• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades

Stupid question #538

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Feb 15, 2020
Messages
121
Reaction score
102
I just bought an L&R Manton flintlock from MBS to, hopefully, build into a Kentucky style pistol with a Douglas barrel that I bought from another member. I received the lock today and while it looks quite nice I don't see any way to attach it to the gun. Normally there are two threaded holes that one runs screws through the stock and into the lock to hold the lock in place. Am I missing something or am I supposed to drill and tap my own holes? This is a smaller sized lock so there isn't much real estate for holes. I've been messing around with muzzleloaders for over 40 years and am suddenly feeling quite ignorant about them.
 
If you don't have this info already I would suggest really researching this before picking up a tool. It's kind of a science positioning the lock & bolts, tang, ramrod, barrel, flash hole/drum and everything else crammed into that little piece of real-estate Add to that the lock bolts should hit the lockplate at a 90 degree angle, and if they don't the bolt doesn't like to thread into the plate. I just went through this. I built a beater hunting rifle out of parts laying around my shop. The lock should have been a drop-in for the stock. It wasn't and I had to tweek the inletting, probably less than a 1/64th". That was just enough that the bolts wouldn't start into the holes in the plate. By the time I got done trying to make it work I had it so screwed up that I ended up drilling out the lock bolt holes, epoxying tight fitting dowls in, and re-drilling the lock bolt holes. Not the end of the world as I finishing the stock very dark, so the dowels don't show. But it added a days work that didn't need to be added. Before my next attempt I will buy or build a jig for drilling point A to point B holes in a gunstock! Hope that helps some.
 
I have the stock. The space for the lock internals are inletted but just roughly. I will need to take a lot more than 1/64th of wood to get the lock to fit. The lock screw holes are not drilled. I have a mill so I can drill and tap holes at 90 degrees. I just don't see a lot of space for screws on the lock. I know that it's going to take time and a lot of back and forth to get everything to line up. With the lack of space for two screws I was wondering if I was missing something. Maybe in front of the mainspring (though the frizzen spring goes almost to the front of the lock plate) and where the letter 'B' is?
P1490123.JPG
 
How far north does the toe of the tumbler go at full cock? There needs to be adequate clearance between the bolt and the toe, so that there is no chance of any interference.
 
The solid area right behind the pan is where the first bolt hole should be drilled. After the lock and barrel are inletted, see if the breech plug will allow the lock bolt to pass behind or if you will have to drill through the back of the plug. It all depends upon the mass of the breech plug.
A second lock bolt is optional. Then there is the off side placement of some sort of plate for the bolt head to sit.
 
Why not use only ONE screw . . . .?
If the inletting for the lock plate is “good ‘n tight”, only one side screw is necessary anyway.
Were it mine, I’d drill and tap the hole in such a way that it was invisible from the outside . . . .under the cock, near the cock pivot. (whether the cock was “cocked” or “un-cocked”.)
 
Last edited:
Nor'Easter - The tumbler goes up pretty far. The only place that looks safe is the thicker part behind the pan which actually is good because it will give much more bearing area for the screw to hold onto.

Jim - Your point on using one screw is correct and it was right in front of me as that is what Thompson Center used on my Hawken.

Ord Sgt - You hit the nail on the head. A screw would miss the breech plug as it's not too massive. Even if it did I can easily drill or mill it to clear.

Hrt4me - I have a lot of stupid questions. This is #538 of this week and it's only Wednesday.

Thanks for the help, advice, wisdom, and psychology therapy everyone. This really is the best forum - so many kind, friendly, and knowledgeable people.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top