How do you set your flint in the jaws of your lock?
The "GAP" between the flint and frizzen is a semi-critical gap that must be scrutinized.
If the flint is set too far in the jaws, the flint will produce very little spark, or it may not even strike the frizzen at all.
A flint set too far out in the jaws will strike the frizzen too high and stall the action or bottom-out in the priming pan, breaking off the tip of your flint and damage the "non-hardend" metal of the pan.
My rule of thumb is to set the flint one-fourth (1/4") of an inch from the bottom of the pan.
(Didderent muzzleloaders will have different gaps, depending on the angle of the jaws and the depth of the primimg pans)
To do this, set and align the flint in the jaws and snug it a little, move the frizzen forewards and slowly lower the hammer to the fired position. Adjust the flint to 1/4 inch from the bottom of the pan.
With the hammer still down, tighten the jaws and restore the hammer to half-cock. Close the frizzen and check the gap.
Is the flint touching the frizzen?
If so, re-adjust the flint to allow a gap between the flint and frizzen.
The flint should hit the frizzen (when fired) about 2/3 the way up the striker plate for maximum sparking efficenty. This will allow the flint to gain more speed before making contact with the frizzen, without the fear of bottoming out in the pan.
Once this GAP is worked out, make a reference point that will not change for setting in new flints and adjusting old ones.
EXAMPLE:
The flint-frizzen gap on my brown bess is the width of my left-hand's thumbnail.
The "GAP" between the flint and frizzen is a semi-critical gap that must be scrutinized.
If the flint is set too far in the jaws, the flint will produce very little spark, or it may not even strike the frizzen at all.
A flint set too far out in the jaws will strike the frizzen too high and stall the action or bottom-out in the priming pan, breaking off the tip of your flint and damage the "non-hardend" metal of the pan.
My rule of thumb is to set the flint one-fourth (1/4") of an inch from the bottom of the pan.
(Didderent muzzleloaders will have different gaps, depending on the angle of the jaws and the depth of the primimg pans)
To do this, set and align the flint in the jaws and snug it a little, move the frizzen forewards and slowly lower the hammer to the fired position. Adjust the flint to 1/4 inch from the bottom of the pan.
With the hammer still down, tighten the jaws and restore the hammer to half-cock. Close the frizzen and check the gap.
Is the flint touching the frizzen?
If so, re-adjust the flint to allow a gap between the flint and frizzen.
The flint should hit the frizzen (when fired) about 2/3 the way up the striker plate for maximum sparking efficenty. This will allow the flint to gain more speed before making contact with the frizzen, without the fear of bottoming out in the pan.
Once this GAP is worked out, make a reference point that will not change for setting in new flints and adjusting old ones.
EXAMPLE:
The flint-frizzen gap on my brown bess is the width of my left-hand's thumbnail.
