Lock Problems

[GobblerKnob]

I need a little advice. I am faced with a problem that I've never encountered before and I'm not sure how to over come it.
I have a Chambers, "Golden Age" lock that has been browned. I am experiencing two problems with it.

First, no matter what I do, the hammer won't kick the frizzen open all the way. I have polished the contact areas on the frizzen spring as well as the tail of the frizzen. This worked for a few tries, but has since failed. It's almost as if the frizzen spring is too powerful, if that makes any sense.
Second, I am having trouble tripping the cock by the trigger with the lock installed.

By that, I mean with the lock bolted in place, the trigger trips without making the cock fall, after having set the trigger. There was a little play in the trigger, so I soldered a nail to the top of the trigger bar. This increased the height so the bar came in contact with the sear. I have tried to file it away, a little at a time to see if I could reach a happy medium, but to no avail.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Rick

 

[CrackStock]

GK,

How tight are the internal screws? Both of these problems could be caused by overtightening.

I will percolate on other possible causes, but this was the only answer that I could come up with that would answer both.

CS

 

[Black Hand]

Sometimes the tail of the sear bar bottoms out in the inlet, and this slows the action of the trigger, or the tumbler is touching the wood . With respect to the frizzen, the problems I have experienced were due to tight screws, h internally and sometimes the lock bolts caused problems. Check to see if your lock internals are touching after screwing the lock bolts in to their final tightness.
Black Hand

 

[GobblerKnob]

For the sake of brevity, I did not list everything I tried to remedy this conundrum.

I checked and rechecked all the screws and bolts, I used inletting black to check for contact with wood, I polished and repolished contacting parts. Nothing I did seemed to help.

The frizzen fails to flip back even when manually operated apart from the gun. Someone mentioned on another forum that sometimes the frizzen flips open then back shut again. That's not the case here. The frizzen stops just about 1/8" from opening all the way. Working the frizzen alone, by hand, takes quite a bit of force. Like I said, it almost seems as though the spring is too strong. One thing I did not try was to apply some lubricating grease like lithium or some other viscous lubricant.

As far as the sear goes, it's not sticking. I filed that to the proper length some time ago. The best way I can describe that problem is to explain it like this.
I put the hammer at full cock. I pull the set trigger. By rights, slight pressure on the trigger should make the hammer fall. What happens when I pull the trigger is that is breaks without tripping the hammer. I can continue to pull the trigger and it will eventually drop the hammer after a considerable amount of pressure is applied. It's really driving me nuts!

 

[Stumpkiller]

How does it work without the frizzen spring in place? (that is, have you tried it with the spring removed)? Is the frizzen binding against the screw/bridle?

Is your flint too long?

 

[Birddog6]

Tackle one thing at a time:

First, try a longer flint or try it bevel down & it will hit higher on the frizzen an thus should open the frizzen sooner.

Sencond: Call Jim Chambers and if he cannot help you, send it to them & they WILL make it right. I have dealt with Jim for years & he will make the lock perfor precisely as it should.

Now on the firing part. Remove the trigger asm & install the lock, set the cock to Full Cock & put the frizzen closed & fire the lock by useing a screwdriver in the trigger slot. If you push the sear arm & it fires the lock correctly, your problem is in the trigger asm. I suspect the set trigger bar is too low or not forceful enough or hitting wood or in a bind. If it is too low it is barely tapping the sear bar & not enough to make it fire.

Should this be the case, you can disassemble the trigger asm & silver solder on a piece to raise the trigger bar & make it taller. Usually when I do this Both of them need to be taller. Care must be taken not to mess up the notching part that engages the front trigger & etc.

:results:

 

[GobblerKnob]

Thanks to all for your advice. I want to go on record and state that I am not complaining about the lock or Jim Chambers. I'm just frustrated because I know the solution has to be simple, but it has eluded me so far.
I'm going to Dixon's in the morning, so if I can't get it right tonight, I'll take it along and ask for Jim's advice in person.
Birddog, I did solder a nail to the trigger bar, but I didn't think to do so to the set trigger bar. The light bulb has gone on over me head! Perhaps tightening the spring screw and adding a little more meat to the bar will will solve things for me.

Stumpy, with the frizzen spring removed, the frizzen works very smoothly. That's why the spring is suspect in my mind. I'll tinker a little more and hopefully git 'er done!

By the way, the length of my flint is none of yer business! :crackup: I'll sick the rusty-needle- sharpening Lab Tech on you!
Thanks, all!

 

[BLAHMAN]

I would bet that the frizzen spring is very strong and perhaps it could be thinned down so it doesn't put too much force on the frizzen toe.

Maybe the frizzen toe is not right, maybe it's not camming correctly.

As for the other problem, that's a toughy! I hope Jim Chambers cansolve the mystery for you when you see him at Dixons.

 

[GobblerKnob]

After attending Keith Casteel's lock tuning course at the fair on Saturday, I went home, tore the lock apart and rebuilt it from scratch. I learned a couple things and when I was done, the lock worked like a champ.

I had to adjust the conatct point on the frizzen tail so it turned over sooner. It was too pronounced the other way (If that makes any sense). I filed the full cock notch to allow the sear to disengage easier. This solved the problem I had with the trigger breaking without making the hammer fall.

There was some drag on the internal parts and after a good bit of polishing, I'm happy to report that it's a very speedy lock. I rebrowned it, and viola! It's done! Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.

 

[olgreenhead]

Very nice but the lock is on the wrong side !!!! :grey: