Colonial fowler barrel markings questions

[Adam Lee]

Thanks for Posting. Very interesting. Rick.

Glad that this subject has your interest - I just uploaded a pile of pics of the bare wood stock. I am again amazed at the "creativity" and skill that was expended to assemble this gun.

It would appear to have begun possibly as a half-stocked rifle stock, and had two spliced-in sections of wood added in order to encase the barrel almost to the muzzle.

Very crafty - and I have lots of questions about the second spliced piece, at the muzzle end. You'll see what I mean in the pictures!

Thanks for looking in.

V/R
Adam

here's a direct link to the album again:
fowler album

 

[Adam Lee]

Friends, I snapped some pics of the "Fiddian" lock once I disassembled it recently. As I was comparing the pieces, I soon noticed that a "common marking" was shared among most of the parts.
This stamping, which looks sort of like a crow's foot pattern, looks like three lines struck in this manner: \|/

Parts that bear this marking include the lock plate on it's bottom edge, the flint cock in the inside flat area ahead of the flint, the bridle, tumbler, frizzen spring (minus roller), and sear lever.

Here are some pictures to show this:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/...AAAAAAAE9k/2Xlvxq4oogY/s600/lock%20marks1.JPG

I'd sure like to hear from anyone who might know what these markings indicate. I bet these are some sort of lockmaker's or manufacturer's acceptance stamps.
This lock is likely a Birmingham export, and with the later-version frizzen spring with roller bearing (now missing) I have been told it probably was made no earlier than 1800, maybe as late as 1820.

Thanks for any ideas!
Adam

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

The marks are assembler's markings. At the time this lock was assembled, the era of parts interchangeability still lay in the future, few parts from one lock were easily interchanged with another. When the lock was being assembled, as new, the assembler was give sets of parts, maybe 5, 10 or 15 sets at a time. He began by grouping the parts to make a lock and each set of parts he marked to keep them together throughout the process. This marking probably means that it was part set No. 3. If later a number of similar locks were disassembled for repairs, the assembler's markings could be relied upon to make sure that similar parts didn't get mixed between locks assuring that everything fit together properly.

 

[Adam Lee]

The marks are assembler's markings. At the time this lock was assembled, the era of parts interchangeability still lay in the future, few parts from one lock were easily interchanged with another. When the lock was being assembled, as new, the assembler was give sets of parts, maybe 5, 10 or 15 sets at a time. He began by grouping the parts to make a lock and each set of parts he marked to keep them together throughout the process. This marking probably means that it was part set No. 3. If later a number of similar locks were disassembled for repairs, the assembler's markings could be relied upon to make sure that similar parts didn't get mixed between locks assuring that everything fit together properly.

Thanks for the help - that makes alot of sense! Cool to know!

Adam