First time gun owner. Can't seem tighten down the stone in my jaws.

[laagamer]

Hey everybody. Bought myself a Lyman Great Plains .50 flint awhile back. Went out and shot it, works great. Brought it home, took it apart to the best of my abilities, cleaned and oiled it.

Problem is, I removed the lock to oil and clean, and fully unseated the stone to clean jaws as well.

Meaning I fully unscrewed the jaw screw as far as it would go, and lifted the jaw completely to clean everything.

But, now when I try to lower the jaws on a new stone and re-tighten the jaws screw, it won't hold the stone tight anymore.

Like it'll barely even sit there. You can pull on the stone and it'll fall out. Even though the jaw screw won't turn anymore and everything's as tightened down as it can be.

I can probably post some pictures, but I really can't seem to find the problem. I have to be missing something.

Any advice is much appreciated. I can try and get a video up if need be.

Thanks!

 

[Eric Krewson]

You didn't mention the leather that is supposed to be wrapped around the flint to hold it in the jaws when you tighten the jaw screw, are you using leather around your flint? The leather in the picture is thicker than it needs to be but all I had at the time.

 

[Brokennock]

Hey everybody. Bought myself a Lyman Great Plains .50 flint awhile back. Went out and shot it, works great. Brought it home, took it apart to the best of my abilities, cleaned and oiled it.

Problem is, I removed the lock to oil and clean, and fully unseated the stone to clean jaws as well.

Meaning I fully unscrewed the jaw screw as far as it would go, and lifted the jaw completely to clean everything.

But, now when I try to lower the jaws on a new stone and re-tighten the jaws screw, it won't hold the stone tight anymore.

Like it'll barely even sit there. You can pull on the stone and it'll fall out. Even though the jaw screw won't turn anymore and everything's as tightened down as it can be.

I can probably post some pictures, but I really can't seem to find the problem. I have to be missing something.

Any advice is much appreciated. I can try and get a video up if need be.

Thanks!

Are you using the same stone?
Is it a "cut" stone or knapped stone (like what Eric shows above)
Are you padding the stone with something (again see Eric's pic)? Usually leather, some folks use lead, I prefer leather.

A picture would help.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I had a similar problem. I couldn't tighten the flint in the jaws. I had replaced the original leather with a thinner piece of leather and the jaw screw was hitting the hammer before the flint could be tightened. Thicker leather solved the problem. I could have shortened the jaw screw a bit, but thicker leather seemed easier.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Is your replacement flint thinner then the one you were using?

 

[Flintlock Whiskey]

You didn't mention the leather that is supposed to be wrapped around the flint to hold it in the jaws when you tighten the jaw screw, are you using leather around your flint? The leather in the picture is thicker than it needs to be but all I had at the time.

View attachment 183903

Leather is good. So are lead pads.

 

[rich pierce]

There is a shoulder on the cock that prevents a top jaw from dropping below a certain point.

There are circumstances where the top jaw screw tip is screwed down so far that it presses against the bend of the cock.

Check these. And use a thicker piece of leather as others suggested.

 

[laagamer]

You didn't mention the leather that is supposed to be wrapped around the flint to hold it in the jaws when you tighten the jaw screw, are you using leather around your flint? The leather in the picture is thicker than it needs to be but all I had at the time.

View attachment 183903

Thank you! Apologies, leather wrap is there as well. Meant to clean that and stone, so I removed both.

 

[laagamer]

Are you using the same stone?
Is it a "cut" stone or knapped stone (like what Eric shows above)
Are you padding the stone with something (again see Eric's pic)? Usually leather, some folks use lead, I prefer leather.

A picture would help.

Apologies, super busy. I'll try and get a picture when I'm back home with the firearm.

 

[laagamer]

I had a similar problem. I couldn't tighten the flint in the jaws. I had replaced the original leather with a thinner piece of leather and the jaw screw was hitting the hammer before the flint could be tightened. Thicker leather solved the problem. I could have shortened the jaw screw a bit, but thicker leather seemed easier.

Ah, good solutions. I'll look into it. Thank you!

 

[laagamer]

Is your replacement flint thinner then the one you were using?

Same flint, actually. So, I know something is off. I'm going to provide pictures or video when I get back to my place.

 

[laagamer]

There is a shoulder on the cock that prevents a top jaw from dropping below a certain point.

There are circumstances where the top jaw screw tip is screwed down so far that it presses against the bend of the cock.

Check these. And use a thicker piece of leather as others suggested.

Thank you. I'll take a look keeping this in mind!

 

[hanshi]

Just as the others have mentioned you do indeed need a piece of leather (or lead) so the cock jaws can hold the flint.

 

[Grenadier1758]

@laagamer, what we need is a picture.

 

[Flintlock Whiskey]

This is my flinter with lead pads securing the flint.

 

[smo]

Void

 

[TDM]

Hey everybody. Bought myself a Lyman Great Plains .50 flint awhile back. Went out and shot it, works great. Brought it home, took it apart to the best of my abilities, cleaned and oiled it.

Problem is, I removed the lock to oil and clean, and fully unseated the stone to clean jaws as well.

Meaning I fully unscrewed the jaw screw as far as it would go, and lifted the jaw completely to clean everything.

But, now when I try to lower the jaws on a new stone and re-tighten the jaws screw, it won't hold the stone tight anymore.

Like it'll barely even sit there. You can pull on the stone and it'll fall out. Even though the jaw screw won't turn anymore and everything's as tightened down as it can be.

I can probably post some pictures, but I really can't seem to find the problem. I have to be missing something.

Any advice is much appreciated. I can try and get a video up if need be.

Thanks!

Out of curiosity, what cleaning procedure did you use before oiling?

 

[oldwood]

Also , the top jaw screw slot can be slightly widened,and deepened , to use a screw driver with more power. The flint must be very tight , so as not to shoot loose.

 

[deerstalkert]

i have gotten the top jaw a bit cocked when tightening the jaws, resulting in the cover jaw binding and not tightening.
cure was to loosen the top jaw and raise it in the rear and let it seat by itself, then tighten the screw. i use very thin flints and have no problem if i pay attention.
picture of my GPR lock. yeah i see the rust! pictures are really worth a thousand looks with old eyes!

 

[laagamer]

Hey guys! Really appreciate the help! Tried to make a couple videos showcasing the problem.



and this one