Pedersoli thinks that the spring tension on the frizzen MUST BE hard(HEAVY?) in order to get the flint to cut steel. They also tend to sell frizzens of softer steels.
The only job a frizzen spring has is to keep the frizzen closed when the muzzle is pointed to the ground( down)!
:idunno:
Since the typical frizzen's WEIGHT can be measured in OUNCES, the tension on the frizzen's cam from the frizzen spring needs to be only a POUND, or a bit more if you are shooting the large musket locks( with heavier frizzens). 2 lbs. of tension is more than enough.
Good sparking is a function of three things:
1. A good flint;
2. The correct angle and height of the flint so that it strikes at a 60-66 degree angle to the face of the frizzen; and
3. Strikes the face 2/3 of the distance UP from the bottom of the face, ( Heel) when the frizzen is closed.
You want the flint to cut and scrape steel off the frizzen in the "MIDDLE" third of the face, and the frizzen should pop open early enough to allow the sparks to be THROWN down- not dribbled down-- into the pan.
Until you tune this lock properly, you will have to polish the face often to keep from having gouges form where the flint strikes the face.
REDUCING SPRING TENSION: You can reduce spring tension by polishing FIRST both the cam and the contact point on the top arm of the frizzen spring to mirror finishes, and then oil those spots. Also, you need to clean, and oil the pivot screw/pin for the frizzen EVERY TIME you take the gun out to shoot. Work the frizzen back and forth several times to make sure it pivots freely.
You need to clean off the oil/grease used to reduce friction for the frizzen after each use, as part of your regular cleaning regime. The grease or oil unfortunately catches and holds fine BP soot particles which add resistance. Clean it off, and then re-grease, or re-oil the parts before the next shooting event. Since these two areas need to be polished, I oil them after each cleaning to keep the bare metal from rusting during storage- even over night.
CORRECTING SPRING TENSION: On really poor locks, I have used fine INDIA stones to reduce the height of the cam. The goal is to see NO movement of the top arm of the frizzen spring as you slowly open the frizzen. Movement indicates that the flint has to push forward on the frizzen to get the darn thing to open.
LESSONS LEARNED: One of the interesting lessons and observations I made long before I owned a flint lock happened at the Fall National Matches at NMLRA range at Friendship, Ind. I saw some men shooting large barreled flintlock rifles off custom benchrests, and was surprised to see that some of the guns were flint locks. Looking closer, I noticed that a couple of the locks did not have any frizzen spring on them!
Being a young kid(THIS TOOK PLACE IN THE 60'S), I asked the owners the dumb question when he finished his shot and brought the gun back t the loading bench. "Why no frizzen spring?"
He told me that his gun was made for bench rest shooting, and the rate of twist was designed for the ball/bullet( I have forgotten which he was shooting) he was firing. The gun was far too heavy to use hunting, much less lift to shoot off-hand in the other rifle matches.
So, since range rules did not allow the guns to be primed until the gun was safely pointed down range( ie. resting on the custom made bench) AND the range officer had opened the line to shoot, He simply had no need for a device to keep the frizzen closed. Once sitting at the bench, with the gun mounted on its bags, he simply primed the pan, and closed the frizzen. The highly tuned lock sparked like the 4th of July, and the gun fired very fast.
ERGO, it was not necessary to have lots of spring tension on the frizzen to get good sparks.
After his next shot, another dumb question occurred to me: " Aren't you afraid that the frizzen might flop back and break your flint after the gun fires?"
He smiled, and showed me a soot covered piece of Leather washer( a disk with a hole through the center for the pivot screw) between the inside edge of the frizzen, and his barrel. He told me that leather washer is soft enough to stop the frizzen from flopping backwards, but not hard enough to add resistance to the frizzen to slow its opening. He then let me move the frizzen back and forth to FEEL how easy it moved. He oiled that leather disc before each trip to the range, also.
He then told me he originally put the disk in between the barrel and the inside edge of the frizzen to stop sideplay, or "wiggle", of the frizzen on the pin. The fact that it prevented the frizzen from flopping back was an "UNEXPECTED, Secondary Benefit". HE TOLD ME HE REALLY DIDN'T WORRY ABOUT BOUNCE BACK, OR "REBOUND" OF THE FRIZZEN, AS IT DIDN'T WEIGHT ENOUGH TO DAMAGE HIS FLINT.
LIFETIME LESSONS LEARNED: It was at that point that I realized that I had been allowed entry into the strange world of Flintlocks- if for only a few moments-- and that I had been given very valuable information. It was almost 20 years later that I got my first MLer, and then converted a rifle from percussion t flint lock, when I began learning some of the finer points about tuning these locks for maximum performance( Speed of ignition, reliable ignition, long flint life, and less damage to the face of the frizzen).
KNAPPING FLINTS:The flint you use will determine how often you have to knapp the edge, even in a well-tuned lock. That is the nature of rocks. However, I expect, and get 80-100 strikes from my flints, although they have to be knapped every 20 shots or so, and usually moved forward in the jaws at least that often. After about 50-60 strikes I sometimes have to reverse the flint in the jaws, and knapp a new edge to continue getting good sparks from the same flint.
CHANGING FLINTS: When the flint gets so short that I cannot hold it firmly in the jaws of the cock and have the edge close enough to the face, when the cock is in the half-cock position, then I change flints. I also always put a new flint in the gun before going hunting.
DEALING WITH SOFT FRIZZENS: You have two choices when dealing with soft frizzens that just don't spark well: you can have the frizzen "CASE HARDENED"( or do it yourself); or you can replace the frizzen with a better one.
Case hardening involves using a product "Kasenite" to add carbon to the steel by coating the face under high heat( Mapp gas, or acetylene), then dropping the frizzen quickly into water to harden it.
If you don't know what you are doing, give this kind of work to an experience Black powder gunsmith.
Replacing the frizzen may be easier. Call lock makers, like L&R, to ask if they make a frizzen that fits your Pedersoli lock. Many of the suppliers of parts for Mlers will also know where you can buy a replacement frizzen. Don't hesitate to call Track of the Wolf, MidSouth, and Dixie Gun Works to ask. The Log Cabin Shop, and Chuck Dixon( Dixon's Gunmakers Fair) are also expert sources of information.
Best wishes to you. :hatsoff:
