How much do India springs move?

[Camel73]

Hey all,
I know there's lots of India haters out there but for the love of muzzleloading, I could use some help.

I want to be able to service my lock fully.

What I need to know (preferably from other India owners, or past India owners) is...

How much do your springs move?
All 3.
Frizzen, main and trigger springs as you decompress them.

I am new to the flintlock/muzzleloader scene, but am learning...

 

[Leadball loader]

Do you have a problem with the lock?
All springs are different and only need to be messed with occasionally and carefully. Do you need to disassemble one? Do you have the tools needed?
LBL

 

[Commodore Swab]

I have tuned and worked on many India pieces and this is a common question. Unfortunately there is no "answer" as each one is a little different. I will typically tune the frizen spring so that it has a nice feel opening and then the mainspring. The sear spring usually doesn't need work and you want it stronger so that the sear engages more positively with the tumbler.

 

[Camel73]

I want to be able to take my lock apart to clean it. I just thought I'd ask before I went to it.
In your experience, how much did your springs move?

It doesn't matter to me that each one is different. I'm just looking for ballpark figures.
Half inch on average?
Three inches?

The mainspring in particular is bent over on itself and at some point will need to be decompressed to be cleaned properly.

I'll do my best to seal it up with beeswax, but it will need attention.

I have a handful of firearms that I tinker with on occasion and I been itchen to get in there and clean it up to my liking.

 

[hawkeye2]

????? You really don't need to know how much the springs move or bend. If you are disassembling the lock to clean put it on half-cock, snug your mainspring vise down, push up on the sear and lower the cock to the fired position. You can now lift the mainspring free of the lock and it doesn't need to be decompressed to clean. Most times you can clean and lube a lock without any disassembly and there shouldn't be much, if any, dirt getting into the lock from outside. If you want to put a little beeswax between the edges of the lock plate and the wood when you reassemble it that's OK but may not be needed unless you have a poor inletting job. There's no need to "seal" any of the lock's internals with beeswax.

 

[Camel73]

The mainspring in particular is bent over on itself and at some point will need to be decompressed to be cleaned properly.

 

[Sam squanch]

Wear eye protection!

 

[hawkeye2]

We are aware of the configuration of mainsprings as well as the others on the lock. No it does not need to be opened up "decompressed" to be cleaned and there should not be enough dirt, fouling or anything else in there to warrant it. I believe you may be overthinking cleaning & lubing a lock.

Even with a mainspring vise and experience you are running the risk of breaking it by completely releasing it and then recompressing it to reinstall.

By all means wear eye protection when working with springs.

 

[Grenadier1758]

As @hawkeye2 has stated, the springs don't need to be decompressed to be cleaned. In fact it is better to keep the flat springs compressed all the time and not release tension any more than to lower the hammer. I use a toothbrush to clean the springs in my lock. The lock is decompressed enough by having the hammer in full down position to be cleaned. Maybe once a year I will take a lock apart for cleaning, polishing and general maintenance.

I do recommend taking a lock apart inside a white trash bag. There are too many little pieces such as the fly, sear spring, bridle and miscellaneous boltgs to get lost as the lock is taken apart.

 

[Zonie]

The mainspring in particular is bent over on itself and at some point will need to be decompressed to be cleaned properly.

The mainspring is designed that way. It is supposed to be bent over on itself.

Reread the other members posts above. If you still want to take your lock apart, the first thing you need to do is to buy a mainspring vise. This vise will hold the spring in a compressed condition so that the spring can be removed from the lock. Some people have tried to use Vise-Grips® or similar locking pliers to hold the mainspring but many of them found that resulted in breaking the spring. I speak from personal experience about this.

If you are bound and determined to take your lock apart, use this link to jump to some instructions that tell you how to do it.

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/taking-apart-a-side-hammer-lock.116647/
My opinion is, never take a lock apart unless something is broken.

 

[Camel73]

About a month ago I found this vid.
It's a youtube vid by Townsends.
I thought it was a great vid about a flint lock.


A vise clamp wouldn't be hard to make.

I didn't think this would be such a big deal, lol

 

[hawkeye2]

A good vid but it still isn't necessary to disassemble to clean and lube. You might consider doing it once a year inside the house but not every time the gun is shot and not in the field. I have locks that have years of use that have never been apart and no issues. A mainspring vise is not expensive, better than trying to make something. I can tell you from experience it's better to use the proper tool than to break a mainspring.