Flint orientation

[mrd]

Never liked the fact that my Investram 50 cal. had the flint hitting low on the frizzen though it did spark there. So I switched to bevel up and that had it in the ball park but now tried back to angle down(thought it would be better on the Flint edge) and added leather under my leather wrap and it's at 90degree at half caulk and hits 2/3's or a tad better and showers spark (just tried it twice) . Question is this good or am I going to find wear on flints or frizzen . Yes I know "try it" but you guys have been there and done that and thought Knowledge is better than learn the hard way.

 

[Trot]

If it hits too straight on instead of on a downward angle it very well may shorten flint life and cause the frizzen to gouge. It really is impossible to say unless you just "try it" though. I wouldn't overthink it, there are many thousands of these locks out there working just fine. I just put bevel down and use it, very reliable and flint life is very good.

 

[Johnny Too-Tall]

Every guns different if it works for you run it.

 

[tenngun]

And every flint. And I’ve reversed flints that were a little dull.
About 1790 there was a patten for a lock with this extra wires and adjustment on the side. Looked very fragile. Every time the gun was cocked it slightly changed the angle of the flint
I recall one flint I had that was too big. With my shapen hammer I made a little notch. In the back. It let the wrap stay on but edges still went too far past back of cock vice. I bet I got fifty shots before I retouched the edge, and maybe got a hundred shots off it
Had several that looked perfect but I had to flip them to spark.

 

[ronaldrothb49]

You never know. I have had flints shatter on the first shot and others that lasted through a 3 day shoot. Some locks like a bevel up some like the bevel down. Some locks like the flint sitting just off the frizzen at half cock some like a gap there. Have one old lock have no idea who made it but think I could put a creek pebble in the jaws and it would throw sparks.

 

[Greenjoytj]

Flints are unique as finger prints.
I turn them bevel up or down, shim with leather, do anything to get the sharp edge at roughly ⅔ up the frizzen face and sparking.
Every flint mounting requires flint position tuning.

When I get frustrated at grinding off humpbacked flints that should have been sent to the reject pile (it doesn’t exist every wasted pieces ship out to sell) I install a cut flint it doesn’t spark as well till the edge gets a bit ragged but the rifle has never failed to fire even on a new cut flint unless I’ve dry balled the loading process again ( thankfully I’ve got a hooked barrel and easily removed vent liner over a patent chamber).

 

[Collie]

I had the same rifle for a while and always had pretty decent ignition (although not quite the same level as my Kibler). I used these flints from Track and had maybe 98% ignition with my rifle before I sold it. I always put the flint "upside down" with the flat side up in that lock.

FLINT-ENG-6S
https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/141/1/FLINT-ENG-6S

 

[Omahkapi'si]

Whatever sparks and makes it kaboom is the correct way to set your flint.

 

[Numlok]

Never liked the fact that my Investram 50 cal. had the flint hitting low on the frizzen though it did spark there. So I switched to bevel up and that had it in the ball park but now tried back to angle down(thought it would be better on the Flint edge) and added leather under my leather wrap and it's at 90degree at half caulk and hits 2/3's or a tad better and showers spark (just tried it twice) . Question is this good or am I going to find wear on flints or frizzen . Yes I know "try it" but you guys have been there and done that and thought Knowledge is better than learn the hard way.

Sadly the "try it" method is the best way to figure it out. There's a ton of knowledge around here, but at the end of the day we're all just slamming a rock into metal and hoping for a boom.
For what it's worth, tinkering seems to be the best way to go about finding the best ignition for your lock. Personally, the lock on my rifle seems to prefer being bevel-down, and I shim the flint forward with a strip of thick leather between the cock screw and the flint. I also like a good humpback flint to get the flint to ride a little higher up the frizzen, but you'll see other folks that say these should end up in the reject pile. Your solution of putting a strip of leather under the flint would replicate that a bit, and I might have to steal that idea from you to get those nice flat flints to ride a little higher.

As for it hitting the frizzen at a 90 degree angle, you might see a little extra wear and tear on your flints. But maybe not. If you're getting at least 10-15 shots out of a flint, I'd say you're doing fine. But some folks will go so far as to take a torch to their cock to bend it and adjust the angle. It wouldn't be my first option since I'd probably mess it up, but just know that there are solutions out there.

Also, if you're not getting that 10-15 shots out of a flint, try difference sources for flints. The black English Tom Fuller flints from TotW seem to be very highly regarded, but I've had awful luck with them. I sourced some black French flints from Heritage, and I'm getting 15-25 shots out of them on average. But even then, each flint is just a piece of rock. Some will be better, some will be worse. I had a French flint that I got 5 shots out of before it split down the center, and I got one that I got about 40 shots out of.

In short, flintlocks are "quirky". Play around with them!

 

[M. De Land]

Never liked the fact that my Investram 50 cal. had the flint hitting low on the frizzen though it did spark there. So I switched to bevel up and that had it in the ball park but now tried back to angle down(thought it would be better on the Flint edge) and added leather under my leather wrap and it's at 90degree at half caulk and hits 2/3's or a tad better and showers spark (just tried it twice) . Question is this good or am I going to find wear on flints or frizzen . Yes I know "try it" but you guys have been there and done that and thought Knowledge is better than learn the hard way.

I'd file out a new cock using the old one for orientation with a bit longer neck and larger swing and a few degrees more or less tilt in relation to frizzen strike.

 

[Pete G]

If you’re getting only around 20 shots per flint then something is seriously wrong with your setup. You should get closer to 75 or 80.