Flint travel on frizzen

[Seabee Chief]

Hi guys.
Looking for some in sight.. sorry the pics are fuzzy. First pic is where the flint first strikes the frizzen. Second pic is where the flint stops. Don’t always get sparks. So flint too long ? Short ?
Bad angle maybe put something under back of flint to change angle ? Flints are TOTW English. New or old. They will spark about half the time. One more pic of the frizzen. Thank you all.

 

[rich pierce]

That strike position is ok. You could move the flint forward 1/8” if it still would not touch the frizzen at half cock.
A couple things could be causing the frizzen to not open.
1) weak mainspring (new mainspring or greater preload by opening this one up - requires re-hardening and tempering)
2) flint is sort of catching on a frizzen that is a little soft (get it hardened or a sole put on it)
3) frizzen flips open late when opened manually (have to monkey with the teat/ toe that rides on the frizzen spring) or frizzen spring is too strong compared to mainspring ( frizzen spring needs to be closed a little then hardened and tempered).

The fixes are best done by a pro.

 

[Seabee Chief]

Thank you for the information. The frizzen has always been hard to open or close by hand. This is lock is a DP frontier. Hammer is a little hard to pull back so I’m thinking the main spring is ok. But I’m no smith. And one know someone that’s good on the whole shebang ? I found out that kiebler only works on their own locks.
Thanks

 

[rich pierce]

Cabin Creek works on locks. Similar to getting a car or furnace fixed, it’s not cheap.

 

[Tumbledown]

I'll add 4) the frizzen toe may need to be polished where it rides on the spring. A rough spot there creates a lot of friction.

 

[Don Steele]

I use a Scotch “ green wool pad” to polish the toe of the frizzen. Just pull the frizzen off the lock and rub the toe back and forth. I also apply a little grease where the toe runs over the frizzen spring. Work it back and forth to make sure everything is nice and slick.

 

[Seabee Chief]

Don Steele. Thank you for that advice.
I pulled the frizzen and it’s spring. Suprise ! There was rough spots on both and just a touch of rust. I lightly sanded with 220 then polished till shiny with the green scotch pad. Only grease was bore butter. Placed back together and flipped the flint. 5 separate times I put 3F in the pan. Not loaddd. Varing amounts and placement in the pan. To my pleasant suprise they all went off. Seems ii was placing too much powder in the pan. Can’t wait to take it back out and try it. Thank you so much.