ALWAYS.......... Check your breechplug fit.........

[Birddog6]

Seems like I keep running into this lately.... Headspace at the breech face on several occasion in the past couple of years..

You guys building rifles, don't accept that a barrel manufacturer is "Such & Such" and he always does it perfect ........ They do make errors & sometimes one slips out that is incorrect.... Check them ALL & check it as soon as ya get the barrel. You buy it breeched ? it is supposed to be right & the supplier should replace the barrel & pay all shipping if it is not correct.....

Heck I just got in a Cabelas Hawken kit (Investarms) that I am going to build for a guys kid so he will have a ML rifle to shoot. Swabbed the bore & can feel it hang up at the breech. Took the patent breech off to check it & it has 1/8" headspace at the breech !!! :shake:

I have also have had several others in the past couple of years from well known barrel manufacturers that were not fitted properly. So, I suggest you check them ALL and be sure before ya start building the rifle.

:thumbsup:

 

[MikeFromON]

I think a lot of problems people have with their flintlocks not firing can be traced to the breechplug or the vent liner. I have only purchased two flinters so far, and both had problems and once I pulled the breech plug I saw right away what was causing the difficulty. It is a very delicate phenomenon that allows the flintlock to fire and even the slightest obstruction between the pan and the breech and bore will screw everything up. These barrels, especially the cheaper ones, are probably manufactured entirely by computer-controlled machines, so there is nobody there to file off the burrs etc. that can make the difference between a rifle that shoots reliably and a frustrating one-shot wonder. On my Pedersoli Mortimer, it was just a burr that was perhaps not even 0.005" wide in the patent breech where the holes were cross-drilled that was blocking the powder from fully filling the cavity for it in the breech plug. I reamed this off by hand with a drill-bit in both directions and she shot like a dream after that. The same with my Mountain Rifle. There was a fragment of metal about 1/32" long protruding into the breech area that was left over from drilling the hole for the vent liner. I removed that and also ground the vent liner down about 1/8" in length so it would be flush with the inside of the barrel when installed and I also enlarged the vent hole by 1/64" and it too shoots like a dream. In retrospect, I probably could have left the hole alone but I wanted to do everything I could to get it to fire reliably.

 

[Birddog6]

Yes, have seen that happen numerous times. Vent liners too long & nipples too long & etc.

However when you have a gap between the breechplug face & the bore of the rifle, there is no way to clean that out after shooting it, unless you debreech the rifle. Fouling & etc. gets trapped in there & no way of flushing it out & etc., thus it starts to rust in there & etc., and not counting the fact the breech is weaker there because the face of the plug & bore are not machined flush.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Birddog6, you are ever so right.

A few years ago I received a .54 breeched barrel and was amazed when I unbreeched the 5/8" breech plug. The breech plug face had been turned down and it made for a real problem, pic shows a drawing I made up at the time which is self explanatory.

 

[varsity07840]

I think a lot of problems people have with their flintlocks not firing can be traced to the breechplug or the vent liner. I have only purchased two flinters so far, and both had problems and once I pulled the breech plug I saw right away what was causing the difficulty. It is a very delicate phenomenon that allows the flintlock to fire and even the slightest obstruction between the pan and the breech and bore will screw everything up. These barrels, especially the cheaper ones, are probably manufactured entirely by computer-controlled machines, so there is nobody there to file off the burrs etc. that can make the difference between a rifle that shoots reliably and a frustrating one-shot wonder. On my Pedersoli Mortimer, it was just a burr that was perhaps not even 0.005" wide in the patent breech where the holes were cross-drilled that was blocking the powder from fully filling the cavity for it in the breech plug. I reamed this off by hand with a drill-bit in both directions and she shot like a dream after that. The same with my Mountain Rifle. There was a fragment of metal about 1/32" long protruding into the breech area that was left over from drilling the hole for the vent liner. I removed that and also ground the vent liner down about 1/8" in length so it would be flush with the inside of the barrel when installed and I also enlarged the vent hole by 1/64" and it too shoots like a dream. In retrospect, I probably could have left the hole alone but I wanted to do everything I could to get it to fire reliably.

I had the same problem with my Mortimer

 

[Zonie]

If a breech plug does not reach the back of the bore, it can be fixed by inserting a copper or brass washer into the tapped hole in the barrel to fill up the empty space.

The thickness of the washer can be machined (or sanded using a flat surface to back up the sandpaper) to the thickness needed so that it is tight just before the breech plug is tightened to it's proper alignment with the barrel flats.

zonie

 

[Birddog6]

Yes, that would work, but IMHO that is a patch job. The correct way to rid of the error is to trim off the end of the barrel to the proper length, & refit the patent breech or breechplug properly as it was supposed to be..

 

[roundball]

Yes, have seen that happen numerous times. Vent liners too long & nipples too long & etc.

However when you have a gap between the breechplug face & the bore of the rifle, there is no way to clean that out after shooting it, unless you debreech the rifle. Fouling & etc. gets trapped in there & no way of flushing it out & etc., thus it starts to rust in there & etc., and not counting the fact the breech is weaker there because the face of the plug & bore are not machined flush.

Very interesting discussion Birddog6...I wonder if it's possible I have this condition on a new GM .62cal Flint smoothbore drop-in barrel I got a few months ago. If I shoot it, then unhook, soak, pump flush, etc, like I normally do, everything comes out squeaky clean, lilly white patches, etc.

But if I pull a ball and blow out the powder, then run a couple damp patches down bore, including a couple on a .30 cal brush to get all the way down into the patent breech, I get a black ring of (new unburned) powder residue from up around the shoulder of the patch covered brush, where I think the plug would be mating with the bore.

The black ring is around the outside circumference of the patch covered brush at it's widest point, not deep down in the taper of the patent breech...have been wondering what causes it.

Like I said, in a normal hot water soak/cleaning, everything gets dissolved/flushed out so there's nothing left in there to smudge a patch...but when I'd think large volumes of air from my air compressor would have the internals blown out clean like it does on every other rifle & smoothbore barrel I have, it doesn't on this one particular .62cal barrel.

:hmm: :hmm:

 

[Birddog6]

Any barrel could have it. I am not saying yours IS this way, but it sure is possible.

On a regular barrel with a standard breechplug, IF it has a removable vent liner you should be able to remove the vent liner & take a light & see if this has happened. But on a patent breech you cannot see it.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

True, but when I pay for a breeching job, I am not a happy camper when it comes all screwed up and then entails more work than if I had breeched it myself from the get go.