Frizzen: replace or repair

[artmechanic]

I'm going to give that a try next time out before the new one arrives. HC is all well and good, but on the range I really just want fsst, boom, ding.
Thanks

 

[Don Steele]

In my experience, getting the angle optimized between the edge of the flint and the face of the frizzen is critical to flint life. When I try "bevel down" the flint smashes straight into the face of the frizzen resulting in gouges in the face, and very short flint life. Bevel up uses less of the frizzen, but I still get plenty of sparks and dramatic improvement in flint life.
At this point, all other things being equal, it sounds like a soft frizzen.
BTW:
When everything is "just right " it will be "BOOM-tink"....
No fsst.

 

[LRB]

Gouged in 5 strikes? That makes it a no brainer. Way too soft. You need to re-harden, or have it done.

 

[M. De Land]

I did notice that soft frizzens don't spark for beans generally but even ones I've hardened and do spark well still wear unevenly over time and use and can stand periodic tune up.
I think Wick and others who have said so are right in that yours appears to soft from what you have described.
Often times though the **** angle needs to be changed a bit to lesson gouging of the frizzen.
This is often evidenced by short flint life.
This is often remedied by using short flints but a change of angle would be a better solution.
The thing to be achieved is the shearing of frizzen steel in a smooth arch rather than the chiseling effect of and acute impact angle.

 

[Commodore Swab]

I can fix it so it works, works good, or works great.

 

[MSW]

I agree with Wick Ellerbe ... frizzen face is soft ... I'd go ahead and replace it. (if you think frizzens are expensive, check out the cost of a box of .308 cartridges)

good luck with your project!

 

[artmechanic]

Just ordered a new one...

thanks for the input

 

[webb116054]

I just purchased a used Belgain 69 cal smoothbore musket and tested the frizzen with black powder ! After 5 hammer drops, it finally fired . The sparks were a dim orange color, not the bright white orange they need to be ! I took the frizzen to my forge and heated it to cherry red and put a table spoon of kassenit on the face of the frizzen and watched it melt and bubble up, then put it back in the forge until cherry red and then dropped it into a can of water ! I then took it out of the water , brushed it off with wire brush and put it into an oven for 450 degrees for an hour . I took the frizzen and put it back on the musket and now, NO SPARKS AT ALL ! It is hard because a file just slides across the face . I have tried every kind of flint and it will not spark ! I have did this process on hundreds of frizzens and they sparked very good ! What the heck is wrong with this one ! Could it be the steel is just too poor to produce good sparks ? The frizzen produces pretty good sparks on a belt sander ! Help !!!

 

[rich pierce]

It’s too hard. Needs slight tempering. Stick of in sand in a soil can and put it in the oven at 375 degrees for an hour. Try and repeat at 400 if still not sparking.

 

[lbothell]

L and R replacement lock from track of the wolf and problem solved ! I know that’s frustrating but at the same time rewarding trying to figure it out. I have a LOTT lock for a trade gun (did end up replacing it but still fixed the LOTT) it would eat flints, it wouldn’t spark, etc.. need to have a new main spring made for it, frizzin rehardened and something else I think I’m forgetting but clay smith who had the replacement lock that fit actually did the work on the LOTT too. But before he did all that I had that thing all set up like the game mouse trap! Wood in the old main spring to get it to strike harder, piece of thin metal under my frizzin roller for more tention, wood in the **** to help aline the flint and i shot a deer with it even though at that point it was only good for a couple shots hahaha it was cool to get it working but in the end it was nice to have a lock that I know I will never need to replace (for the most part) and made my gun that much more fun to shoot