DIY Side Hammer lock?

[Wudsruner]

Has anyone created a completely homemade side Hammer lock, and do they have any pictures/diagrams? All of the diagrams I have seen do not do a great job (or I might not be the brightest candle in the camp). Also, what are the benefits of a side Hammer vs a normal percussion lock?

I have bought a numrich 12 gauge barrel, a tap and a breech plug to complete a shotgun barrel. I have a 2x6 ready to make a stock out of, and lots of good 1/4" 5160 leaf spring for a lock. Cheap squirrel blaster!

 

[dd832]

Here's a couple of photos of the L&R side hammer lock (cost about $120) - it is 5 in. long x 15/16 in. tall. This lock has a half cock on it.


The benefit of the side hammer (aka mule ear) lock is it is simpler to make because it has less parts - no separate tumbler, no bridle, - the thicker lockplate is the bridle and it eliminates about 4 screws too. The nipple is located directly next to the powder charge providing faster ignition like many underhammer weapons do.

hope this helps some, Mike

 

[Wudsruner]

Here's a couple of photos of the L&R side hammer lock (cost about $120) - it is 5 in. long x 15/16 in. tall. This lock has a half cock on it.
View attachment 44839View attachment 44840

The benefit of the side hammer (aka mule ear) lock is it is simpler to make because it has less parts - no separate tumbler, no bridle, - the thicker lockplate is the bridle and it eliminates about 4 screws too. The nipple is located directly next to the powder charge providing faster ignition like many underhammer weapons do.

hope this helps some, Mike

Thank you for the help Mike, would an underhammer be simpler to make? I am 16 and my workshop has a decent amount of tools (I have already built a black iron pipe "apocalypse" muzzleloader just to see if I could do it) and I have made a very simple lock copied from a Russian guy who made his own musket. Here is the lock mechanism. It works fine, but would an underhammer work better/be simpler to make?

 

[Eterry]

I applaud your efforts, but please only use LIGHT CHARGES OF Black Powder or a Black Powder substitute. A local youth lost his hand due to a homemade firearm.

 

[eggwelder]

google hardware store pistol

 

[Zonie]

google hardware store pistol

I applaud your efforts, but please only use LIGHT CHARGES OF Black Powder or a Black Powder substitute. A local youth lost his hand due to a homemade firearm.

I don't think he should use any powder charge to fire his black iron pipe gun.
Black iron pipe is intended to work at pressures up to 150 pounds per square inch. Even a very light amount of black powder will make pressures that will be much larger and dangerously over-pressure the barrel.

For example, a 30 grain load of black powder under a roundball in a .54 caliber barrel will make pressures that are over 5500 psi. That's almost 37 times the pressure that black iron pipe is designed to handle.

Wudsruner: If you don't know how much 30 grains of black powder is, that would be about the same as a cube that was 1/2" wide by 1/2" deep by 1/2" tall.
Don't shoot your home made black pipe gun.

 

[eggwelder]

I was merely pointing to that due to the lock making process the guy went thru. Agreed, black pipe is no good at all

 

[1950DAVE]

Wudsrunner , look up JACO-kentucky-bp-rifle pdf. You will find a fairly simple percussion lock though not a side slapped. It can ne made with hand tools but some power tools would be a plus. I did this using JACO as a starting place

 

[toot]

Here's a couple of photos of the L&R side hammer lock (cost about $120) - it is 5 in. long x 15/16 in. tall. This lock has a half cock on it.
View attachment 44839View attachment 44840

The benefit of the side hammer (aka mule ear) lock is it is simpler to make because it has less parts - no separate tumbler, no bridle, - the thicker lockplate is the bridle and it eliminates about 4 screws too. The nipple is located directly next to the powder charge providing faster ignition like many underhammer weapons do.

hope this helps some, Mike

it has the potential of hanging up on brush in laurel thicket's.JMHO.

 

[Metalshaper]

Well here are two of mine! The one shown < in the foreground > is MY design using an outside mainspring..

Respect Always
Metalshaper/Jonathan

 

[tallPercshooter]

Not a sidehammer, but underhammer, homemade. Borrowed from another forum.