Frizzen help request

[ronrryan]

I just received a gun with a new L/R Queen Anne lock. The lock is browned, and the face of the frizzen is browned as well. My other flinters have all had bright faces on the frizzen. This one generates a small amount of spark, and the flint makes scratch marks on the browning. Question: should I use some fine emery cloth (softly) to remove the brown finish? I am not knowledgeable at all about frizzen hardness, etc.
Appreciate help from the forum, thanks, Ron in Fla

 

[Ian Pratt]

Shooting will scrape the brown off anyway, so you wouldn't be hurting anything by sanding it off. You can use use something a little coarser than fine emery. Also you might wipe the face clean with some alcohol or mineral spirits, chances are that the frizzen face got the same oil or wax as the rest of the browned parts. The oil will prevent good sparks.
Try it and see if it helps. Assuming you have a good flint and it's tight in the jaws, this might take care of your problem.

 

[J.D.]

That frizzen should be hard, so go to work on it with coarse sandpaper. Since the frizzens on L&R locks are hardened through, you will not hurt it sanding with coarse paper or by grinding very lightly to remove the rust.

 

[rich pierce]

I'd touch it to the grinding wheel- but I am good at grinding.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

I got about a 1/4 inch brown spot on the face of my chamber's frizzen when I was browning the back of it.
I tried all kinds of stuff to get it off. Its above the striking point, so Im stuck with it forever. Not grinding on my frizzen for any reason

 

[paulvallandigham]

Try Naval Jelly to remove that rust. Or just put a good quality penetrating oil on it, and let it sit for an hour or so. Then use the same penetrating oil on some fine abrasive cloth,or even a coarse rag, and rub the oil around on the spot to lift the rust. There will be an off-color stain- dark gray, instead of " white"-- but the rust will be gone. Kroil, Liquid Wrench, or any other penetrating oil works well for these little jobs. These oils have oxidizers in them that reverse the rusting process so that the rust can be lifted off.

With your frizzen, you can then polish this with a buffing wheel, using some very fine rouge, to remove even the remaining discoloration. If you don't have a bench wheel, use a dremel sized tool with a buffing wheel to do this small job.

 

[J.D.]

I got about a 1/4 inch brown spot on the face of my chamber's frizzen when I was browning the back of it.
I tried all kinds of stuff to get it off. Its above the striking point, so Im stuck with it forever. Not grinding on my frizzen for any reason

You don't have to grind very deeply, just enough to remove the rust. Modern American made steel frizzens are hardened all the way through, so you won't grind through a hardened "case."

An alternative to grinding is an arbor made of 1/4-3/16 inch dia round stock about 3 inches long. Cut a 1-2 inch long slot from one end. Slide a 2-4 inch long X however wide piece of coarse sandpaper into the slot and chuck it up in your electric drill.

This set up makes short work of rust removal or heavy sanding without fear of removing too much material.
J.D.