Flintlock Cock removal

[Gvilleddie]

Came home from the range today and proceeded to clean my flintlock and noticed some rust stain around the cock screw. How do I remove the cock without breaking things? I didn’t really want to disassemble the entire lock. Thx..

 

[tnlonghunter]

I can't think of any safe way to remove the cock without first removing at least some of the internal mechanism. At a bare minimum, I would think you need to remove the mainspring to get pressure off of everything.

It's not hard to take apart and reassemble, but you really need a mainspring vise to do all that correctly.

 

[Grenadier1758]

This is were the helpful stickies are one of the benefits of the Forum.

Thanks to Zonie for providing this stickie for taking apart a side lock.

Taking Apart A Side Hammer Lock | The Muzzleloading Forum

@Angie could add this to the general information topic.

 

[Gvilleddie]

Recommendations on a reasonably priced main spring vice?

 

[Phil Coffins]

Don’t look at the price of a tool! Buy a good tool and save money.

 

[oldwood]

You gotta have a couple tools. If you don't have a main spring vise , the rest of the info won't do you any good. Remove the main spring , Remove the sear spring . Remove the sear arm screw and sear arm. Remove the remaining screw from the tumbler bearing plate. There should be no parts on the inside of the lock plate. on the outside of the lock, remove the Hammer screw. Next, we need a pin punch that fits to the bottom of the hammer screw hole in the tumbler. Next , Laythe inside flat of the lock plate across open bench vise , and tap lightly on the punch in the tumbler screw hole. Hammer should fall off the tumbler shaft. ............oldwood

 

[Erwan]

Recommendations on a reasonably priced main spring vice?

A good pair of quality pliers (vise-grip style) and a little delicacy will easily and temporarily do the trick while waiting for a spring vice.....

 

[Brokennock]

I'd suggest you compare price and availability of a replacement mainspring to the cost and availability of a spring vice before risking the use of pliers, vice-grip or otherwise.

Have pliers been used successfully? Sure.
Have springs been broken using them? You bet.
Is it worth the risk?

 

[Gvilleddie]

I’ll go ahead and order the vice but from which vendor?

 

[Gvilleddie]

Looks like Track has a delux English style vice. Will that one suffice?

 

[smo]

This will do it..

You might want a small punch as well , too remove the cock from the tumbler..

 

[Eric Krewson]

Here is my tumbler/catcher remover for after you take off the main spring, bridal, sear spring and all the screws.

Take the fly out first and put it between two pieces of blue painters tape and write what it is on the "package".

Put the lock plate over the hole in the block, with the tumbler in the hole and punch the tumbler shaft out of the cock. Nothing will take off across the floor of your shop, been there done than.

 

[Gvilleddie]

Thanks guys. That should get me started on the right track.

 

[Grenadier1758]

You gotta have a couple tools. If you don't have a main spring vise , the rest of the info won't do you any good. Remove the main spring , Remove the sear spring . Remove the sear arm screw and sear arm. Remove the remaining screw from the tumbler bearing plate. There should be no parts on the inside of the lock plate. on the outside of the lock, remove the Hammer screw. Next, we need a pin punch that fits to the bottom of the hammer screw hole in the tumbler. Next , Laythe inside flat of the lock plate across open bench vise , and tap lightly on the punch in the tumbler screw hole. Hammer should fall off the tumbler shaft. ............oldwood

I am leery of using the thin punch through the threaded hole in the tumbler. That area is somewhat weak, A square punch that fits the square hole in the hammer is a better choice as that tool will be driven against a much more robust part of the tumbler.

Lets look as what Zonie put in his instructions.

7. Now, you will need something to drive the square tumbler drive out of the hammer/cock. If you have a short piece of steel or brass rod with the ends square with the rod, get it. It should be slightly smaller than the square drive of the tumbler. A 1/4" drive socket wrench extension will sometimes work for this. ( I've also been known to get a large carpenter nail that will just fit down thru the threads that the hammer/cock screw was screwed into and I filed the point off leaving a flat surface on it.) I'll call this a "driver".

8. Place the "driver" against the end of the tumblers square drive (or the nail into the screw hole) and using a very small mallet or hammer, lightly tap the driver down, forcing the tumbler drive out of the hammer/cock. (The hammer/cock will be supported by the upper surface of the lock plate while your doing this).

9. It shouldn't take much force to drive the square drive out of the hammer/cock so start by just tapping. If it needs more force then increase the force of the blows a little.

Note that while the second choice is a punch that fits in the hole, its not the first choice. Also it should not require more than a few taps of the removal tool to drive the hammer off the tumbler.

 

[2 shots]

someone makes a hammer puller. dont recall who offhand. you could put hammer in 1/2 cock, remove it, clean outside of lock and reinstall.. no disassembling if you are not into that. mike ps sometimes just removing the screw and a little wiggling removes them.

 

[Are. M.]

A good pair of quality pliers (vise-grip style) and a little delicacy will easily and temporarily do the trick while waiting for a spring vice.....

There's a fellow at my club who turned his vise grips into semi-soft jaws by grinding part of the jaws smooth and silver soldering two tiny brass plates onto the flat areas. Keeps the steel from marring the spring, you see. I'm planning on doing the same soon enough.

 

[cebusey]

someone makes a hammer puller. dont recall who offhand. you could put hammer in 1/2 cock, remove it, clean outside of lock and reinstall.. no disassembling if you are not into that. mike ps sometimes just removing the screw and a little wiggling removes them.

Look at clock hand removal tools - though they can be too light if the cock is stubborn. I work on clocks so i have the pullers in several sizes

 

[Artificer]

someone makes a hammer puller. dont recall who offhand. you could put hammer in 1/2 cock, remove it, clean outside of lock and reinstall.. no disassembling if you are not into that. mike ps sometimes just removing the screw and a little wiggling removes them.

With respect,

AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!! Danger Will Robinson, Danger!!!!

They are meant to be used only when most of the lock parts are already stripped off a lock, after the lock has been removed from the stock.

I have seen SO MANY PROBLEMS caused by Hammer/Cock Pullers used while the lock is in the stock, that I absolutely and most strongly recommend against doing it that way!!!!!

Ever thought about what holds the Tumbler when you drift the Cock/Hammer BACK onto the Tumbler when the lock is still inside the stock? If you guessed the Bridle (if the lock has one), then you are correct. Can we say cracked or sprung Bridles in quantity that would never happen when a lock is disassembled and assembled properly?

Can we say constant prying and reinstalling Cocks/Hammers with the locks still inside the stock will loosen them way earlier than normal? Can we thus say unstable full cock and half cock functions way too early?

PLEASE don't use the Cock/Hammer Pullers when the lock is still in the stock.

Gus

 

[cebusey]

With Respect
I never mentioned at WHAT point to use a puller or not- don't make an assumption! I have been working on locks for 50 years and have never busted a bridle etc. I have seen busted bridles but usually from bubba doing something else wrong. I agree that the best way is to disassemble the lock prior to removing the the cock. The puller I mentioned is better than prying it off with a screw driver or a punch if not particularly adept or having the proper punches

 

[Buckskinquin]

A small pair of visegrips with a locking lever is all I use. Musket, caplock, flintlock. Relax lock to shot position, grip spring with visegrip to relieve spring lightly, it will then lift out. I leave the compressed spring in the grips until reassembled.I always take a pic of internal lock prior to disassembly for reference during teassembly.

Recommendations on a reasonably priced main spring vice?