Making touch hole bigger

[Tom Compton]

:thumbsup: Rich.

The first step in scientific problem solving is to ACCURATELY define the problem.

 

[54ball]

I am convinced that weak sparks contribute to miss fires even with pan flashes!

In my opinion you have to have good even and consistent sparks before anything else.

Getting real flint is a step in the right direction.

 

[Skychief]

I am convinced that weak sparks contribute to miss fires even with pan flashes!

How could that be?

 

[Skychief]

Thunderduck, I had one particular gun that I enlarged the vent to 1/16". It performs flawlessly now.

Good luck, Skychief

 

[timothy prouty]

WHAT make of rifle is it some rifles have small touch hole

 

[Davemuzz]

Thompson Center Hawken

 

[Larry Akers]

Not meaning to....uh....dampen on yer flash pan, but someone who has never had ignition problems has never shot a flintlock.

May be true, but please note my statement is in the present tense--not the past. I have been building and shooting flintlocks for over 50 years and in that time I have learned a thing or two about making a flintlock go BANG.

 

[azmntman]

Mine go bang quite often :grin: Almost always go POOF :surrender:

 

[Rifleman1776]

Not meaning to....uh....dampen on yer flash pan, but someone who has never had ignition problems has never shot a flintlock.

May be true, but please note my statement is in the present tense--not the past. I have been building and shooting flintlocks for over 50 years and in that time I have learned a thing or two about making a flintlock go BANG.

Please take my ranting with a sense of humor. Fact is, if flintlocks were as reliable as a center fire modern rifle there would be little point in using them. We are taking a couple steps back in time, for me, as an exercise to appreciate the hardships of those days. A fussy flint reminds us of that with every "clack".

 

[stubshaft]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[54ball]

I am convinced that weak sparks contribute to miss fires even with pan flashes!

How could that be?

Honestly I don't know. It may have something to do with where the few sparks land.

What I do know is a gun with a dull flint or some kind of lock-frizzen problem will be inconsistent.

Sometime it will fire.....
Sometimes it will klatch.....nothing.
Sometimes it will pan flash.
Sometimes there will be a hang fire.
Sometimes there will be a hang.....flash.

A friend of mine had problems like that above with a Pedersoli Musket. He sent the lock to the service center....same trouble unreliable with failure to fire and pan flashes.
He got a new lock from Italy.....
Different gun...It's a good shooter now. It's amazing the difference.

Now if there is consistent quick pan flashes....there is a problem with the vent.

Inconsistency....Get the sparks first...then go further.

 

[Col. Batguano]

I am convinced that weak sparks contribute to miss fires even with pan flashes!

How could that be?

This is a job for Pletch.

It COULD be, that a flint that produces just a single spark that sets off the pan has a pan flash that is longer in duration, and less intense in its' heat production, than a pan that is ignited in multiple places by a whole flock of sparks, but I suspect any differences would be relatively minor. Not enough to make the difference you're discussing. But, I also have no evidence to back it up either.

 

[Darkhorse]

Many years ago I had a lot of misfires. But at the present I can't recall the last time one of my flinters failed to fire. There's a lot to be said for experience.
As for drilling out the touch hole this is what was recommended to me by a phone call to Chambers years ago.
The WL liner comes with a small hole. After completing your rifle and testing it for proper sparking, go to the range and shoot it a few times. If you have ignition problems then take a Number drill one size larger than the TH and drill it out. Shoot it again to test ignition. Only drill one Number size at a time. The diameter of the drills are only a few thousands larger per drill size, but the circumference of the drilled hole is increased significally. Usually only a drill size or two provides you with the desired result.
I used to alter metric liners as part of a service I did to get store bought flinters to ignite consistently. Then I discovered these liners and they already had the mod.s I was doing. Though they still required drilling out. One could buy a few and experiment on them being they screw out. You can't do that with a WL as it's a permanent installation. https://www.rmcoxyoke.com/inc/sdetail/rmc_flintlock_touch_hole_liner_replacements/6549/84

This will only help you if you've got a good spark. You got to get the sparking problem worked out first.