Hammer/Nipple Misalignment

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"Bending the hammer inboard will misalign the flat in the hammer nose with the nipple tip, probably not enough to affect ignition reliability, but it seems counterproductive."

Depends upon which axis and where you bend the hammer.
I do like the idea of grinding down the shelf on the hammer shaft though - but I wouldn't wasnt to do it to the extent that the inboard side of the hammer drags on the lockplate. That would also be counterproductive.
 
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JimCunn said:
"Bending the hammer inboard will misalign the flat in the hammer nose with the nipple tip, probably not enough to affect ignition reliability, but it seems counterproductive."

Depends upon which axis and where you bend the hammer.
I do like the idea of grinding down the shelf 9n the hammer shaft though - but I wouldn't wasnt to do it to the extent that the inboard side of the hammer drags on yhe lockplate. That would also be counterproductive.
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If you have the room that sounds good. On my locks 1/32 off the shaft would start a slight drag on the lockplate. With the proper Dremel bit and some care the face of the hammer can be aligned to hit the nipple squarely after you get your hammer centered on the nipple.
 
That's true. I use a dremel for sculpting - it is a handy tool.
 
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I pulled my T/C caplock out of the safe to check hammer-lockplate clearance. I didn't use a feeler gauge, but it looks like 3/32 in. clearance with the face of the lockplate. It's close but there is a little working room to tighten up the gap and hopefully center the hammer. On my example the hammer would foul the stock around the lockplate immediately behind the nipple if moved too much inboard. If all you need is 1/32 in. you might consider relieving the hood on the hammer that shrouds the nipple. This shroud directs leakage gas and cap bits downward. If you completely removed the shroud outboard of the nipple I don't see any harm. Bits would be blown more sideways than down, but still away from your face if you're not a leftie. Just another possibility. Let us know how you make it work.
 
JimCunn said:
I think this one is going to need bending the hammer.
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Remove the hammer and place it in a sturdy vice above the tumbler's square hole (about 3/8" this is a guesstament since I can't see your actual lock) then take a large adjustable wrench and place it around the hammer's nose about 1/2" in from the nose and apply some good force to "move" the hammers nose in the direction that is needed - simple. I also took a large ball peen hammer and gave the hammer nose a "wack" and moved it - it also worked well but I prefer the adjustable wrench method better.
 
ZUG said:
Remove the hammer and place it in a sturdy vice above the tumbler's square hole (about 3/8" this is a guesstament since I can't see your actual lock) then take a large adjustable wrench and place it around the hammer's nose about 1/2" in from the nose and apply some good force to "move" the hammers nose in the direction that is needed - simple. I also took a large ball peen hammer and gave the hammer nose a "wack" and moved it - it also worked well but I prefer the adjustable wrench method better.
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☝️ what ZUG says. Cast steel muzzleloader hammers are butter soft.
 
JimCunn said:
"If it still isn't quite right. I'd likely shim the lock plate a tiny bit,"

Wouldn't that make the lockplate protrude from the stock?
And wouldn't the hammer shaft move outboard with the lockplate, leaving the alignment unchanged?
I've not disassenbled a lockplate, so am not sure.
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So, I dug out one of my TC Hawken and found that although in 25 years of shooting I'd never thought about it, my hammer also is not aligned with the nipple, experimentation with lock positioning did not gain enough to make it worth while, nor is there space on mine to bend the vertical part of the hammer over enough to correct it. I might with the hammer in a vise use a wrench to twist the horizontal part of the hammer and bring it into alignment, but knowing that this gun has shot hundreds of times as it is, I will just leave it alone.
20250220_142611.jpg
20250220_142634.jpg
 
it's way more than a 1/32" doesn't look as bad in the photo as it does up close, but the shroud does still clear the cap
doesn't strike exactly square either and when summer comes, I may try to fix it even though it still works. I think heat at the elbow and two directional twist is what mine needs
 
maybe I missed something but does the gun shoot? if it does LEAVE IT ALONE nothing you do will make it shoot any better by just bending the hammer. If you do decide that you just can't live with it and have to change it then absolutely heat it to bright red (everybody I know that does this calls it IH red) let it cool without dunking it in anything! check for alignment if it works like you want then polish it bright heat to the color you want it to be and dunk it in veg oil this leaves a very durable finish and can look almost like case hardening
 
"nothing you do will make it shoot any better by just bending the hammer."

It hasn't been fired. I thought it would probably fire more consistently if there were enough room between the inside of the hammer cup and the nipple to install a cap. Right now, with a cap on the nipple, as the hammer falls, it binds on the sidewall of the cap before fully impacting the cap and nipple.

Will polishing it in bright heat have any visible effect on the cast engraving on the outer face of the hammer?

As an aside, I'm not too thrilled with this hammer anyway. It was so loose on the hammer shaft that I had to shim two sides of the hammer shaft with 0.005" shim stock, and it still has a little fore and aft slop. I would have prefered a snugger fit.
 
Misalignment was a common problem back in the 1970's. In fact, it was so common with the CVA (now Traditions) kits that instructions on bending the hammer was included in the chapter on building a CVA Mountain Rifle in the book "Black Powder Gunsmithing" by Ralph Walker in 1978. I am posting a link to my comment and some of the pages with the instructions on bending a hammer to align the hammer with the nipple.

Grenadier1758 said:
Life was great for muzzle loading in the 1970's. With the Bicentennial celebrations of the AWI there was a lot of interest in muzzle loaders and a lot of kits were offered. To that extent there was opportunity for the publishing of books to feed the muzzle loader's building passion for building many of the kits being offered. Naturally, the instructions that came with the kits did not cover all the details needed to make a finely finished muzzleloader from the parts supplied. Since Oldbear63's question could have been asked in 1978, I am going to provide two pictures and some text from Ralph T. Walker's book, "Black Powder Gunsmithing", published in 1978. The same instructions were supplied in the chapter for the CVA Mountain Rifle. Most of the details have been provided in other posts, but pictures do a good job of explaining the task at hand which is easier than trying to adjust the drum. The hammer bending is the easiest task and is making adjustments on the easiest to replace part.
View attachment 15751
MostView attachment 15752

You do need to know about how far you need to move the nose of the hammer.

Something similar can be done to change a flint basher to a flint scraper.
Click to expand...
 
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JimCunn said:
"nothing you do will make it shoot any better by just bending the hammer."

It hasn't been fired. I thought it would probably fire more consistently if there were enough room between the inside of the hammer cup and the nipple to install a cap. Right now, with a cap on the nipple, as the hammer falls, it binds on the sidewall of the cap before fully impacting the cap and nipple.

Will polishing it in bright heat have any visible effect on the cast engraving on the outer face of the hammer?

As an aside, I'm not too thrilled with this hammer anyway. It was so loose on the hammer shaft that I had to shim two sides of the hammer shaft with 0.005" shim stock, and it still has a little fore and aft slop. I would have prefered a snugger fit.
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Does the cap ignite when the hammer drops?
 
Ceddie said:
While I only run into this once, when I tried to bend the hammer cold, it snapped and I had to order a replacement. Two minutes with a MAP tourch made it cherry red and it bent like a dream.
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plumbers told me years ago that they took out a chemical in MAPP gas that made it burn hotter. I used MAPP gas torch to light my pellet stove and he was right. I saw no difference with MAPP and propane starting the fire. he said the tip matters more. then I read they shut down the factory where the MAPP was made
 
Grenadier1758 said:
Misalignment was a common problem back int eh 1970's. In fact, it was so common with the CVA (now Traditions) kits that instructions on bending the hammer was included in the chapter on building a CVA Mountain Rifle in the book "Black Powder Gunsmithing" by Ralph Walker in 1978. I am posting a link to my comment and some of the pages with the instructions on bending a hammer to align the hammer with the nipple.
Click to expand...
You are quite correct. My kit (1977) had the procedure to align the hammer included with the CVA instructions. Bernz-O-Matic propane torch, box end wrench, heat to red, and Bob's your uncle. Pretty sure I just wrapped the lock workings in a damp cloth before putting it in the vise, but may have removed the hammer, which would be smarter. Anyway, I got it right the very first try with no damage to the lock workings. I have shot over 70 pounds of Goex through it since that day with no lock or trigger repair in the ensuing 48 years. I think that is pretty good for a $66.00 USA made kit.
 


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