Thoughts on this touch hole placement

[awreis]

I was wondering about the placement of the touch hole in the attached pictures. To me, it seems the height is good but it is placed too far forward. Is this something to be concerned with? Also, a previous owner filed a notch in the pan and I'm not sure the reason. I would understand if the touch hole was too low but if powder goes into this notch, its actually below the touch hole. Should I be filling the notch with priming powder? Is there another reason this would be done?

 

[TDM]

The touch hole placement itself doesn’t look like a problem to me. However, I think the previous owner grinding the notch in the pan was a mistake. I’d suggest smoothing up the burrs along the edges of the liner slot and taking it out and shoot it. Fair chance it will do fine. If not, I’m sure a solution can be found.

 

[awreis]

This is an older Jukar rifle from the early 80's. It does shoot and its as pretty accurate rifle so I'm also seriously considering getting an l and r lock drop in replacement for the rifle and didn't want to spend the money if the touch hole would be an issue.

 

[TDM]

You might check the diameter of the touch hole, it appears larger than 1/16”, could be just the photo. If it is larger than you want you can install a new vent liner. But if it’s shooting good it’s a none issue.

 

[Phil Coffins]

The position isn’t ideal but it should work. The larger issue I see is the slot allows the flash to be directed under the lock plate. All the burrs could be removed if you decide to replace the liner and the front edge of the pan smoothed out to the front.

 

[Eric Krewson]

An L&R may or may not align with the existing touch hole, I put one in a TC and had to move the barrel back a bit to get the right touchhole alignment.

The barrel was a NOS kit barrel with a TC touchhole liner in it, the huge hole is for an Allen wrench and not the actual touch hole size.

 

[Grenadier1758]

@awreis, if the lock is sparking reliably, I see no reason to replace the existing lock with an L&R lock. There may be some fitment issues as @Eric Krewson has observed and the rifle will not greatly appreciate in value with an L&R lock except to you if ignition becomes far more reliable. I agree with @Phil Coffins that the position is not ideal and I don't really like to see the screw slot pointing under the lock plate.

The studies by @Larry Pletcher have shown that having the powder just under the touch hole is the most reliable ignition. The most heat of the pan ignition will be concentrated at the surface of the burning powder. Filling that notch is not really necessary and the fine pan powder may get moved into the lock internals. Make sure no pan powder is migrating into the lock mortise or there may be a rather exciting lock removal experience. Remove the lock when cleaning and wipe out any powder in the lock mortise and in the lock internals.

 

[hanshi]

What TDM said.

 

[awreis]

The vent hole is between 3/64 and 1/16 inch. Would it be a good idea to drill it out to 1/16"? The lock does spark pretty good. My main issue I guess is inconsistent firing. Sometimes when i shoot, after 5 shots I'll get a flash in the pan but no firing. Other times, I can shoot 15-20 times before I have an issue. I assume drilling the vent hole out to 1/16" would help?

 

[IanH]

The pan can be widened and sculpted a bit and be fine. The slot in the liner is in an unfortunate position and will eventually torch a slot in the edge of the pan as a friend of mine found out.

It looks to me like the liner is installed in a bushing, is this a re-conversion from percussion?

 

[awreis]

The pan can be widened and sculpted a bit and be fine. The slot in the liner is in an unfortunate position and will eventually torch a slot in the edge of the pan as a friend of mine found out.

It looks to me like the liner is installed in a bushing, is this a re-conversion from percussion?

To be honest, I don't know about being a conventional. I purchased it from my cousin who got it from his late father who got it from where, I don't know. I do have spare touch hole liner and on that one, the slot is more horizontal. So my guess is, I should scrap the current one and use the spare?

 

[IanH]

If your spare seats fully in this rifle's barrel with the notch clocked horizontally, I would use it.

 

[TDM]

The vent hole is between 3/64 and 1/16 inch. Would it be a good idea to drill it out to 1/16"? The lock does spark pretty good. My main issue I guess is inconsistent firing. Sometimes when i shoot, after 5 shots I'll get a flash in the pan but no firing. Other times, I can shoot 15-20 times before I have an issue. I assume drilling the vent hole out to 1/16" would help?

A 1/16” hole is the standard sweet spot. Some like to go slightly larger. I have one rifle that seemed to better at 5/64”, the rest are all 1/16”. Never heard of anyone liking a smaller than 1/16” hole.

 

[awreis]

This is the notch that is cut into the pan. Is this something that could be welded and then filed/sanded smooth?

 

[TDM]

This is the notch that is cut into the pan. Is this something that could be welded and then filed/sanded smooth?

Yes.

 

[stank]

If it were mine I would weld it up. To me it would be a place for powder to fall in to and cause a fuse effect. On the other hand. If the gun fires every time you can leave it alone. Just make sure powder can’t get behind and below the lock/barrel. Not fireing after 5-6 shots is probably a cleaning/ vent picking problem. Humidity, oil/grease all cause problems after a couple shots
Regards
Stank

 

[FlinterNick]

This is the notch that is cut into the pan. Is this something that could be welded and then filed/sanded smooth?

Yes, it can be welded and repaired.

 

[James Kibler]

If it were mine I would weld it up. To me it would be a place for powder to fall in to and cause a fuse effect. On the other hand. If the gun fires every time you can leave it alone. Just make sure powder can’t get behind and below the lock/barrel. Not fireing after 5-6 shots is probably a cleaning/ vent picking problem. Humidity, oil/grease all cause problems after a couple shots
Regards
Stank

Fuse effect isn't real. Reference Larry Pletcher's good work timing flintlocks with a test rig and computer.

 

[Pete G]

Fuse effect is from old cowboy movies. Not real.

 

[IanH]

Just reshape the pan like this. A Dremel tool with a burr or sanding roll will do the trick, just don't cut a bunch of ugly lines in it as Dremels are wont to do.