Very concise sir :hatsoff:
B.
B.
-
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Touch hole Liner for Pedersoli Bess?
- Thread starter Chowmif16
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Part III
OK, in this part I will write some about the shim that is soldered or glued to the tumbler.
The shim may be made from brass or steel shim stock. Shims can even be made from sacrificing and cutting a piece from the leaf blades from an inexpensive Feeler Gauge. FWIW, I found that using brass shims lasted a very long time, but they will eventually wear through somewhat faster than a steel shim. However, steel shims are trickier to bend to shape and just a bit harder to solder. Most of the shims I used over the years were brass, because if/when one wore through from a few to many seasons of serious shooting, they are easier to replace. I do know that some brass shims lasted on guns that were shot a LOT in competition and practice for many seasons and did not need replacing.
When I first began using shims, I thought the shim had to be the full width of the surface of the tumbler it was soldered to. So I cut the shims a little oversize, soldered them on and then filed them down to the width of the Tumbler. Then I figured out that was not necessary, so I went to cutting the width of the shim just a bit less wide than the Tumbler Surface. That required a lot less clean up after soldering and did not affect the function of the shim.
After you get the width of the shim cut, then you have to cut it to length and shape it. The drawings show the length of the shim should cover the entire curved surface of the Tumbler. That is not absolutely necessary, but it should cover at least half or more of the length of the curved portion of the Tumbler and then filed smooth down to the surface of the Tumbler on the side furthest away from the notch. So if you cut the length a little short, the shim can still be used. I usually cut the width of the shim and then bend it to match the curvature of the Tumbler as close as possible and then cut the shim to length.
As to how thick the shim has to be, that is going to vary by how deep the Full Cock Notch is cut on your Tumbler, so there is no such thing as offering just one thickness size shim that will fit even all the Tumblers on one make/model of gun. I found that .015”, .018” and .020” thick shim stock worked very well for the different Tumblers on large Military Locks and pick the thickness needed for the individual Tumbler. However, if I were to recommend one size that worked OK for most Bess Locks, it would be .015” thickness. It might not reduce the trigger pull down to a competition level trigger pull on all or most Tumblers, but it will still greatly reduce the trigger pull weight. (NOTE: I thought about trying to describe what thickness of shim to use by how much of the Sear Face still went up into the Full Cock notch, but that won’t work because there is a lot of difference in the height of the Sear Face even in the same make and model of Tumblers.) Now IF the trigger pull is reduced TOO much by adding a shim, you can adjust it by filing the shim down a little thinner after it is soldered/glued to the Tumbler. This will make the Trigger Pull a little heavier because the Sear Face will then go further into the Full Cock Notch. I don’t think for the most part that you will have to file a .015” thick shim down, though, so that is why I suggest that size to start with.
Oh, when you Solder the shim on, it is pretty common some Solder will squoosh out and stick to the surface of the Notch that the Sear Face bears against. I don’t recommend trying to file solder off the Notch surface, but instead use a sharp knife or chisel to carefully cut/shave it off. When the Tumbler is viewed from the position in the Lock Plate and starting from the bottom of the Notch Face, the Notch Face should be clean right up to the shim. If Solder gets in there between the Notch Surface and below the shim and you don’t clean it out, it will reduce the trigger pull a bit and make the feel of the beginning of the Trigger Pull sort of weird.
Personally, I think soldering or possibly gluing on a shim to the Tumbler is the easiest way for most Novices to reduce the Trigger Pull Weight on Bess Locks.
Just for the record, “Option 2C) Add a set screw or pin to the tumbler as shown in Figure 6.” of the link above and “Option 2D) Heliarc weld (though TIG Weld might/probably be better) a bump of steel on the tumbler to limit engagement of the sear in the notch as shown in Figure 7.,” are both very viable ways to reduce the Trigger Pull Weight. They do work VERY well, but unless you have a really good drill press or better still an End Mill or a TIG Welding Machine, these options are usually outside what most Novices can do at home. They also involve a higher level of careful filing of the screw/pin/lump of metal and testing, so I don’t recommend most people do that on their first Tumbler/s.
Oh, since you mentioned India Stones earlier, I wanted to address that a bit. India Stones, even in Fine Grade, used to be called “Stone Files” by machinists, because even though they did not remove as much metal as a fine file, they still cut the metal. (Yeah, I know this dates me a good bit. Grin.) So when you use India Stones, be careful how much you use them as you can cut through Surface Hardness with them. Don’t get me wrong, we all use India Stones to finely smooth and shape surfaces, but just don’t get too aggressive with them on hardened Lock Parts or you may have to harden and temper the parts after you use those stones. If you want to POLISH metal surfaces with little risk of cutting through the Surface Hardness, then use White Hard Arkansas Stones and/or 600 Grit “Crocus” Emory Cloth. I normally smooth/polish the surface of the Full Cock Notch and Sear Face with such a Hard Arkansas Stone to smooth the “feel” of the trigger pull, but NOT India Stones.
Next I want to suggest something no one ever taught me, but I’m sure I’m FAR from the only person who ever came up with this technique independently. This technique is used to test to see whether the Sear Face will get bashed into the Half Cock Notch, but BEFORE you reassemble the Lock and damage the Half Cock Notch or Sear Face.
Big Military Locks usually never had a Fly in the Tumbler to protect the Sear from bashing into the Half Cock Notch as the Tumbler rotates, so we have to be extra careful when doing Trigger Pull Work on these Locks. Soldiers actually had to JERK the triggers to get “those crisp volleys where all shots sound like one gun going off,” that original period Officers and many reenactors love so much. (Period Officers absolutely hated “ragged sounding volleys,” because it sounded so “UN Soldierly.”) Now the GOOD thing about Jerking a Trigger was/is it keeps the sear face well away from the Half Cock Notch as the Tumbler and Cock/Hammer go forward, so the Notch or Sear Face are not damaged. The BAD thing about Jerking a Trigger is it makes accurate shooting very difficult. So it is extremely necessary we do as much as we can to ensure the Sear Face won’t bash into the Half Cock Notch even the first time we reassemble the Lock. (We MAY have to do a little more work on the Half Cock Notch after the Lock is assembled into the gun, though, but not nearly as much by doing some preparatory work now.)
First assemble the Sear to the Lock with JUST the Sear Screw screwed into the Lock Plate to hole the Sear. Then the Lock Plate must be supported so you can put the Tumbler in place on the Lock Plate hole and rest against the plate while “Test Rotating” the Tumbler. Support can come from the padded top of a vice, or by a couple of boards on each side of the Tumbler hole or you can bore a hole into a scrap piece of 2 X 4 board, so the Tumbler Shaft goes down into the hole when you lay the Lock plate on the board. Now get out a Magnifier, Jeweler’s Eye Loupe, or Opti Visor unless your eyeballs are as good as a Hawk or Eagle. Align the Sear so it fits up as far as it will go in the Full Cock Notch. Lightly hold the Tumbler with your left hand and the Tail of the Sear in your right hand. Now, just push up on the Tail of the Sear until the Sear Face BARELY clears the Full Cock Notch and then firmly hold the Sear in that position. Now with your left hand, gently rotate the Tumbler forward as it works in the lock. What you need the magnification for is to see if the Sear Face even barely TOUCHES the Half Cock Notch as the Tumbler rotates past the Sear. If it even barely touches, the Sear Face IS going to bash into the Half Cock Notch in operation IF the shooter does not keep rearward pressure on the trigger the whole time the Cock/Hammer goes forward - in what is commonly called “Good Follow Through.” What I do is file down/shape the outer edge of the Half Cock Notch until it does NOT even barely touch the Sear Face as the Tumbler passes by, while holding the Sear in the position the Sear Face JUST clears the Full Cock Notch. IOW, you are filing some of the outer “Knife Edge” of the Half Cock Notch away, but not a whole lot, and it will still work correctly as a Half Cock Safety feature. This really helps to ensure the Sear Face won’t get bashed into the Half Cock Notch during operation. Now, I KNOW this is not necessary IF the Shooter ALWAYS uses good follow through and trigger control, because the shooter will hold the trigger back and thus the Sear Face out of the way of the Half Cock Notch as it goes by. But my years of experience with even some of the Best Shooters in National and International Muzzle Loading Competition is that even they sometimes make mistakes and release the trigger pull too early at times. After doing everything necessary to make a really good competition trigger pull, I don’t want it ruined by a simple mistake we all can make.
OK, more to come in Part IV, but this is all I have time for now.
Gus
OK, in this part I will write some about the shim that is soldered or glued to the tumbler.
The shim may be made from brass or steel shim stock. Shims can even be made from sacrificing and cutting a piece from the leaf blades from an inexpensive Feeler Gauge. FWIW, I found that using brass shims lasted a very long time, but they will eventually wear through somewhat faster than a steel shim. However, steel shims are trickier to bend to shape and just a bit harder to solder. Most of the shims I used over the years were brass, because if/when one wore through from a few to many seasons of serious shooting, they are easier to replace. I do know that some brass shims lasted on guns that were shot a LOT in competition and practice for many seasons and did not need replacing.
When I first began using shims, I thought the shim had to be the full width of the surface of the tumbler it was soldered to. So I cut the shims a little oversize, soldered them on and then filed them down to the width of the Tumbler. Then I figured out that was not necessary, so I went to cutting the width of the shim just a bit less wide than the Tumbler Surface. That required a lot less clean up after soldering and did not affect the function of the shim.
After you get the width of the shim cut, then you have to cut it to length and shape it. The drawings show the length of the shim should cover the entire curved surface of the Tumbler. That is not absolutely necessary, but it should cover at least half or more of the length of the curved portion of the Tumbler and then filed smooth down to the surface of the Tumbler on the side furthest away from the notch. So if you cut the length a little short, the shim can still be used. I usually cut the width of the shim and then bend it to match the curvature of the Tumbler as close as possible and then cut the shim to length.
As to how thick the shim has to be, that is going to vary by how deep the Full Cock Notch is cut on your Tumbler, so there is no such thing as offering just one thickness size shim that will fit even all the Tumblers on one make/model of gun. I found that .015”, .018” and .020” thick shim stock worked very well for the different Tumblers on large Military Locks and pick the thickness needed for the individual Tumbler. However, if I were to recommend one size that worked OK for most Bess Locks, it would be .015” thickness. It might not reduce the trigger pull down to a competition level trigger pull on all or most Tumblers, but it will still greatly reduce the trigger pull weight. (NOTE: I thought about trying to describe what thickness of shim to use by how much of the Sear Face still went up into the Full Cock notch, but that won’t work because there is a lot of difference in the height of the Sear Face even in the same make and model of Tumblers.) Now IF the trigger pull is reduced TOO much by adding a shim, you can adjust it by filing the shim down a little thinner after it is soldered/glued to the Tumbler. This will make the Trigger Pull a little heavier because the Sear Face will then go further into the Full Cock Notch. I don’t think for the most part that you will have to file a .015” thick shim down, though, so that is why I suggest that size to start with.
Oh, when you Solder the shim on, it is pretty common some Solder will squoosh out and stick to the surface of the Notch that the Sear Face bears against. I don’t recommend trying to file solder off the Notch surface, but instead use a sharp knife or chisel to carefully cut/shave it off. When the Tumbler is viewed from the position in the Lock Plate and starting from the bottom of the Notch Face, the Notch Face should be clean right up to the shim. If Solder gets in there between the Notch Surface and below the shim and you don’t clean it out, it will reduce the trigger pull a bit and make the feel of the beginning of the Trigger Pull sort of weird.
Personally, I think soldering or possibly gluing on a shim to the Tumbler is the easiest way for most Novices to reduce the Trigger Pull Weight on Bess Locks.
Just for the record, “Option 2C) Add a set screw or pin to the tumbler as shown in Figure 6.” of the link above and “Option 2D) Heliarc weld (though TIG Weld might/probably be better) a bump of steel on the tumbler to limit engagement of the sear in the notch as shown in Figure 7.,” are both very viable ways to reduce the Trigger Pull Weight. They do work VERY well, but unless you have a really good drill press or better still an End Mill or a TIG Welding Machine, these options are usually outside what most Novices can do at home. They also involve a higher level of careful filing of the screw/pin/lump of metal and testing, so I don’t recommend most people do that on their first Tumbler/s.
Oh, since you mentioned India Stones earlier, I wanted to address that a bit. India Stones, even in Fine Grade, used to be called “Stone Files” by machinists, because even though they did not remove as much metal as a fine file, they still cut the metal. (Yeah, I know this dates me a good bit. Grin.) So when you use India Stones, be careful how much you use them as you can cut through Surface Hardness with them. Don’t get me wrong, we all use India Stones to finely smooth and shape surfaces, but just don’t get too aggressive with them on hardened Lock Parts or you may have to harden and temper the parts after you use those stones. If you want to POLISH metal surfaces with little risk of cutting through the Surface Hardness, then use White Hard Arkansas Stones and/or 600 Grit “Crocus” Emory Cloth. I normally smooth/polish the surface of the Full Cock Notch and Sear Face with such a Hard Arkansas Stone to smooth the “feel” of the trigger pull, but NOT India Stones.
Next I want to suggest something no one ever taught me, but I’m sure I’m FAR from the only person who ever came up with this technique independently. This technique is used to test to see whether the Sear Face will get bashed into the Half Cock Notch, but BEFORE you reassemble the Lock and damage the Half Cock Notch or Sear Face.
Big Military Locks usually never had a Fly in the Tumbler to protect the Sear from bashing into the Half Cock Notch as the Tumbler rotates, so we have to be extra careful when doing Trigger Pull Work on these Locks. Soldiers actually had to JERK the triggers to get “those crisp volleys where all shots sound like one gun going off,” that original period Officers and many reenactors love so much. (Period Officers absolutely hated “ragged sounding volleys,” because it sounded so “UN Soldierly.”) Now the GOOD thing about Jerking a Trigger was/is it keeps the sear face well away from the Half Cock Notch as the Tumbler and Cock/Hammer go forward, so the Notch or Sear Face are not damaged. The BAD thing about Jerking a Trigger is it makes accurate shooting very difficult. So it is extremely necessary we do as much as we can to ensure the Sear Face won’t bash into the Half Cock Notch even the first time we reassemble the Lock. (We MAY have to do a little more work on the Half Cock Notch after the Lock is assembled into the gun, though, but not nearly as much by doing some preparatory work now.)
First assemble the Sear to the Lock with JUST the Sear Screw screwed into the Lock Plate to hole the Sear. Then the Lock Plate must be supported so you can put the Tumbler in place on the Lock Plate hole and rest against the plate while “Test Rotating” the Tumbler. Support can come from the padded top of a vice, or by a couple of boards on each side of the Tumbler hole or you can bore a hole into a scrap piece of 2 X 4 board, so the Tumbler Shaft goes down into the hole when you lay the Lock plate on the board. Now get out a Magnifier, Jeweler’s Eye Loupe, or Opti Visor unless your eyeballs are as good as a Hawk or Eagle. Align the Sear so it fits up as far as it will go in the Full Cock Notch. Lightly hold the Tumbler with your left hand and the Tail of the Sear in your right hand. Now, just push up on the Tail of the Sear until the Sear Face BARELY clears the Full Cock Notch and then firmly hold the Sear in that position. Now with your left hand, gently rotate the Tumbler forward as it works in the lock. What you need the magnification for is to see if the Sear Face even barely TOUCHES the Half Cock Notch as the Tumbler rotates past the Sear. If it even barely touches, the Sear Face IS going to bash into the Half Cock Notch in operation IF the shooter does not keep rearward pressure on the trigger the whole time the Cock/Hammer goes forward - in what is commonly called “Good Follow Through.” What I do is file down/shape the outer edge of the Half Cock Notch until it does NOT even barely touch the Sear Face as the Tumbler passes by, while holding the Sear in the position the Sear Face JUST clears the Full Cock Notch. IOW, you are filing some of the outer “Knife Edge” of the Half Cock Notch away, but not a whole lot, and it will still work correctly as a Half Cock Safety feature. This really helps to ensure the Sear Face won’t get bashed into the Half Cock Notch during operation. Now, I KNOW this is not necessary IF the Shooter ALWAYS uses good follow through and trigger control, because the shooter will hold the trigger back and thus the Sear Face out of the way of the Half Cock Notch as it goes by. But my years of experience with even some of the Best Shooters in National and International Muzzle Loading Competition is that even they sometimes make mistakes and release the trigger pull too early at times. After doing everything necessary to make a really good competition trigger pull, I don’t want it ruined by a simple mistake we all can make.
OK, more to come in Part IV, but this is all I have time for now.
Gus
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Britsmoothy said:
Thank you. I am hoping you and some others will read this over to help ensure I don't screw something up or confuse someone. :grin:
Gus
Gus,
thank you for your time and expertise, you have given simple and concise instructions and I look forward to trying my hand at it. Even if I screw it up, I'm sure I can find a replacement tumbler, and will have learned from the experience.
I hope that your description on this post bears fruit with others who may have the same problem as well.
My work schedule is quite unpredictable right now, so it may be some time before I get to work on the tumbler, but I will post my results when I do.
Thank you again,
Chowmi
thank you for your time and expertise, you have given simple and concise instructions and I look forward to trying my hand at it. Even if I screw it up, I'm sure I can find a replacement tumbler, and will have learned from the experience.
I hope that your description on this post bears fruit with others who may have the same problem as well.
My work schedule is quite unpredictable right now, so it may be some time before I get to work on the tumbler, but I will post my results when I do.
Thank you again,
Chowmi
- Joined
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- 16,892
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- 15,319
Part IV
A little more on the Half Cock Notch. The CORRECT test to ensure the Half Cock Notch is working properly is to set the Cock on Half Cock, turn the gun muzzle down and hold the weight of the gun with a finger on the trigger, but not pressing the trigger as if to set it off. This test is from Original Ordnance Manuals, the NSSA and all knowledgeable people on Military Muskets. If the Cock/Hammer does not fall, then the Half Cock passes that test. There are people who ignorantly or foolishly will push very hard or worse, pound on the rear of a cock/hammer to test the Half Cock Notch. (Over the years I have quite a few stories about good locks that were ruined by such stupidity.) Original and unmodified Civil War period locks will NOT stand up to this kind of abuse and those lock parts are generally considered to be the quality that should be emulated. Most reproduction parts are not as good as original parts and this will usually cause permanent damage to the Tumbler when done.
Sometimes one has to cut into the Half Cock Notch area of the Tumbler to get it to work properly after it is modified for a trigger job. This is most often done today with either or a combination of Diamond Files and/or Cutting Discs in a Dremel Tool. The problem with that is sometimes you have to cut into that notch so much that the Cock/Hammer is too close to the Frizzen or Nipple and when that happens, you have to weld up or get a replacement Tumbler. However, this gets into more advanced Smithing than most Novices can or should do. I don’t think you will run into that, but if you do, we can go over it then.
Generally I don’t recommend a Novice attempt to change the angle of the Sear Face to get a better trigger pull. WAY too easy to do it wrong or cut too much metal off. This normally requires rehardening and tempering afterwards. There is nothing wrong with a little smoothing with a Hard White Arkansas Stone, though, and especially to get rid of burrs if they are present. You should “break” or round over any sharp edges on the parts, though.
I also do not recommend the average person cut/grind down the Sear Spring to lighten the Trigger Pull. Original Military Flintlock through Civil War Period Sear Springs can be and often are usually surprisingly strong and such a modification is sometimes necessary to get “the last little bit” of weight off a trigger pull for a competition gun, but it won’t reduce the trigger pull weight by very much UNTIL so much is taken off that it no longer may be relied on completely to hold the sear in the Full Cock Notch when the gun is cocked. Modern reproduction Sear Springs are normally not as strong or not nearly as strong as original ones, so modifying them is usually not needed or desired. However, if one happens to get a very strong reproduction Sear Spring, then the instructions in the provided link and Figure 8 are a good guide to do it. You just have to ensure you don’t take too much off that the Sear so the Sear will properly hold when the Lock is fully cocked. (The number of original and reproduction Sear Springs sold in the 70’s and 80’s at NSSA National Championship Shoots, demonstrated how easy it was to take too much off or overheat and ruin the spring AND/OR that people did not understand how little Trigger Pull Weight Reduction they would get from modifying the Sear Spring.)
There are many ways a reproduction lock can have a or some parts “bind up” and thus cause a heavier trigger pull than it otherwise should have. We cannot go over every possible thing that might happen, though of course if you have a problem, please come back to this thread.
However one thing that often shows up is some people tighten lock screws so hard, that it causes the parts to bind up. I don’t know how many times I have explained to people that generally speaking, you don’t tighten lock screws down hard and sometimes you have to back off the tightness of the screws to less than one would think should be done, to stop parts binding. There are ways to make/fit the parts and especially the screws so they can be really snugged down ”“ BUT that involves so much custom making and fitting of the parts, it would raise the cost of the average Locks so much, most of us could not afford to buy them.
I think this pretty much covers what I wanted to pass along, but if I think of something else, I will add it later. Very best wishes on you working on your lock.
Gus
A little more on the Half Cock Notch. The CORRECT test to ensure the Half Cock Notch is working properly is to set the Cock on Half Cock, turn the gun muzzle down and hold the weight of the gun with a finger on the trigger, but not pressing the trigger as if to set it off. This test is from Original Ordnance Manuals, the NSSA and all knowledgeable people on Military Muskets. If the Cock/Hammer does not fall, then the Half Cock passes that test. There are people who ignorantly or foolishly will push very hard or worse, pound on the rear of a cock/hammer to test the Half Cock Notch. (Over the years I have quite a few stories about good locks that were ruined by such stupidity.) Original and unmodified Civil War period locks will NOT stand up to this kind of abuse and those lock parts are generally considered to be the quality that should be emulated. Most reproduction parts are not as good as original parts and this will usually cause permanent damage to the Tumbler when done.
Sometimes one has to cut into the Half Cock Notch area of the Tumbler to get it to work properly after it is modified for a trigger job. This is most often done today with either or a combination of Diamond Files and/or Cutting Discs in a Dremel Tool. The problem with that is sometimes you have to cut into that notch so much that the Cock/Hammer is too close to the Frizzen or Nipple and when that happens, you have to weld up or get a replacement Tumbler. However, this gets into more advanced Smithing than most Novices can or should do. I don’t think you will run into that, but if you do, we can go over it then.
Generally I don’t recommend a Novice attempt to change the angle of the Sear Face to get a better trigger pull. WAY too easy to do it wrong or cut too much metal off. This normally requires rehardening and tempering afterwards. There is nothing wrong with a little smoothing with a Hard White Arkansas Stone, though, and especially to get rid of burrs if they are present. You should “break” or round over any sharp edges on the parts, though.
I also do not recommend the average person cut/grind down the Sear Spring to lighten the Trigger Pull. Original Military Flintlock through Civil War Period Sear Springs can be and often are usually surprisingly strong and such a modification is sometimes necessary to get “the last little bit” of weight off a trigger pull for a competition gun, but it won’t reduce the trigger pull weight by very much UNTIL so much is taken off that it no longer may be relied on completely to hold the sear in the Full Cock Notch when the gun is cocked. Modern reproduction Sear Springs are normally not as strong or not nearly as strong as original ones, so modifying them is usually not needed or desired. However, if one happens to get a very strong reproduction Sear Spring, then the instructions in the provided link and Figure 8 are a good guide to do it. You just have to ensure you don’t take too much off that the Sear so the Sear will properly hold when the Lock is fully cocked. (The number of original and reproduction Sear Springs sold in the 70’s and 80’s at NSSA National Championship Shoots, demonstrated how easy it was to take too much off or overheat and ruin the spring AND/OR that people did not understand how little Trigger Pull Weight Reduction they would get from modifying the Sear Spring.)
There are many ways a reproduction lock can have a or some parts “bind up” and thus cause a heavier trigger pull than it otherwise should have. We cannot go over every possible thing that might happen, though of course if you have a problem, please come back to this thread.
However one thing that often shows up is some people tighten lock screws so hard, that it causes the parts to bind up. I don’t know how many times I have explained to people that generally speaking, you don’t tighten lock screws down hard and sometimes you have to back off the tightness of the screws to less than one would think should be done, to stop parts binding. There are ways to make/fit the parts and especially the screws so they can be really snugged down ”“ BUT that involves so much custom making and fitting of the parts, it would raise the cost of the average Locks so much, most of us could not afford to buy them.
I think this pretty much covers what I wanted to pass along, but if I think of something else, I will add it later. Very best wishes on you working on your lock.
Gus
Gus,
I must thank you again for the detailed post. It has been an education, and undoubtedly one of the best and well presented responses I have seen here in my few years on the forum.
I am soon to embark on two flintlock builds (chambers early Lancaster and TOTW Kentucky Pistol) and your insights will serve me well on those as well despite not being large military locks.
I am inspired to get out of my comfort zone and see if I can do the work to fix it. A challenge I look forward to.
Britsmoothy,
I missed your question as to what diameter I enlarged the touch hole. I cannot remember, and am away from home again and cannot check it for a few days. I only remember that I had posted my troubles almost two years ago and used a diameter that was recommended here.
I shall respond when I'm back home and can check it out.
I must thank you again for the detailed post. It has been an education, and undoubtedly one of the best and well presented responses I have seen here in my few years on the forum.
I am soon to embark on two flintlock builds (chambers early Lancaster and TOTW Kentucky Pistol) and your insights will serve me well on those as well despite not being large military locks.
I am inspired to get out of my comfort zone and see if I can do the work to fix it. A challenge I look forward to.
Britsmoothy,
I missed your question as to what diameter I enlarged the touch hole. I cannot remember, and am away from home again and cannot check it for a few days. I only remember that I had posted my troubles almost two years ago and used a diameter that was recommended here.
I shall respond when I'm back home and can check it out.
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Glad to share some information on big military locks and you are most welcome. I wish I had known these things back in the 1970's when I competed with my first Navy Arms Pedersoli Brown Bess Carbine in Northwest Trade Gun Matches. The trigger pull on that lock was heavy, but not nearly as heavy as it seems yours is, so I definitely sympathize with you.
Compared with a military lock, you will find a Chambers lock a JOY to work on. The full cock notch depth on those locks is far superior and of course you have a fly in the tumbler, which I often thought would have been a great boon for Military Locks. Parker Hale, UK (the Real One) used to make a Whitworth Tumbler with a fly in them that would interchange with the Tumblers in their other locks, but NSSA regulations would not allow their use in Rifle Muskets, Rifles or Musketoons. I often lamented that regulation.
OH, the BEST general information I have run across on fitting a fly and how they are supposed to work properly is in The Gunsmith of Grenville County by Peter Alexander. That information allowed me to replace and fit the missing fly on one original lock with little difficulty - even when I had never done it before. I don't think you will need that information with a Chambers' lock, but if you ever do need that information, you will know where to look.
Gus
Compared with a military lock, you will find a Chambers lock a JOY to work on. The full cock notch depth on those locks is far superior and of course you have a fly in the tumbler, which I often thought would have been a great boon for Military Locks. Parker Hale, UK (the Real One) used to make a Whitworth Tumbler with a fly in them that would interchange with the Tumblers in their other locks, but NSSA regulations would not allow their use in Rifle Muskets, Rifles or Musketoons. I often lamented that regulation.
OH, the BEST general information I have run across on fitting a fly and how they are supposed to work properly is in The Gunsmith of Grenville County by Peter Alexander. That information allowed me to replace and fit the missing fly on one original lock with little difficulty - even when I had never done it before. I don't think you will need that information with a Chambers' lock, but if you ever do need that information, you will know where to look.
Gus
