Assembling a lock from castings

[Frosty861]

It took a bit of searching, but here are the instructions for a Large Siler Lock, from castings, no pre-drilled holes from 1978. All of the work was completed as described, either by hand or with a drill press. The hardening and tempering were accomplished with an open copy of the Machinerys Handbook at hand, in the proper light, after a short prayer. Yes, the kitchen oven worked great.

It was my first project, thanks to my mentor, Lew Robinson. The photos do not do justice to the oil-stained paper!

I certainly hope this is helpful.

Frosty

 

[Sdahl97]

It took a bit of searching, but here are the instructions for a Large Siler Lock, from castings, no pre-drilled holes from 1978. All of the work was completed as described, either by hand or with a drill press. The hardening and tempering were accomplished with an open copy of the Machinerys Handbook at hand, in the proper light, after a short prayer. Yes, the kitchen oven worked great.

It was my first project, thanks to my mentor, Lew Robinson. The photos do not do justice to the oil-stained paper!

I certainly hope this is helpful.

Frosty

Thank you. I do appreciate it

 

[44-henry]

The older Siler kits had as cast tumblers, newer ones are already lathe turned. The raw cast tumblers should definitely be trued up in a lathe in any event. Lathes don't have to cost a fortune, a good model makers lathe such as the Taig would be all you would need and can be purchased new for under $500.

 

[FlinterNick]

I’m on my fourth rifle shoppe lock so far, 2 french locks, and an 1803 rifle lock. Not too hard to do if you have the right tools. The trickiest part is the frizzen to pan fit. Shimming the frizzen with tinfoil works well for me. Soldering it to the pan also tends to work well, with standard screws you will often get a small lift, i recommend drilling with an imperial drill for the tapping and then use a metric drill bit for the screw shaft, this gives a decent frizzen to pan fit.

I’ve got a few dog locks, brown Bess locks and a Spanish lock on the bench.

 

[rich pierce]

I’m on my fourth rifle shoppe lock so far, 2 french locks, and an 1803 rifle lock. Not too hard to do if you have the right tools. The trickiest part is the frizzen to pan fit. Shimming the frizzen with tinfoil works well for me. Soldering it to the pan also tends to work well, with standard screws you will often get a small lift, i recommend drilling with an imperial drill for the tapping and then use a metric drill bit for the screw shaft, this gives a decent frizzen to pan fit.

I’ve got a few dog locks, brown Bess locks and a Spanish lock on the bench.

Nick, do you have a lathe to turn the tumblers?

 

[FlinterNick]

Nick, do you have a lathe to turn the tumblers?

Yes I do, but they don’t need to be turned most of the time, just cleaned up and polished.

 

[Cruzatte]

Yes I do, but they don’t need to be turned most of the time, just cleaned up and polished.

Good to know, since I'm thinking of a TRS project.

 

[rich pierce]

Good to know, since I'm thinking of a TRS project.

They vary as there are a lot of parts sets developed over decades, with some starting material a little rough.

 

[Cruzatte]

They vary as there are a lot of parts sets developed over decades, with some starting material a little rough.

As I would expect. I have human resources I can turn to for advice & who have experience with these things. Just some of the advantages of being a member of a muzzle loading club.