Brescian Wheelock Progress Report

[bioprof]

I have completed installing most of the external parts on my Brescian wheellock from Blackley and Sons. I had a heck of a time drilling the hole through the jaws of the dog. I completely burned up a brand new drill bit the first time I tried drilling it, then broke off a tap in the lower jaw. The broken tap delayed progress for two days while I tried to figure out how to get it out. It was a clean break, but I couldn't get it to budge. I finally just punched it out with a center punch. It was mainly just the tapered part of the tap, so I didn't bugger the threads too bad. Anyway, here is a picture of it so far. I'm going to wait until I have all the parts on it before I draw file and polish the parts.

I still have to do some fine fitting of the wheel to the pan, although it's 99.9% fitted.

 

[ChrisPer]

Nice work! Well done.

 

[Flinter987]

That's really cool. Can you tell me how it works? Are there any good website animations to see how they work. Flinter

 

[Wes/Tex]

Ecellent job! That's going to be a sweet gun. :thumbsup:

 

[Leonredbeard]

Nice going, Bioproff,
I too have broken off taps and burned up drill bits on these things. But you do just like you did, look at it for a while and then continue. May you have a great time fitting the internal parts!
volatpluvia

 

[PitchyPine]

That`s going to be some gun bro, nice work. :bow: :thumbsup:

 

[bioprof]

That's really cool. Can you tell me how it works? Are there any good website animations to see how they work. Flinter

I've seen video of the firing of a wheelock, but it happens so fast that all you see is a flash and a puff of smoke. I've never seen an animation, but it sounds like it would be a good idea. It seems to me that there is a paucity of information and a certain mystic about wheelocks.

Basically, instead of using a flint that strikes on a frizzen to make sparks, wheelocks use a piece of iron pyrite (ferric sulfide or fool's gold) that rubs up against a metal wheel. The wheel turns when the trigger is pulled and breaks off sparks from the pyrite. The sparks then ignite the priming powder which in turn ignites the main charge through a touch hole. The wheel sticks up into the pan through a carefully machined hole so that there is as little gap as possible for the priming powder to leak out between the wheel and the pan. Most of the later wheelocks had a pan cover that automatically retracted when the trigger was pulled. This then allowed the pyrite to come in contact with the wheel. I suppose this was a sort of safety feature to prevent the pyrite from making sparks when the gun was jarred. Some of them also had another safety switch that prevented the sear from releasing the wheel.

Wheelocks are a lot more complicated than matchlocks or flintlocks, so they weren't used much by common folk. They were too expensive to make and repair.

 

[fatboy]

Hey Bioprof, looks like it will be real nice lock when done cant wait to see pics of your completed project :hatsoff:

 

[wulf]

Just judging by the wonderful job you did on the
matchlock I know this will be a perfect piece as
well...I think you know what you are doing...

 

[Leonredbeard]

Bioprof,
around this web site is lurking a post by Larry Pletcher showing my most recently completed wheellock lighting. It is videoed at 5000 frames per second. Everything happens slowly enough that there is not much you will not know about a wheellock lighting once you have studied it for about twenty runs thru.
I do apologize as this one does not have the self opening pan. I have one of those but did not take it along. I would have liked to video it from the back side of the lock to watch the cam kick open the pan and then watch the dog with pyrite settle down on the already spinning wheel. I don't know if we will get a chance to do the videoing again.
Do a search for Larry Pletcher's posts, you will find it.
volatpluvia

 

[bioprof]

I found a blank to use for the stock. It's supposed to be English Walnut, but it has an awful lot of color as well as some curl. Should finish up pretty nice I think.

 

[bioprof]

I made quite a bit of progress on my Brescian wheelock today. I pinned the pan cover lever to the pan cover and drilled, tapped, and secured the pan cover lever to the lock plate. One thing that I've discovered is not to trust the marks for the screw locations if you want to get a good fit. I think it's better to put the part in place and drill the holes to fit. By doing this, I was able to get a nice tight fit between the pan and pan cover. I also trued up the wheel this week and polished it up so that it would spin freely in the pan. Everything seems to work so far. With some careful filing, I was able to adjust the pan cover so that it would completely close and it opens completely when the axle turns. Next up is to install the primary and secondary sears and then attach the mainspring. Last of all, I plan on putting the chain together and installing it. I still have to heat treat the pan cover spring and the mainspring. I'll probably do that within the next week. If all goes well, I should have it done in a few weeks.

Here's a picture of what I have done so far:

 

[Leonredbeard]

Bioproff,
On the thread, project kicks off, someone has posted the link to youtube showing my wheellock lighting at 5000 frames per second. There is a manton lock that you must watch first, but you will enjoy that almost as much.
volatpluvia

 

[bioprof]

Got a little more work done on the wheellock today. I installed the sear and the trigger lever. Ended up being more work than it should have though. The slotted bracket that the trigger lever is pinned to had a void when it was cast and my drill bit veered off and came out on the edge of the bracket. I had to make a new bracket and attach it to the plate. Then when I went to drill the trigger lever, I missed again, so had to make another one. In the end I think it turned out better than it was before. The trigger lever bracket has a little more meat to it now, so should be less likely to break. All I have left to do is make a sear spring and put together and install the chain (plus about 8 hours of "tweaking").

 

[Tinker2]

Bioprof

Looking good, you do have my attention. Do keep us informed.


Tinker2

 

[bioprof]

Once I get it put together and get it working, I plan on cleaning up the part and replacing the screws that are buggered. So far as I know, everything is working as it should thus far. I just hope that all of the parts work together as they should once it's finished.

 

[bioprof]

I made a sear spring this week similar to the one shown on the parts sheet that I received with the castings. I just used some thin spring steel that I found in my garage. It seems to work. It pushes the sear nose down onto the wheel and also returns the trigger lever back into position so the sear is locked into position. The hard part is getting it to stay put. I got it to stay put by putting a notch in the bottom of the piece that holds the sear pivot.

I also put together the chain this afternoon. The pieces are tiny! Now all I have to do is pin it to the axle and all the parts will be secured in place. I just have to temper the mainspring and the pan cover spring, tune it and keep my fingers crossed that it works.

 

[PitchyPine]

Very nice. :bow:

 

[Allan Gray]

Holy manure that chain is tiny! :shocked2:
I think I'd need therapy after putting something like that together.

The stock blank looks great. I think you'll be pleased once you start shaping it...looking foward to more posts, thanks :bow:

 

[bioprof]

I have a friend that has access to a moisture meter, so I'm having him test the wood tonight to see if it's dry enough to use. It seems pretty heavy, so I'd better check just to be safe.

I'm also tempering the springs tonight. I heated them to red hot, quenched in mineral oil, and now their baking in the oven on the cleaning setting. It shouldn't be long before I know if it's going to work.