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  1. Larry Pletcher

    Two vent holes?? Whats up here?

    SMO, Thanks for posting the test. I was just about to post it, but you beat me to it. It was fun to do. And you get to see part of the equipment it takes to time a vent. I couldn't do this with out my faithful Golden Retriever to advise me. Regards, Pletch
  2. Larry Pletcher

    A Lefty Caywood / Roby Northwest Gun

    SMO, Thanks for posting the test. I was just about to post it, but you beat me to it. It was fun to do. And you get to see part of the equipment it takes to time a vent. I couldn't do this with out my faithful Golden Retriever to advise me. Regards, Pletch
  3. Larry Pletcher

    Flintlocks: How to Shoot Them

    SMO, We didn't experience any pan flashes. Steve, who did the shooting, is very good and maintaining his lock and vent. I don't know the vent size on his gun. I expect there are many shooters than compress their charges more than the 3/16" compression we used as our maximum. In my shooting...
  4. Larry Pletcher

    Flintlocks: How to Shoot Them

    A shooter friend and I designed an experiment to measure compression and to see its effect on accuracy. Below is a link to our work: https://www.blackpowdermag.com/load-compression-and-accuracy/ Regards, Pletch
  5. Larry Pletcher

    Kibler kits

    I appreciate Jim's remarks about the testing he mentioned about vent location. The location of the vent has been much discussed a number of forums. At Friendship many years ago Gary Brumfield mentioned a Spanish military arm that he and Wallace Gusler noticed had a low vent location. I told...
  6. Larry Pletcher

    Flintlocks and Black Powder

    To my knowledge no one has done the testing that would answer this question. From my background as an experimenter, it would be fun to see a valid pressure test with the powders in question, but I have no equipment to do that . ( I can do timing tests but not pressure.) In my own flintlocks I...
  7. Larry Pletcher

    Flintlocks: How to Shoot Them

    Many of the discussions we're dealing with here were put to rest years ago. Paul and I had many arguments about the speeds he claimed . One was that the ball in a flint gun would be moving before the hammer on a percussion gun was half way down. At the time I had a computer interface that...
  8. Larry Pletcher

    A Random Question

    I have photos of the flint fragments you mention. In an article I wrote for the January 1990 MuzzleBlasts there are a couple photos showing flint fragments. The fragments are in the air, above the flint strike, while the flint has just struck the frizzen. If you don't have your MuzzleBlasts...
  9. Larry Pletcher

    What Muzzleloading Stuff Did You Do Today?

    I am about half done with a timing project. Schuetzen asked me to time their 4fg priming powder. Steve Chapman and I began, but before we could make a side-by-side comparison I ended up sick and spent some time in the hospital. Bad ticker. I'm home and mending. We hope to finish by finishing...
  10. Larry Pletcher

    How far should touch hole be from bottom on the pan ?

    The parts 4,5,6 deal with how fast the charge is ignited: https://www.blackpowdermag.com/part-4-priming-powder-amount-by-weight/ https://www.blackpowdermag.com/part-5-timing-powder-locations-in-pan/ https://www.blackpowdermag.com/part-6-high-and-low-vent-experiments/ Regards, Pletch
  11. Larry Pletcher

    Lead or Leather to hold the flint

    The link below is a photo study of sparks from a lock using both lead and leather to hold the flint. My choice would be to use what made the best sparks: https://www.blackpowdermag.com/lead-vs-leather-flint-attachment-study/ Regards Pletch
  12. Larry Pletcher

    Pan flash - from INSIDE the barrel

    The article mentioned here is found two places. It first appeared in MuzzleBlasts March 2009. I wrote the article, not the Bevel Brothers. I later published the article on my web site: www.blackpowdermag.com. On the web site the article is divided into 6 parts. Part 3 is the one that contains...
  13. Larry Pletcher

    Friendship, Ind.

    I'll miss this spring because of a bad knee and other health issues. Might be able to do it, but my body says no. Maybe fall will be a better time for me. I sure will miss talking with friends. Regards, Pletch
  14. Larry Pletcher

    powder in the pan ignites powder in chamber

    I started this message twice and am not sure I have a good answer. When I think of barrel ignition speeds I tend to think of how I'd tackle timing it. I tend to think of wave of heat vs a wave of fire. In engine ignition they use the term "flame front". I'm ruling out individual sparks for...
  15. Larry Pletcher

    Lead or Leather

    I have slow motion video of a Chambers round face lock, fired without a frizzen spring. Worked fine. The frizzen rebounded stopping just above the flint. When Jim saw it he said that he worked very hard to get the unstrung frizzen to stop just above the flint. REGARDS, PLETCH
  16. Larry Pletcher

    Mounting a Flint

    I tried using photography to see if lead or leather produced the better sparks. Here is a link to what I tried: https://www.blackpowdermag.com/lead-vs-leather-flint-attachment-study/ Regards, Pletch
  17. Larry Pletcher

    FFF or FFFF?

    Zonie mentioned a test that I did comparing the following powders used for priming: Swiss Null B Swiss 4fg early Goex 4fg late Goex 4fg Goex 3fg Goex 2fg The link below is the report I posted after completing the testing: https://www.blackpowdermag.com/priming-powder-timing/ Regards, Pletch
  18. Larry Pletcher

    New to me vent liner, your opinion please

    I'd like to slightly modify my this quote with the complete paragraph for my earlier email advice. Larry Pletcher with www.blackpowdermag.com had this to say about vent liner D: "If you adopt this plan you might tip the counter sink down to make the cone at the bottom more pronounced than on...
  19. Larry Pletcher

    Testing the flintlock?

    The link below has a bunch of slow motion videos of flintlocks firing using a camera set at 5000 frames per second. Near the bottom are a couple of large Siler locks firing upside down. It's likely that the lock is faster in this position. I did a batch of these in 2007 and 2009 - these were...
  20. Larry Pletcher

    Flash pan touch hole question

    It sounds like the vent is located high, and many posts have given solutions. It may sound dumb, but is the barrel bedded properly? Lowering the barrel a small amount may make a big difference. Makes me wonder if the percussion lock was mounted low to have space for the main spring. In a...
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