replacing lock on Pedersoli Kentucky

[Kapow]

Put a strip of thin leather thong under the back edge and try that with bevel up.

 

[Kapow]

Hate to see a brother in pain! We've all been there! A picture tells a thousand words so hopefully four picture will tell, um... four thousand words? :shocked2:

Pic 1: The position of the hammer and flint at full cock. Note the piece of leather thong causing the flint to angle downward. I found this worked even better with a slightly thicker piece of suede leather for the main jaw piece.





pic 2: The position of the flint in relation to the closed frizzen and the angle at which it strikes.






Pic 3: The sparks that result, no wonder it has no trouble with ignition! This pic took a bit of doing especially trying to use the camera flash but well worth the effort!




Pic 4: The position of the flint in relation to the pan after shot.




Hope that is of some help to you. It worked a treat for me and the rifle is one of my favourites now. Without the help of others on this site (even that lunatic Alden!) I would be right where you are now so what goes around comes around. Good luck with your endeavours. Don't give up! :v

 

[macentyre]

Hope that is of some help to you.

Wow! The difference in the angle of incidence, flint to frizzen, is dramatic! My smaller flints must be failing because they need more angle. Perhaps the sawn flints are just the only ones that work at all, without a sharp angle.

Seems like the maker would put more angle on the clamp... but no matter, I will insert the leather piece as shown. That will elminate the use of the over-sized sawn flints, because they won't fit in the clamp with the little leather piece.

Without the help of others on this site (even that lunatic Alden!)

Oh... he's a lunatic? I thought he was just correct.

Off to the shop, to give this a try.

That pic3 is fantastic!

 

[Alden]

Good photos, and thanks for paying it forward Kapow.

But remember, though you resent my rejecting it, few (at least American) men embrace your notion of being disarmed subjects of the state. And no-one other than you, that I can recall, ever came here to volunteer thanking it for such a privilege.

 

[azmntman]

Grit deprivation wrecks havoc on some more than others.

Angle of the flint seems (in my mind) the biggest issue? the pics of the failing lock...seems the angle way to close to 90 degrees??

Excellent pics Kapow :thumbsup:

 

[bpd303]

Flint length & angle are critical to a well working lock, along with what Zonie said about the pan width. Here is a picture of my Pedersoli Kentucky .45 that was proofed in 2005. Notice the shallower and wider pan.

A shot of a half worn out black English flint that still sparks reliably when I keep it clean & knapped. Notice the angle.

If after all the tinkering you're comfortable with and still no luck, you may want to contact Earl Kathan. If he can't fix it no one can. http://flintlockrepair.com/flintlockrepair.html

 

[macentyre]

Flint length & angle are critical to a well working lock

Discovered this morning that a short flint is indicated by a frizzen that fails to open completely. The problem can be solved by using a thicker piece of leather.

I was able to get the Pedersoli to ignite the pan using a proper sized flint as reliably as the sawn flint did. It didn't matter if I used Kapow's leather bushing to increase the angle of incidence, or left it out. What made a bigger difference was using a full grain, or a bit more than 1 grain, of primer powder. Still, I got more than 3 successes in a row only once. After that, it quit until I cleaned it and reset the flint.

I'm thinking that the frizzen is the problem.

My lefty Lyman fires reliably with sawn flints, after those particular flints fail to fire in the Pedersoli. The Lyman ignited the pan a dozen times without fail.

Is that touch hole coned? It looks like a very big hole to me.

I don't think it is coned, but it is huge compared to the Lyman, which uses an insert.

If after all the tinkering you're comfortable with and still no luck, you may want to contact Earl Kathan.

Getting close...

 

[macentyre]

Pedersoli with Kapow leather spacer under flint:



Lefty Lyman that has no problems at all...



Lyman frizzen compared to Pedersoli frizzen:

 

[macentyre]

I sent the lock to Lee Shaver today.

When he returns it, I'll make a report.

Thanks again, folks!

- MacEntyre

 

[Kapow]

:rotf: I do hope the fish are biting as well as you! I note there was no defence offered as to your lunacy! You made my day, well done!
:blah: :stir: :rotf: :surrender:

 

[macentyre]

In the words of Carl Childers, "You fellers ain't right!"

 

[Auldgoat]

We're all here because we're not all there.

 

[macentyre]

Ya know... I feel right at home!

While me lock is at the gunny's, I've been readin' about flintlock squirrel guns. I can't afford the Pedersoli 32 that's for sale on this forum, but I shore would love to have one... I figure now I know how to defeat a Pedersoli lock that doesn't fire, or to whom to send it!

 

[macentyre]

Well, I'd like to report the results of having the lock checked by Lee Shaver... but it's been with him since the end of July, and he's not responding to email messages. Thinkin' I need to write a letter...

 

[coloradoclyde]

I think I would call him.

 

[mr.flintlock]

I have an old Hatfield rifle that I converted to flint and used a pedersoli lock and have not had any trouble with it. If you are not getting a good shower of sparks you could possibly have a soft frizzen. If that is the problem, you could case harden it before spending money on a new lock. That may or solve your problem.

 

[macentyre]

I think I would call him.

The problem with that was that his web site had a typo in the number. Found the right one, finally, on another page.

The frizzen is hard. I found that out when I hit it with a file. Lee confirmed that.

Turns out there were several bent screws, which slow the pivot. He's working on it, and will get it done in a couple of weeks.

Lee Shaver is a nice guy, but he doesn't do email. Once you have his telephone number, you can talk to him!

 

[jaytbuzzard1]

I have a Pedersoli Kentucky that was having similar problems. I took it to Ledfords Trading Post in Hickory, NC. They deal with a lot of guns like this. The gunsmith tried several flints and found that the flat flints worked best. I had been using flints with a hump in the middle. I also have a thin strip of leather under the back of the flint to increase the angle. I also was having an issue with the frizzen only opening about half way. I removed the lock and had to clean the "inside" of the lock to remove grit and some surface rust. I hadn't been removing the lock to clean and oil it after cleaning the gun with hot water. It works perfectly now. I won't make that mistake again.

 

[macentyre]

I wish my problems were that simple.

Spoke with Lee Shaver again on Friday... he said that there are several problems, that perhaps it was not worth fixing to begin with, but he is going to fix it because he's hard headed like that. He assured me that he's not going to charge much. He's working on it now and then, between real jobs.

How did I end up with a puzzler lock, and a character for a smith?

 

[G.smith]

You mention several times that the "edge" of the flint is being damaged. Perhaps easing the flint away from the damage area would help. I have to be careful with my Pedersoli Kentucky Pistol when setting the flint so that it does not strike the barrel. Good luck and keep trying.