Flint/frizzen relationship?

[Flintandsteel]

Your flint is too long, or too close to the frizzen. It just doesn’t have enough room to slip past.
move the flint back into the jaws, so it has more to grip, and if necessary, shim up the rear to make a better angle.
Heres the reality, Trasitions puts these marginal flintlocks out for under $500. A good quality lock is around half of that just for the lock. You get what you pay for.
However, you can make them function with the proper size flint and some adjustments.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

Thanks guys! I am going to look into each and every one of these things.

Let me ask another question, is it possible for the Flint to be too sharp? It appears my Flint is making a gouge at the point of first Contact which could be hampering its smooth movement down the frizzen.

Sharper the better. The flint is shaving metal which turns into a hot spark. A frizzen will always show some wear, ripples and gouges. Too many, too deep and little or no spark, is sign of a soft frizzen.
Larry

 

[deerstalkert]

Stone, don't shim at the point you indicate. the retaining tab is sitting in a slot in the lock plate bolster at that spot.
shimming it there could allow the main spring to slip out and if she does, it will in all probability break the spring.
i see lots of replacement springs on fleabay but that isn't something you would enjoy.

 

[Stone]

Your flint is too long, or too close to the frizzen. It just doesn’t have enough room to slip past.
move the flint back into the jaws, so it has more to grip, and if necessary, shim up the rear to make a better angle.
Heres the reality, Trasitions puts these marginal flintlocks out for under $500. A good quality lock is around half of that just for the lock. You get what you pay for.
However, you can make them function with the proper size flint and some adjustments.

Too long? It's already 3/16" from the frizzen. You can see where it's striking the frizzen, if I move it back it will strike below half way down and I was lead to believe it should strike at 3/4 to 2/3 of the way up?

 

[pilot]

Your red arrow points to the main spring, not the trigger spring. Leave that one alone.

 

[Stone]

Stone, don't shim at the point you indicate. the retaining tab is sitting in a slot in the lock plate bolster at that spot.
shimming it there could allow the main spring to slip out and if she does, it will in all probability break the spring.
i see lots of replacement springs on fleabay but that isn't something you would enjoy.

Thanks for that valuable tip!

 

[pilot]

At least until you deal with the frizzen spring. There are two ways to reduce the strength of the frizzen spring, reduce the width where it bends by grinding some off or sand the outside of the bend. If you go the sand route, sand a little, test it, sand a little, test it, etc.

 

[pilot]

A simple test for the frizzen spring is to just hook your trigger finger on the top of the frizzen and pull it forward. It should be significantly less pressure than that needed to cock the cock.

 

[waksupi]

Might also try lead instead of leather. You could hammer a large rifle ball out.

Using lead will void any warranty from most lock makers. Real tumbler breaker. Not important back in the day of military use, and they would have a barrel full of replacement parts.

 

[Kansas Kid]

Well there you go, send it back for warranty work.

 

[sb 54 cal.]

Too long? It's already 3/16" from the frizzen. You can see where it's striking the frizzen, if I move it back it will strike below half way down and I was lead to believe it should strike at 3/4 to 2/3 of the way up?

Try turning flint over and use thicker leather mine starts about half way down but is centered in pan.

 

[johnfrommd]

Thanks!

I am finding that this gun, while it meets my immediate need, is really junk. I think strides have been made to correct previous problems because I do not have the problems pointed out in videos from 3-5 years ago.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this might be the result of the trigger adjustment I made. I adjusted the trigger until it was too light and then backed it off a bit. I noticed when it was too light that the hammer would only fall to half cock when I pulled the trigger. I don't know the physics of how this happened but I am going to go pay with the trigger some more and see if that, in fact, makes a difference.

That happens because the lock probably doesn't have a fly in it. Without a fly, if you adjust the sear too close, the hammer catches on the half cock. On cheap locks like that, you need to live with the extra creep in the trigger.

 

[Stone]

As I mentioned, I have two of the same guns, brand new. On mine, the frizzen is hard to push forward, on the other one, it's much easier.

I will be going to the place I bought the gun to discuss warranty.

For now, it produces sparks and fires so I will hunt the next week with it.

 

[duca]

Stone did you try Loosening the Frizzen screw.?

Anthony

 

[duca]

Tighten it then back it off a little

 

[Howard Pippin]

Both my Traditions locks needed work and the flint bevel DOWN to work best. I weakened the frizzen spring and reshaped the frizzen foot to open more and fasterView attachment 113085View attachment 113083View attachment 113084

I had the same problem with a Lyman deer Hunter, and trying to hold the flint upside down was problematic, so I made a little steel plate that's about 3/16 thick and place that on top of the place where the Flint sets so that I can clamp it in with the flat side down. That seemed to solve my problem, the little shim has got a notch so that it straddles the screw on the back and it works just fine. Most of the time, I don't need to change the Flint in a big hurry, so it's no problem to put a new Flint in. The rifle functions normally other ways so to me is not worth upgrading to some rifle costing three times as much. Actually, a little challenge is good for the soul.
Squint

 

[Flintandsteel]

Stone,
Nowhere is 1/16” from the frizzed engraved in stone. Also, ideally, a scrape SHOULD start at about ⅔ of the way up the frizzen. That is for a lock that has proper geometry. Yours does not, so you need to make it work with what you have.
Good luck.

 

[Jake2454]

i would suggest that in addition to a fly if your lock dosent have a bridle add one.... both of which are not expensive. you may have to drill n tap a hole to receive the bridle. i have a traditions lock that was giving me troubles and after adding a bridle the lock and trigger function is functioning properly. the bridle will add support to the tumbler and provide more consistant lock up with the sear.

 

[DuncNZ]

Then lay your thumb across the top of the barrel until the frizzen barely makes contact. Then put the frizzen into battery, and squeeze off the trigger. Did the frizzen contact your thumb? If so, you are just experiencing rebound, not to be worried about. Many new flint shooters make incorrect assumptions on what is actually happening.

I have a Caywood Wilson Chief's grade Trade Gun and the frizzen has decided to not go all the way forward when fired . I tried following your suggestion on this discussion and found the frizzen is bouncing back , I never noticed this before , I changed the flint and all ok ,
Oops there has just been a little earthquake , It was a magnitude 5.8 about 300 miles away and about 78 miles deep , not a problem .

 

[waksupi]

I have a Caywood Wilson Chief's grade Trade Gun and the frizzen has decided to not go all the way forward when fired . I tried following your suggestion on this discussion and found the frizzen is bouncing back , I never noticed this before , I changed the flint and all ok ,
Oops there has just been a little earthquake , It was a magnitude 5.8 about 300 miles away and about 78 miles deep , not a problem .

No need to change the flint, it just shows the lock is working right.