Touch hole!

[smo]

I enlarged the touch hole on both of my Tip Curtis guns and they’re both reliable guns.

I don’t remember the size.....5/64’s maybe.

But they will Fire!

Drill your touch hole and Happy Shooting!

It appears from the angle of the photo the t/h is located at or near the height of the closed frizzen....
However when the flint strikes the frizzen face the hole is no longer covered...

I think this lock is designed too be water resistant, flange around the pan it appears, so covering the t/h may be intentional.... idk.

 

[oldwood]

Something else just slipped out of my foggy old brain. I do this as part of a consistency thing at the range after priming the pan in a flint rifle. Last thing I do before cocking the hammer to shoot , is to bump the rifle to the left to make sure the powder train inside the pan connects to the priming in the touch hole. Assuming the lock is on the right. However , A lock on the left would get the palm bump to the right , same reason as above. This came out of some article I read too many years ago , but it has served me well. It's something that once started it's a mechanical function and almost unnoticed..............oldwood

 

[Crawfish]

I shot my TC Hawken yesterday for the first time since using a #52 drill to open up the touch hole liner as per Dutch Schoultz’s suggestions.
It seemed faster to me, and for the first time did not have flash in the pan imcidents until my flint needed napping. It was easy to notice the difference.

 

[Zonie]

I consider a 1/16" diameter vent hole to be a minimum size for fast reliable ignition.
I also think that 5/64" diameter is the maximum size.

There are several drill sizes between these and using the smallest size is a good idea because less of the powders gas escapes when the gun fires.
Start by using a 1/16" diameter drill. Then go shoot the gun a few times to see if it improved. If there wasn't much change in the ignition speed, go to the next larger size and drill out the vent. Continue to do this until the gun fires in one, "clickwhishboom" where you hear the flint hit the frizzen and the start of a whish from the pan powder igniting but then being drowned out by the roar of the gun firing.

For reference, here are the drill sizes that are available
1/16 = .0625
#52 = .0635
#51 = .0670
#50 = .0700
#49 = .0730
#48 = .0760
5/64 = .0781

Most sets of drill bits do not contain number size drills but most places that sell drills usually have them available. You do have to ask the sales person for them.

 

[FlinterNick]

I cone the inside of my touch holes with A coning bit, about 1/8 - 1/4 of a mm deep, with a 5/64 touch hole. I never use a drill bit, I use a starter bit and then use an end mill cutter for the hole In a drill press / mill press with an xy table.

https://www.rayjoncarbidetools.com/...MI6bGt0ZeN7wIVAeazCh0MhghJEAQYASABEgICMPD_BwE

 

[M. De Land]

Keep in mind that originals worked fine and most had no internal cone or liner. I don't care for the chambers liners because they direct flash outward however they do work to improve ignition reliability and speed. They also rob chamber pressure and powder burn efficiency. If you have ever been burned by side flash from a neighbor shooter, you can almost bet it is from a white lighting liner or over size flash hole.
In making my own liners I found they can be made reliable by coning the outside but keep the cone perimeter below the exterior of the pan cover. It works the same as relieving the underside of the pan cover and helps funnel the flash inward while also shortening the flash hole length .
I like the inside of the liner to follow the contour of the bore and no coning/funnel to direct main powder charge pressure outward. This adds to cleaning efficiency as well. I believe internal cones also shorten flash hole life by increasing erosion. If one wants to shorten flash hole length then why not do it from the exterior while keeping the funnel small enough to be covered by the pan cover top. This works very well on my SMR.