. As you can see, the hammer bottoms out on top of the pan before even hitting the notch in the tumbler

It’s an antique double barrel pistol, so I’m comparing it to the other lock. For reference sake, the faulty locks hammer is in the same position in full cock as the good hammer is in half cock. So it needs to be set back somehow

Thoughts?

Try this first: Take the hammer off. Use a small adjustable wrench as the "hammer" and pull the lock to full cock. Reinstall the hammer in the proper full cock position.

rchas said:

Try this first: Take the hammer off. Use a small adjustable wrench as the "hammer" and pull the lock to full cock. Reinstall the hammer in the proper full cock position.

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Wait a minute…is the square insert not 1 piece of metal with the tumbler??? If not that’s the answer and I can just reset the correct alignment. I assumed it was 1 hole metal piece. But that wouldn’t make sense because then how did this issue come about.I will check

unless you have a very strange flintlock, the tumbler has a square projection that sticks out beyond the outer side of the lock plate. The hammer is mounted on that projection, and is held on by a screw. From your description, it sounds like someone took the hammer off and didn't replace it properly so the hammer is out of position given the half and full cock notches.

The other possibility is that the hammer is a replacement for an original hammer--stuck on there so the gun would look correct. If that is the case, the square hole in the replacement hammer isn't matching the locks geometry, and it won't ever work properly.

rchas said:

unless you have a very strange flintlock, the tumbler has a square projection that sticks out beyond the outer side of the lock plate. The hammer is mounted on that projection, and is held on by a screw. From your description, it sounds like someone took the hammer off and didn't replace it properly so the hammer is out of position given the half and full cock notches.

The other possibility is that the hammer is a replacement for an original hammer--stuck on there so the gun would look correct. If that is the case, the square hole in the replacement hammer isn't matching the locks geometry, and it won't ever work properly.

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The 2 hammers are identical to one another, and this is a circa 1810’s French flintlock pistol. Because the insert is a square, that would mean I have to move the hammer 90 degrees to fit it in the next nearest way, and that would be way too much.

I just need to move it probably half an inch. So I don’t understand how this problem arose. Am I making sense?

If the square insert that the hammer goes into is one piece with the tumbler, then the only way to fix this is somehow heating the metal and warping it to my specs. I had a small hope that the square insert was some type of percussion nipple in that I could just unscrew it and realign. But I don’t think that’s the case

I suspect that someone installed the Cock (hammer) in the wrong position on the tumbler. If it were mine I would take the mainspring out, remove the Cock screw, use a square punch if needed to tap the tumbler square out of the Cock, reinstall the Cock in the correct position and mainspring.

if the hammers are identical, two questions then; 1) has the tip of the sear broken off? 2) are the two tumblers identical?

Doesn’t sound like you’re too familiar with what’s going on with this lock. I would let a professional handle it

It's not difficult at all to disassemble a lock and it's a good skill to have. Watch Jim Kibler's video on how to do it.

Hatchet-Jack said:

I suspect that someone installed the Cock (hammer) in the wrong position on the tumbler. If it were mine I would take the mainspring out, remove the Cock screw, use a square punch if needed to tap the tumbler square out of the Cock, reinstall the Cock in the correct position and mainspring.

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There is no correct position. It’s a square insert. That means you have to rotate the hammer 90 degrees to put it in at a different angle.

Wish I could upload the video and make this not confusing!

duca said:

Doesn’t sound like you’re too familiar with what’s going on with this lock. I would let a professional handle it

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The problem is I’m not clearly explaining the problem :/

TheTyler7011 said:

The problem is I’m not clearly explaining the problem :/

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Unfortunately the photo isn't much help. How about photos straight on to the lock plate from the inside and a photo of both locks toe to toe with both hammers in the full and half cock positions as well as fully down if possible. Is it possible someone has replaced the tumbler on the right lock?

The square is an integral part of the tumbler and that can't be changed. Rather than being off by 90 deg. or 1 flat it sounds like your hammer is off about half of that if I understand.

The sear tip is broken off, it’s missing a lot of its length and that will put the lock right if the tumbler is OK.

Phil Coffins said:

The sear tip is broken off, it’s missing a lot of its length and that will put the lock right if the tumbler is OK.

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Omg why did I not think of this.

TheTyler7011 said:

There is no correct position. It’s a square insert. That means you have to rotate the hammer 90 degrees to put it in at a different angle.

Wish I could upload the video and make this not confusing!

Click to expand...

We're saying the same thing! Rotate the square 90 degrees to the correct position or alignment or angle.

I do a little gun building. I know how they go together.

Hatchet-Jack said:

We're saying the same thing! Rotate the square 90 degrees to the correct position or alignment or angle.

I do a little gun building. I know how they go together.
View attachment 152462
View attachment 152463

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That gun is beautiful. but 90 degrees in either direction is even further off than it is now. I checked the sear and i don’t think it’s broke so the length is good. This problem remains a mystery

Look at the other sear, is the over all length the same? The hammer is setting on the lock plate in the fired position as it should. The sear is short of the quarter cock notch because it’s gone!

Please. Don’t mess up an original gun. Call and talk to brad at cabin creek muzzleloaders. Brad is a good guy and will steer you in an honest direction for fixing your gun.

TheTyler7011 said:

Won’t let me upload videos. But basically the hammer is out of alignment with the internals and I’m not sure how to fix this. I thought I was just gonna be able to pull the hammer and put it in the correct way but it’s a square insert so that wasn’t feasible. As you can see, the hammer bottoms out on top of the pan before even hitting the notch in the tumbler

It’s an antique double barrel pistol, so I’m comparing it to the other lock. For reference sake, the faulty locks hammer is in the same position in full cock as the good hammer is in half cock. So it needs to be set back somehow

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

The "hammer" of a flintlock is properly named the cock.

I second the broken sear. It looks short, should usually be long and smooth radius to the point. Yours looks like a step was cut into it to engage