Escopetas again

TobJohn · Dec 22, 2023

rickystl said:
MORE PICS.....View attachment 278350 View attachment 278351 View attachment 278352

That is a very nice looking lock! I wonder what tool is used to to make the ridges on the frizzen face.

If you have the opportunity, could you post a picture of what the stock inlet for a Miquelet looks like?

BillinOregon · Dec 22, 2023

It's a beautiful lock, Rick. I agree it does seem on the fancy side for a military-derived escopeta.

Flint62Smoothie · Dec 22, 2023

I wonder if there is some 'goop/product' that could be put into the chiseled features so that a flat casting of the piece could still be made?

We use clay to form dams for where we don't want epoxy to flow, plus use epoxy to temporarily place things, where the epoxy can be heated and removed later.

Sam squanch · Dec 22, 2023

I wonder if the holes in the pan were for some kind of mounting deal for display in a museum?

rickystl · Dec 22, 2023

Sam squanch said:
I wonder if the holes in the pan were for some kind of mounting deal for display in a museum?

That could also be the case. The holes look like they were drilled long ago. Not sure.

Rick

rickystl · Dec 22, 2023

And here's one more. I've never seen a miquelet lock with jaws this long. It's BIG, like the other one. Chiseled, engraved, and silver mounted. From about the same time period as the other.

Rick

rickystl · Dec 22, 2023

MORE PICS...

TobJohn · Dec 22, 2023

rickystl said:
And here's one more. I've never seen a miquelet lock with jaws this long. It's BIG, like the other one. Chiseled, engraved, and silver mounted. From about the same time period as the other.

Rick

View attachment 278388 View attachment 278391 View attachment 278393 View attachment 278394 View attachment 278388

Those long jaws are weirdly unsettling. It’s like the uncanny valley for fire locks.

rickystl · Dec 22, 2023

TobJohn said:
That is a very nice looking lock! I wonder what tool is used to to make the ridges on the frizzen face.

If you have the opportunity, could you post a picture of what the stock inlet for a Miquelet looks like?

Hi Tob, See below. What is interesting about this one is that it was originally a flintlock. The mortise was expertly filled with wood and re-carved to accept a miquelet lock. All done during the period. Lock is of course original, but cock, top jaw, and screw are replacements from TRS.

Rick

TobJohn · Dec 22, 2023

rickystl said:
Hi Tob, See below. What is interesting about this one is that it was originally a flintlock. The mortise was expertly filled with wood and re-carved to accept a miquelet lock. All done during the period. Lock is of course original, but cock, top jaw, and screw are replacements from TRS.View attachment 278422 View attachment 278424 View attachment 278425 View attachment 278426

Rick

That’s really cool! A good illustration of the smaller profile the Miquelet has on a gun.

rickystl · Dec 22, 2023

TobJohn said:
Those long jaws are weirdly unsettling. It’s like the uncanny valley for fire locks.

LOL. I know. Due also to it's large size, I believe this one was also a styling exercise. Would likely need a LONG flint. Years ago, I was so often tempted to have a gun built using one of these big locks. But then I would come back to my senses realizing the rest of the gun would need to be built with similar style to the lock. And figured that would cost a mountain of $$$$$ LOL

Rick

rickystl · Dec 22, 2023

TobJohn said:
That’s really cool! A good illustration of the smaller profile the Miquelet has on a gun.

That photo was when I first purchased the gun for a song from a local gun show. That was when I first removed the lock. The gun is all cleaned up now and has a Hoyt liner in the barrel.

Rick

BillinOregon · Dec 22, 2023

That was a painstaking job of filling the original flintlock mortice Rick. It had to have taken time, patience, skill, very sharp tools, and one would hope, a bench by the window to have decent light.

wulf1928 · Dec 22, 2023

BillinOregon said:
Just did a search and read some old threads on this topic that seems to bob slowly to the surface here from time to time. Why these firearms -- which played such an important role in the Central and North American historical experience -- continue to be virtually ignored simply baffles me.
It appears TRS is still about the only source of lock castings -- and that no one offers any sort of affordable reproduction. Would love to help light a fire under one of the Indian manufacturers but there would need to be a demonstration of demand. I looked at a bunch of Ricky's original locks, drooled over Flint62Smoothie's elegant .56 and read with a tinge of sorrow posts by Wulf, Tinker2, Bioprof and others who have left us. Sam appears to have made a miquelet mainspring vise he was happy with.

I haven't left yet...................................wulf

rickystl · Dec 22, 2023

BillinOregon said:
That was a painstaking job of filling the original flintlock mortice Rick. It had to have taken time, patience, skill, very sharp tools, and one would hope, a bench by the window to have decent light.

Hi Bill

If you look real close, you can see the outline in the wood of where the original flintlock was. It's difficult to reproduce in a photo. But a live viewing will make it unmistakable.

Rick

rickystl · Dec 22, 2023

Well, I think that is all I have to offer. I think the first lock I posted would be the best to copy. The other locks I have have just enough wear to make them unsuitable for new castings. Although I do have a Moroccan snaphaunce lock (musket size) and a Balkan miquelet lock (pistol size) that are in new, unused condition that would be good patterns for replication. But those are Eastern style locks and not applicable here.
Rick

sportster73hp · Dec 23, 2023

The holes in the pan may have been a way to decommission as many countries require a lot of paperwork to own working guns.

rickystl · Dec 23, 2023

sportster73hp said:
The holes in the pan may have been a way to decommission as many countries require a lot of paperwork to own working guns.

Yet another possibility. The first big lock I posted is from a maker in Madrid. A well known historical gun making center. But the second big lock, with the long jaws is from a maker in Cordova. A city not known for gun making. This, and the larger than typical size of the locks is how I came up with the theory that sometime just before the turn of the 19th Century there may have been a sort of lock making competition. Something like a contest maybe. Also curious, there is no "official" gold stamp maker's mark on either lock. But they are both indeed signed by their makers. Bit of a mystery.

Rick

cyten · Dec 25, 2023

rickystl said:
And here's one more. I've never seen a miquelet lock with jaws this long. It's BIG, like the other one. Chiseled, engraved, and silver mounted. From about the same time period as the other.

Rick

I see where the Circassians got their inspiration for their locks now!

BillinOregon · Oct 25, 2024

Bringing this one back up. I'd love to see us go forward with a new-made miquelet lock.
The lock by Navarro/Nabarro that Señor Rick posted back on Page 3 looks like a good candidate for Chris Hirsch, although the engraving might make it a challenge.

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