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Replacing a missing antique Hammer screw

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ajbennettnc

ajbennettnc

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Hey folks,
Recently picked up an unmentionable (with a Native South African nation's name for what was likely advertising purposes) that was originally a mid 19th century French musket or Minié rifle. The lock is still great with a strong spring and I wish to use in it a ML shotgun build. Unfortunately, the hammer screw is missing, and I haven't found the part online yet. I have access to a tap and die set, and various bits of metal I could experiment with. Advice is appreciated. Would trying different taps in the hole be advised or is it too risky of damaging the tumbler? If anybody out there has a similar lock and knows the thread count, that info'd be much appreciated. Thanks for any and all help.
Regards,
A.J.
 

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  • 20230520_131427.jpg
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Keep the taps out of that hole and away from those threads.

Take the lock to a well-stocked hardware store and commence to sticking some screws in there.

Both American threads and metric threads.

In this case, close would be good enough. All you're doing is hold that hammer in place.

And don't go all torque crazy setting the screw. Just snug it down with a little Loc-Tite 222 Purple.
 
ajbennettnc said:
Hey folks,
Recently picked up an unmentionable (with a Native South African nation's name for what was likely advertising purposes) that was originally a mid 19th century French musket or Minié rifle. The lock is still great with a strong spring and I wish to use in it a ML shotgun build. Unfortunately, the hammer screw is missing, and I haven't found the part online yet. I have access to a tap and die set, and various bits of metal I could experiment with. Advice is appreciated. Would trying different taps in the hole be advised or is it too risky of damaging the tumbler? If anybody out there has a similar lock and knows the thread count, that info'd be much appreciated. Thanks for any and all help.
Regards,
A.J.
Click to expand...
if as i surmise, that is a lock off a zulu, give me a few minutes and i will check mine for size and pitch. i also may have an extra screw in my whatzit drawer.
 
well, that worked out about as good as hiring a democrat to interpret the constitution! being rather ham handed today i thought that screw was coming out just fine, when all it did was twist off, leaving me with two threads to measure. some days you are the dog and some days you are the tire.
as close as i can measure this stub it is M5x0.8
and of course i don't have a spare! My wife is muttering something about "no good deed goes unpunished":doh:
just finished restocking the thing too!20230519_192831.jpg
 
The tumblers on these are usually very soft iron. So you could carefully drill out and tap it to an available modern size. Or check SAndS firearms, or other antique gun parts places for a different one, they all interchange. Be careful removing the mainspring, don’t compress it too much.
 
Sam squanch said:
The tumblers on these are usually very soft iron. So you could carefully drill out and tap it to an available modern size. Or check SAndS firearms, or other antique gun parts places for a different one, they all interchange. Be careful removing the mainspring, don’t compress it too much.
Click to expand...
Amen!
 
deerstalkert said:
well, that worked out about as good as hiring a democrat to interpret the constitution! being rather ham handed today i thought that screw was coming out just fine, when all it did was twist off, leaving me with two threads to measure. some days you are the dog and some days you are the tire.
as close as i can measure this stub it is M5x0.8
and of course i don't have a spare! My wife is muttering something about "no good deed goes unpunished":doh:
just finished restocking the thing too!View attachment 222893
Click to expand...
So sorry to hear that, but that's fine attitude to have, and beautiful restocking!
 
Here's what I would do - whittle a wood dowel slightly larger than the i.d. of the hole then screw it in enough to get the thread impression of the threads THEN using a thread gauge (metric or US standard) get the thread pitch and then measure your wood dowel's diameter. This will give you the best chance of matching up a screw. NOTE: you will need to add a few thousands to the wood dowel measurement since your wood dowel was a bit smaller in diameter than the threaded hole to start with. Good luck with finding a screw that will fit you may need to make your own.
 

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