Snapping matchlock internals

[Matt Maier]

Just curious. Has anyone built a snapping matchlock? Would you have pictures of the lock mechanism you could show me? I'm interested in building a Tanegashima arquebus and I know those had a snapping mechanism.

 

[RR_Raptor65]

Here's a gallery: http://imgur.com/Vg1BYcv,oqVXdGO,y...X4i0d,Ih4YrYb,r0Px8Eg,xuIiN1c,7TxPooi,Zak7Wqs

As you browse through there, clicking on a picture will show a larger version of it.

The trigger is pinned high above the sear and cams against the sear's curved tail to rotate it laterally, withdrawing a prong through the lock plate which releases the serpentine.

The brass mainspring is not very powerful and it doesn't need to be, it only has just enough power to make sure the match snaps down, gravity does most of the work.

 

[Matt Maier]

I was looking at the photos and it looks like the serpentine has a notch cut in the back almost as if there were an external catch that was released by the trigger. Is this so?

 

[RR_Raptor65]

Yes, the tail of the serpentine is locked with the end of the sear, which protrudes through the lock plate. It need not be very long, just enough to prevent the serpentine from moving past the sear.

You can see this in the bottom left corner of this picture:

And a more exposed sear here:

 

[Matt Maier]

Ok. That all looks pretty straightforward to replicate. On another topic. Did the Japanese ever rifle these weapons? Something tells me no but a lot of these guns I've seen have small almost rifle like calibers.

 

[RR_Raptor65]

I don't believe so, I haven't found any mention of rifling until they started importing foreign Percussion rifles in the late 1800s, though the Tanegashima was still being made and used during this time as well. Tradition dies hard in Japan.

I plan on building one myself, by preference I've chosen a .50 rifled barrel for my build and I don't see anything wrong with it so long as it is acknowledged that the originals weren't rifled.