Hawken L&R Hooked Breech question.

[cannonball1]

I am making a 58 caliber flintlock. I have purchased a hooked flintlock L&R breech. There is a 3/8" vent hole cavity. When the breech is in place this leaves a ledge from cavity to the .58 inside of the barrel. My question is do most leave the ledge or taper the barrel side of the breech so the powder flows to the bottom? Does it matter?

 

[The Crisco Kid]

I doubt that it matters since the 3/8" hole will be full of powder. I used a L&R patent breech on my last build. They had drilled a hole from the left side to provide a flash channel to the nipple and plugged the hole with a screw that was dressed off flushed. When I test fired the rifle and then cleaned it I noticed bubbles coming out of that hole. In other words, it was leaking and would have probably led to problems. I ended up soldering a piece of rod to the screw so I could back it out and then soldered in a new screw to completely seal the hole. It's a good thing I hadn't browned the barrel before I test fired it or I would have been really PO'd. It's something you should look for on your hooked breech.

 

[Phil Coffins]

I blend the transition of the treads to the bore with an effort to not have a sharp edge. It’s import to seal the threads to the breech.
E3E49713-A60B-4D99-AFD5-B7BA087614C4 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr
There is no sealer on these threads but there is old carbon at the edge. After 40 odd years it doesn’t seem to hurt anything.

 

[rich pierce]

I blend the transition of the treads to the bore with an effort to not have a sharp edge. It’s import to seal the threads to the breech.
E3E49713-A60B-4D99-AFD5-B7BA087614C4 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr
There is no sealer on these threads but there is old carbon at the edge. After 40 odd years it doesn’t seem to hurt anything.

Excellent. Better than the originals.

 

[cannonball1]

xxx


Which of these two drawings or does it matter.

 

[Phil Coffins]

The “or this” but more of a radius.