Flash hole

[JohnFH]

Ok, I built a T/C Hawkin kit, fired it last weekend for the first time. Can you say HOOKED.

I have studied all the resources on line about making a flint lock (want to do a New England Rifle), but haven't found a reference as to where the flash hole should be located. I am guessing you need to determine that before you try and locate the lock. I would prefer to do this from scratch as much as possible. Only buy the pieces I would need to machine.

Thanks in advance

 

[bamamarine]

The touch hole should be right in front of the breech plug. And you're right, it needs to be located before you put the lock on. If you're just getting started I'd suggest buying a copy of a good reference book. That and surf the tutorials here. You're going to get much better information from people besides me on this site so ask any questions you want to here.

 

[lonehunter]

go to search on this forum, touch-hole placement has been on several threads in the past month or so. :v

 

[fort fireman]

I recently built my first gun and had the same question. I screwed up and the flash hole endd up about .5 inch ahead of the face of the breech plug. Not optimal but it still fires every time.Optimum should be about an eigth of an inch in front of the breech plug face. That location would be figured before the lock placement is figured. THere are a ton of more experienced builders on the foru that can ive you much better info. Andy

 

[mikemeteor]

I have studied all the resources on line about making a flint lock (want to do a New England Rifle), but haven't found a reference as to where the flash hole should be located. I am guessing you need to determine that before you try and locate the lock.

Go to Search>Advanced Search and highlight "The Gun Builders Bench" in the left hand window, and enter (with the quotes) "Vent" + "liner" + "location" in the search subject box.
you'll be able to read about it for hours. :thumbsup:

 

[Zonie]

Without going into detail, first the barrel must be fully inletted into the stock.

The vent must be forward of the face of the breech plug. If a threaded vent is used, the center should be a tiny bit more than 1/2 of the vent liners diameter in front of the breech plug face.

The vent location determines where the lock is located with the pans center in line with the vent and the top of the pan even with the vent hole.

The lock determines where the triggers will be installed.

The triggers determine where the butt plate will be located.

The only difference with a stock with the lock mortice already cut is the lock determines where the barrel vent will be located. The vent should be located relative to the breech plug the same as I mentioned above. With the vent location established in the barrel, the builder will know where to locate the barrel in the wood to make things line up.

 

[Birddog6]

The first thing you need is "The Gunsmiths of Grenville County" builders book !! :wink: :wink: Read it & then go look for parts. You are a long way from worrying about where the vent liner goes, if you are going to build one from a blank........ :hmm:

 

[JohnFH]

You are a long way from worrying about where the vent liner goes, if you are going to build one from a blank........

Actually, being a master carpenter and modern gunsmith, I think I'm pretty up to the task.
This is not my first rifle, just first flintlock.
But this thread was not about my qualifications.

Thanks for the helpful replies, I pretty much got it figured out.

I just need to decide between a lined or unlined now. I'm leaning towards unlined, any overwhelming reasons not to?

 

[Zonie]

A straight vent hole is very traditional for a flintlock rifle or pistol. It does have one problem though. Because of the long length of a very small diameter hole the amount of heat that gets to the powder when the pan flashes is greatly reduced.

If you don't use a vent liner IMO you really should cone the vent hole inside the barrel.

The idea here is to provide a larger sized hole or cone that will allow the powder to get close to the outside surface of the barrel.

As you are building this gun using, I assume, a modern barrel and breech plug, removing the breech plug after the barrel is inletted into the stock shouldn't be a major problem.
You will have to remove the breech plug to gain access to the drilled vent.