First Flintlock ...Need help

[michaelvalek]

I finally finished my first flintlock. For safety I loaded only with powder and cotton wadding and glad I did! I could not get the main charge to ignite. I'm using Goex 4f in the pan and Goex 2F for the charge. The pan charge is igniting but wont set off the main charge.

There is no obstructions to the main charge, hole is clear, checked and verified with a small pick and as I blow thru the barrel.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

 

[Britsmoothy]

What size flash hole?

B.

 

[michaelvalek]

That was my next suspicion , It measures out to .055/in. What size can I make it? It's a .45 cal rifle if that helps.

 

[Spikebuck]

Do you have a closeup picture of your lock and touchhole? Did you install a liner or did you direct drill? Also want to see position of the vent hole to the lock pan.

Even if the hole is a little small, it might affect the ignition sometimes, but I'd be hard pressed to believe it would never ignite, though I don't know how many times you tried.

Also, are you sure there was no oil residue in the barrel that could have dampened the main charge? When you pick it, can you feel a kind of "crunching" of dry powder?

 

[michaelvalek]

Had two main charge ignitions out of 10 , the hole was drilled in the barrel from the factory , no liner. Ill try to post a close up picture.

 

[Spikebuck]

Had two main charge ignitions out of 10 , the hole was drilled in the barrel from the factory , no liner. Ill try to post a close up picture.

OK, if it's direct drilled, you would probably need to enlarge it and also cone it to help direct the heat into the flash hole. Picture will help us tremendously.

I recently purchased my first flintlock that has a direct drilled hole vs a liner. It is a custom build, not factory though. I am getting fast and reliable ignition every time. It actually surprised me how well a direct drilled hole will work when properly done.

 

[michaelvalek]

Hope this works!!
http://s1383.photobucket.com/user/...[user]=140960012&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=0

 

[Spikebuck]

Yes, the link works. If you want the picture to show up right in your post, just copy and paste the IMG code (for future reference).

The hole position looks pretty good, maybe a tiny bit low, but well centered. Let some other people respond here as well, but my vote would be to drill it out at first to 1/16" (.0625) and cone the outside just a bit to create a "funnel" affect for the heat of the flash. If you do that you have to be careful not to have the cone go lower than the bottom of your pan and of course pay close attention to its depth in relation to the thickness of your barrel wall.

I will take and post a picture of mine for your reference.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Seems a bit small and low.

I wonder about 2f being a little course for that size hole!

B :hmm:

 

[Spikebuck]

Here is what mine looks like. It is a tad larger than 1/16th. Works extremely well so I never did anything with it.

DSCN1157 by mdheaser

 

[michaelvalek]

Thanks Guys,

I have some 3f and will try that as well. I think Ill end up drilling the hole tho, Ill work my way up to 1/16. Part of the fun of building is the fine tuning!

 

[Tom Compton]

I drill new liners1/16" and use FFg even in the .40 flinter.
TC

 

[Zonie]

IMO you should go directly to the 1/16" size.

For reasons that totally escape me, the Italians always seem to make their vent holes too small.

As others have mentioned, they drill out their vent liners to 1/16" and keep in mind that these liners are counterbored on the inside.
That makes a 1/16" hole that is only about 3/32 inches deep before it enlarges to the counterbored diameter.

In the case of your gun, that 1/16" hole will be over .180 deep.

Little holes going thru thick walls don't allow a lot of the priming flashes heat to get to the main powder charge.

I know for a fact that a 1/16" (.0625) hole won't be too big and more than a few people have increased their vent hole size to 5/64 (.078) without causing problems.

When you drill the hole out, do not apply any real pressure to the drill. Just let it work it's way down thru the existing hole.

If you apply any pressure you may end up breaking off the drill bit. THEN you will have a real problem.

 

[Larry Pletcher]

I posted this on another topic, but maybe should have posted it here. (The main thing here is to enlarge gradually using numbered bits.)

I drill mine with a 1/16" bit to start with. I sometimes go to a numbered bit larger. In many cases 1/16" works fine. If a larger hole seems necessary I would enlarge gradually using numbered bits. There are 5 numbered bits available between 1/16" and 5/64", and 5/64" is way too big.

#52 is .064
#51 is .067
#50 is .070 (borderline too big IMHO)
#49 is .073 (don't like to go this big)
#48 is .076 (if this is necessary something else is wrong)

Either #52 or #51 will allow a pipe cleaner to be used to make sure the vent is clear. Clean is VERY important; maybe more important than vent size.

Regards,
Pletch

 

[michaelvalek]

Thanks for the advise regarding drill sizes. As a matter of fact I have these drill bits. Ill give a range report after this weekend.

Mike

 

[michaelvalek]

Gentlemen...The weekend came early. Spent the day at the range. After enlarging to 1/16 and adding the chamfer the rifle is fixed. I shot 2f and 3f; reliable ignition from the first shot.

Thanks for the valuable info.

 

[bpd303]

:hatsoff: