Brown Bess

[Loyalist Dave]

Hey John,

From the information and observation that I had while watching a fellow building locks for Chambers.., the heating is the key, first, the frizzen has to be quite hard, then followed by a proper tempering. He heats the frizzens quite hot, bright yellow, then uses a professional quenching oil. Then he heats them I think to 450 for an hour, not positive, followed by slow cooling..., I'd have to check with my buddy the lock-builder to be sure.

LD

 

[Britsmoothy]

I have tempered v springs I made by first after quenching polish the steel bright and bake until a plum colour, remove and leave to cool.

B.

 

[SgtErv]

I own a Pedersoli Short Land Pattern. It's a pretty awesome gun. After I figured out that it needed a lead flint wrap, I have never had any problem. I use a 7/8" flint, but it can also take a 1". The 7/8" seems to last a lot longer

 

[mhb]

Thanks for the user report! I will acquire some 1" flints to try in both my original Bess and the Pedersoli, when it arrives.

mhb - MIke

 

[willowbilly]

I would also look at the Japanese Made Miroku Bess.
Many were made for Dixie and Navy Arms.

Miroku also makes Browning firearms.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
The link below is for a thread on this forum with a lot of info on the Pedersoli Bess: http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showpost.php?post/1635987/
Be sure to click on "View entire topic" at the bottom to see the whole thing.

dave

 

[mhb]

I certainly would have considered the Japanese Bess, but, alas, I could find none listed for sale (nor the Pedersoli) when I was looking for a used one.
So... the new Pedersoli is on its way.

mhb - MIke

 

[mhb]

Dave:

Thanks for the heads-up! I had seen the thread, and admired the effort you put into the project, as well as the results.
I do not plan to attempt such a makeover, myself - my woodworking skills are in the 'rodent' category: that is, I can gnaw away, but it always ends-up looking like it was worked-over by a beaver, rather than any student of John Bivins.

mhb - MIke

 

[azmntman]

always ends-up looking like it was worked-over by a beaver, rather than any student of John Bivins.

:rotf: :rotf: :rotf:

:metoo:

 

[dave_person]

Hi Mike,
That is too bad because nothing I did was hard and it improved the gun immensely.

dave

 

[mhb]

Dave:
It isn't hard to accomplish a good result if you have the experience, confidence, and, in the case of stockmaking skills, a certain artistic sense - I don't, and envy those who do. I cannot but admire the results you achieved on your Bess.
On the other hand, metalwork holds no terrors for me, and I fully intend to work-over the lock of the Pedersoli to optimize its function; and other metal parts to correct any flaws or imperfections I find. Those things do lie within my skill set.
"A man's gotta know his limitations."
H. Callahan.

mhb - MIke