Frizzen Spring Problem on a Siler Lock

[Flash Pan Dan]

Just bought a new rifle with a Siler flint. Took the lock apart and polished all the contact points and got her working nice and slick. My only problem is the frizzen spring. It is very stiff and wouldn’t allow the frizzen to cam over reliably. I would appreciate any advice anyone can lend me to alleviate this situation.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Send the lock back to Chambers to fix. Its not something you can't do, but the lock is under a life time warranty. Don't tell them about polishing everything. They may figure it out, but it could have been done by the person who sold you the gun. The polishing has nothing to do with the stiff frizzen spring action. If anything it would improve it.

If you would rather do this work yourself, send me a PT and I will tell you what to do.

 

[chuck-ia]

I would try bevel down and see what happens, (flint) I have a siler lock that when Iput a new flint in, bevel up, it won't flip the frizzen open for the first 3 cycles of the lock, after that it works just fine. Bevel down and it works fine from the start, seems a bit slower bevel down, probably just me though. I might allso try different sized flints and see how it works. I doubt there is anything wrong with the spring. I would allso check the bridle, sear screw and make sure it is not too tight, (binding) I adjust this screw with the main spring out, just snug and make sure the hammer is free, not binding. flinch

 

[Zonie]

Although I'm sure Chambers will fix the lock it may cost some money.

There are Siler locks and there are Chambers Siler locks.

Chambers offers lock kits to build Siler locks and anyone who buys one can build the lock.
It does take some careful work and the proper tools and a method of heat treating the frizzen but it can be done. I've built several of them.

Because of this, unless a person buys the lock directly from Jim Chambers he doesn't know who made the lock and I'm sure Chambers isn't giving warranty's for other peoples work.

As for the lock in question, if the frizzen isn't popping open like it should give flinch's suggestion a try. If that doesn't fix it, remove the feather spring and the frizzen. File or sand the cam on the bottom of the frizzen down just a little, trying to keep the contact point rounded so that it blends in with the sloping sides.
Polish this area and retry it.

It doesn't take much change here to have an effect.

 

[J.D.]

Another thing to check is to see if the frizzen is dragging across the barrel as it lifts off of the pan.

 

[Flash Pan Dan]

Thank you all for your help. I measured the amount of force it took to cam over the frizzen and it was 9lb. 11oz average over ten cycles. I think that is excessive. When I took the lock apart to de-burr and polish it, I verified before reinstalling all the springs that there was nothing binding so the only problem I was having was the frizzen spring tension. I got some advice from Paul V. and ground down the frizzen spring until I got it down to 2lb. 11oz. average. What a difference. I shot the rifle, when I first got it, and I got about 3 shots from a Rich Pierce flint before I had to knap an edge on it( I normally get 12 or more shots before having to knap the flint) and I got chatter marks on the frizzen. Today I shot the rifle with the lighten spring and got 18 shots before I ran out of time at the range. The flint is still sharp and I could get a few more shots out of it, if I had to, before I have to knap it. Thanks again.

 

[ronrryan]

All good advice. I am puzzled that you don't get many more strikes with your flints. 30-50 is not unusual, and many people report an hundred and even more (rarely). I usually figure on 50, have gone longer on occasion. Keep tinkering and you may find the numbers increasing. Good smoke, Ron in FL

 

[Flash Pan Dan]

I have 4 flintlocks and 3 of them were built by the same person. Those three are very fine guns the first 2 I got did not need any tuning, I thought, because the locks were very slick. The exception is the frizzen spring. The frizzen springs on all three are very stiff to a lesser degree than this last one. Which was by far the stiffest. So I got use to 12 to 15 shots before knapping. Now that I know what the frizzen spring should be like I am working on reducing all three springs according to Paul V. instructions. I should get more shots per flint from now on.

 

When the frizzen is really stiff, it's usually not the frizzen spring that is the problem. As has already been mentioned, it's the cam at the bottom of the frizzen. It needs to be ground down (sanded, a little at a time) and reshaped. It's much easier than messing with the spring.
Also, as some one said, make sure the frizzen is not rubbing on the barrel when opening. You may have to file a bit off the side of the frizzen if this is happening.

 

[BrianJ]

I'm with Douglas on this one. My Siler was having trouble producing more than just a few sparks, resulting in the "fuse" type of ignition rather than a quick ignition. After reading this post I thought I'd take a chance. I took 3 or 4 file swipes of the bottom of the cam then a little on each side to round it off again. Then it was polished with 600 grit and I gave the contact point on the spring a light grease. When I put it back together I immediately got a nice shower of sparks. Thanks !!