Does one need to apply oil or ballistol INSIDE the lock?

[ZUG]

I think that a total disassembly of a lock depends on how much you shoot it and how well the lock fits the mortise. When you remove the lock for cleaning and lubing if there is any rust or other stuff in the internal workings then I will dissemble the lock for a thorough cleaning and lubing with a light oil and a dab of grease on the contact area of the mainspring and the tumbler. I also put a dab of grease at the contact area of the frizzen spring and frizzen contact area. I think it's a commonsense thing.

 

[Ed C.]

My locks are pretty much sealed off from fouling. Once a year I'll remove the lock and trigger, no disassembly, and clean with warm soap and water, blow dry with compressed air and put it in the oven on warm to dry. I pack it with Mobil 1 synthetic grease (same as revolvers), work it a few times and wipe off the excess. No rust, dirt or corrosion, no problems, but I don't have to deal with the cold.

 

[French Colonial]

I think that a total disassembly of a lock depends on how much you shoot it and how well the lock fits the mortise. When you remove the lock for cleaning and lubing if there is any rust or other stuff in the internal workings then I will dissemble the lock for a thorough cleaning and lubing with a light oil and a dab of grease on the contact area of the mainspring and the tumbler. I also put a dab of grease at the contact area of the frizzen spring and frizzen contact area. I think it's a commonsense thing.

There are flintlocks I have seen at the club where the lock does not fit up tight against the barrel, 4F and soot gets down and inside the lock, those may need disassembly.

Personally it would drive me crazy and I would have to fix it.

 

[flatcreek]

I remove it every time, brush the fowling off with soapy water, blow it off with compressed air, spray the hole lock with a liberal coat of Barricade, blow off again, oil the rotating parts and lightly grease the sliding parts. If it has a lot of crud inside I spray it off with brake clean, maybe every fifth or sixth time I take it out. This seems like a lot, but it only tale a few minutes.

 

[Thomas.bill92]

I just pull the lock off, scrub with a toothbrush under hot tap water, air compressor to dry it off and drive water out of the nooks and crannies, then (unpopular opinion) spray down with wd40. Finish cleaning the rest of the rifle then wipe off excess oil before reassembly.

 

[BEP]

"There are flintlocks I have seen at the club where the lock does not fit up tight against the barrel, 4F and soot gets down and inside the lock, those may need disassembly."

Corrosion is one bad effect. Another, if 4f priming powder can get into the lock between that lock and the barrel, is a real surprise if/when the flash from the pan ignition gets down to that priming powder in the lock mortise. Personally I'd find a way to change that. Sooner rather than later.

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

I take my lock off, clean with hot water and a brush. Flush the water out with WD40. Dry it. Oil the internal parts with a light oil. I just oil around the moving parts. Lately I've been using "liquid bearings" which is an excellent light oil that doesn't dry or gum up. Remington gun oil works great too. Really any light oil will work.

 

[Mike in FL]

I used Ballistol on several guns and it gummed up or dried out to the point the lock on a flintlock was hard to fullcock and fell like in slow motion and the bolt on my 71/84 Spandau Mauser was frozen up to the point I had to use solvent to open it. Granted they were seldom used but I never have that problem with 3 in 1 oil even after a year or so sitting in the gun rack.

Never heard that, but then I've never used it to lubricate moving parts.

 

[Clark Badgett]

I used Ballistol on several guns and it gummed up or dried out to the point the lock on a flintlock was hard to fullcock and fell like in slow motion and the bolt on my 71/84 Spandau Mauser was frozen up to the point I had to use solvent to open it. Granted they were seldom used but I never have that problem with 3 in 1 oil even after a year or so sitting in the gun rack.

I’ve been using Ballistol exclusively for many years now, to include on expensive metrology tools at work and have not once had the stuff gum up. Mineral oil, which is the main component of Ballistol (and most other gun oils) is a paraffin, and paraffins do not gum up, not even the wax. The only oils or greases I have ever witnessed polymerization were vegetable based. Olive oil locked up one of my revolvers and frog lube turned to a very thick and gooey sludge on 2 of my modern firearms. All took complete disassembly and involved cleaning to return to functional status.

 

[sturmkatze]

Ballistol stinks...that is all that it does well. It is
just mineral oil (aka, laxative ) so its a poor lubricating oil. It is also water soluble, so it is a Very poor rust inhibitor.

BreakFree CLP is one of the best light oils you can buy.
Packing your lock with good John Deere tractor grease will really smooth out, and cushion a lock's operation.
After grease-packing a lock, you will feel and hear improved operation within the lock. The grease (and Kibler Colonial) preformed flawlessly when I tested them at -27°F(!). It did not thicken or become gummy.
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Whatever. That’s an opinion! Guess what they say about opinions. If you don’t like ballistol, you certainly won’t like the manly essence of Hoppes #9… maybe you can find a gun cleaner it oil that smells like lavender or potpourri.

 

[Clark Badgett]

Whatever. That’s an opinion! Guess what they say about opinions. If you don’t like ballistol, you certainly won’t like the manly essence of Hoppes #9… maybe you can find a gun cleaner it oil that smells like lavender or potpourri.

Back when men were hard noses due to the reality of life, lavender was a manly scent. And pink was also manly.

 

[AZshot]

You should add a tiny bit of high pressure grease to the tip of the mainspring leg, where it presses against the tumbler. That is the only high wear spot, and oil is too thin for that spot and pressure.

 

[Tumbledown]

You should add a tiny bit of high pressure grease to the tip of the mainspring leg, where it presses against the tumbler. That is the only high wear spot, and oil is too thin for that spot and pressure.

That's why surfaces contacting each other should be well polished. No one here has ever said to apply grease.

 

[Sandy Jarrell]

If it rubs or slides, grease it. If it rolls or rotates, oil it.

 

[AZshot]

That's why surfaces contacting each other should be well polished. No one here has ever said to apply grease.

Except I just did.
Jim Kibler who makes locks also says so. I can ask Bob Roller and a few others but I don't need to. Common machine knowledge is sometimes lacking on internet forums, or the people who have it don't always post what they think is well known.

 

[wiscoaster]

..... No one here has ever said to apply grease.

After cleaning, I also apply a tiny spot of grease to three places in the lock where a spring contacts an adjacent rubbing surface, and furthermore, have previously said so here. Since I clean the lock inside and out every time I shoot, that little bit of grease gets refreshed and is never in place long enough to collect any BP residue.

 

[Tumbledown]

If it rubs or slides, grease it. If it rolls or rotates, oil it.

Not always true.

 

[Clark Badgett]

That's why surfaces contacting each other should be well polished. No one here has ever said to apply grease.

You are way off base here.

 

[Billy-by-gosh]

That's why surfaces contacting each other should be well polished. No one here has ever said to apply grease.

The correct choice here is "Both."
Polish AND Lubricate !!

 

[Butch Martin]

"There are flintlocks I have seen at the club where the lock does not fit up tight against the barrel, 4F and soot gets down and inside the lock, those may need disassembly."

Corrosion is one bad effect. Another, if 4f priming powder can get into the lock between that lock and the barrel, is a real surprise if/when the flash from the pan ignition gets down to that priming powder in the lock mortise. Personally I'd find a way to change that. Sooner rather than later.

I like your advice to clean priming powder from the lock works and mortise. I had a flint pistol back in the 70s that accumulated powder in the mortise. One day the powder ignited and burned my hand a little. I check the mortise for powder when I clean a flintlock these days.