Bent Hammer?

[logandiana]

On my last post
here
I mentioned that I had gone to the range and was only able to fire two shots. The third shot wouldn't fire.
I haven't been back to the range yet, but while looking things over at home I looked at my rifle from a different angle than before. It seems my hammer is not fully square with the nipple.


Is this something I should be concerned about? If so what is the corrective action? Could this be a possible reason that my 3rd shot didn't fire?
At home I fired about 15 caps in a row to see what would happen. Every single one fired. They are all smashed when I remove them from the nipple, but they all fired.

 

[Pete44ru]

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The best practice is for the hammer to impact squarely & centered on the nipple in the fired position.

I would leave it be if you're getting constant ignition.

AFAIK, the fix is to heat the middle of the cock halfway between the axle hole & the hammer nose with a small propane torch, then give the upper part a little twist with padded pliers to square it. (with the hammer off the gun, of course).


.

 

[longcruise]

If your cap fired on that third shot, then the hammer strike is not the problem. Looks like something to be left alone at least for the time being.

 

[ccmountainman]

to me doesn't look like it is off enough to be the problem.
If you do want to twist it straighter, yes best way is remove hammer from the lock , place the pivot in a vise. micro torch about the middle
till malleable. then twist the hammer head with pliers. as mentioned.
But as to not firing a little more info on your cleaning and loading and shooting procedure, would be helpful.
When it misfired, did the cap ignite, but not the main charge?
At home with 15 cap tries and all fired, was it before or after you cleaned the gun?

 

[BrownBear]

If your caps are popping, the ignition problems lie elsewhere. Smashed caps are good.

 

[bpd303]

One way to tell if the hammer face is hitting flush to the nipple is to put a little marking compound (lipstick works)on the nipple then let the hammer down on it. You should see the imprint of the nipple as a circle on the hammer face.

 

[don hepler]

I had a hammer with a somewhat similar problem. I used a tiny stone wheel on a Dremel, to square the face up inside the recess on the hammer. Mine didn't take much, but at least I know it's making square contact with the nipple.

 

[Vaino]

One question....did you wipe the bore at any time? Sometimes the flash channel can get clogged even if you didn't wipe. But did you? Don't think it's the hammer contact at all.....most likely a clogged flash channel.

On a few caplocks, the flash channel dia. isn't big enough....Fred

 

[coloradoclyde]

If you look at the screw that holds the hammer on it apears to be tilted at the same angle as the hammer, which to me would indicate that the entire lock is not sitting squarely in the mortise.

 

[necchi]

If you look at the screw that holds the hammer on it apears to be tilted at the same angle as the hammer, which to me would indicate that the entire lock is not sitting squarely in the mortise.

Or the hammer isn't on the tumbler properly.
Good eye Clyde,!

 

[Zonie]

The first thing to look at is how the lock is fitting into the stocks mortise.

It does look like it is canted so the hammer is leaning inward towards the barrel.

It takes a very small amount of material in the bottom of the lock mortise to tilt the lockplate that way so see if the lock is fully seating on the supporting shoulder at the bottom of the pocket the lock is sitting in.

Often, just using a scraper to remove some wood and increase the depth in this area will allow the lock to move inward at the bottom.

Sometimes it is just a matter of too much stock finish being applied to the mortise.

 

[Rifleman1776]

The first thing to look at is how the lock is fitting into the stocks mortise.

It does look like it is canted so the hammer is leaning inward towards the barrel.

It takes a very small amount of material in the bottom of the lock mortise to tilt the lockplate that way so see if the lock is fully seating on the supporting shoulder at the bottom of the pocket the lock is sitting in.

Often, just using a scraper to remove some wood and increase the depth in this area will allow the lock to move inward at the bottom.

Sometimes it is just a matter of too much stock finish being applied to the mortise.

Zonie, ye just take the fun out of a lot of these discussions. While we are talking up a storm you come along and give an 'in yer face in front of yer nose, logical and sensibile explanation of the most likely cause of the problem'.
Who invited you enneyhow? :wink:
:v Carry on.