flint angle adjustment

[Melnic]

Novice flinter here.

My flint is hitting the frizzen I think too high up and I think the angle is wrong.
Can I roll some lead and prop it up beneith it and in the back?
Should I knapp a notch in the back to get the flint further back?

Any suggestions?

 

[Redstick Lee]

are you having failures to spark /flash?

 

[WVAED]

Perhaps you are already doing this but try cutting a hole in the center of your leather. When folded around the flint it will go around the bolt and allow the flint to sit further back, against the bolt. That might help.

 

[Melnic]

The problem i feel is that its beating up the flint too much hitting at such a direct angle.
Last night, I cut a hole in the leather and that helped bring it back but I think I still need to angle the leading edge down more.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Yes, I use a short piece of leather thing across the back of my flint to direct the edge to strike the frizzen with a more glancing blow. I also cut a notch in the leather to allow the flint to be positioned a bit deeper in the Jaws,

 

[Grimord]

I have used flat style tooth picks to shim the flint in the cock to get the right angle. Just be sure to tighten down the cock screw really hard, and keep an eye on the flint when shooting because it may move or the cock screw loosen.

 

[Sidney Smith]

Moving the flint back will not change the impact point on the frizzen by all that much. IMO I'd leave the flint alone, or maybe try a shorter flint size. The flint is in perfect position at its lowest point on the hammer throw to dump sparks into the pan. Angling the flint downward IMO will cause issues because now you've changed the point at which the flint will toss sparks into the pan.

 

[WRustyLane]

Perhaps you are already doing this but try cutting a hole in the center of your leather. When folded around the flint it will go around the bolt and allow the flint to sit further back, against the bolt. That might help.

Wow! What a nifty idea. I like reading posts because I learn a lot! Thanks for the tip. I'll put a hole in the middle of my leather and try that myself. Bevel up or down?

 

[WVAED]

Wow! What a nifty idea. I like reading posts because I learn a lot! Thanks for the tip. I'll put a hole in the middle of my leather and try that myself. Bevel up or down?

I think you will just have to try both ways. There is a video i ran into the other day on Youtube. It is capandball, watch He is Hungarian and shoots a lot of older rifles. He had a video on hunting and flintlock ignition tips. It is worth checking out. He feels that the flint should hit the frizzed pretty near the top so that it makes more sparks on the way down, which makes perfect since to me. Hope it helps. I am learning a lot as well on this forum. Have a great one, Ed

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Can I roll some lead and prop it up beneath it and in the back

Yes you can, but First...,
Musket locks tend to benefit from wrapping the flint in a very thin piece of lead, with a hole at the back of the flint so the flint actually touches the jaw screw, bare. Even though the cock is waaaay back from the frizzen, musket locks are a tad slower than rifle locks. It's not much, but it is there. Add to that the larger, heavier cock, and the larger chunk of flint, AND add the heavier frizzen and tougher frizzen spring, and you're having to overcome a lot of resistance to the flint impact. A slow speed when the flint scrapes the face of the frizzen means less sparks or none. The lead gives the flint a tad more inertia.

So you may want to lose the leather.


On the left is a basic lead flint wrap shape, and on the right is a "fancy" one. In a pinch if you have a musket ball and a hammer and a concrete basement floor or garage floor, you can pound one out...DON'T forget the hole for the back of the flint!

You can test by taking a small, wooden matchstick, and place this under the back of the lead wrapped flint if the lead itself doesn't help enough, to cant the front edge of the flint at a downward angle. You can make it more permanent by swapping out the match stick (IF it worked) with a strip of lead the same size and shape as the matchstick.

LD

 

[Rifleman1776]

Can I roll some lead and prop it up beneith it and in the back?

Of course, you could do that. But, highly ill advised. Some lock makers/vendors void their warranty if you use lead. The extra weight creates stresses the locks were not designed to handle. From the pics it appears to me a smaller flint might solve your issue.

 

[smo]

Wow! What a nifty idea. I like reading posts because I learn a lot! Thanks for the tip. I'll put a hole in the middle of my leather and try that myself. Bevel up or down?

I was taught by an Ol’ Timer too trim the corners on the flint leather as well as clip a hole in the back of it.

Trimming the corners at a 45* angle keeps the edge of the leather from hitting the frizzen face as the flint gets shorter with use.

Pre cut piece of flint leather laying just above the worm.

Not a very good example or photo... but it works!

 

[Sidney Smith]

He feels that the flint should hit the frizzed pretty near the top so that it makes more sparks on the way down, which makes perfect since to me. Hope it helps. I am learning a lot as well on this forum. Have a great one, Ed

This is true, however as I have stated earlier, you need to watch where the flint is pointing when the cock is all the way down and the frizzen is open. Whichever way (up or down) the flint is pointing that is closest to the center of the pan will have more effect on ignition than whether the flint hits higher up on the frizzen.

 

[bldtrailer]

I some times shim with a match stick But more often I make a longer leather that I can fold or rollup to adjust the angle of the flint

 

[Grenadier1758]

He feels that the flint should hit the frizzed pretty near the top so that it makes more sparks on the way down, which makes perfect since to me. Hope it helps. I am learning a lot as well on this forum. Have a great one, Ed

You do want the frizzen to make sparks on the way down the face of the frizzen. The problem often encountered when the flint strikes the frizzen at the top, the frizzen is bashed away from the flint and no more sparks can be scraped off the face of the frizzen. It is better for the flint to strike at a more glancing angle a bit further down the face of the frizzen to get the most sparks as the flint scrapes along the frizzen.

 

[Melnic]

^^^^^^^^^^^ that is what I was worried about when looking at what I have. I'm going to try the lead with wings and see how it goes. I know from my other flints which have lead that it holds really well. Was hoping to be more Period Correct on this one.

 

[Enfield58]

Just curious; about how long should a good frizzen last if everything else is good?

 

[WRustyLane]

Thanks, guys, for the nifty tips. It seems that the more I read, the more I learn from all of you that are masters at flintlock shooting.