Interesting comment from Tip!

[Roguedog]

Pletch,
As an engineer, I always enjoy reading about your experiments. I like to blend a little science and theory with my real world experience and land somewhere in the middle. Knowledge is a good thing!

Jeff

 

[Dphar]

In speaking with Tip, he was definitely of the opinion that a larger touch hole would make ignition slower. He told me a well tuned flintlock will shoot faster than a caplock. I'm not sure if this is true or not but I can definitely say that ignition in my flintlock is NOT as fast as my percussion guns. I'm working to try and improve this situation.

Jeff

Your flintlock will NEVER be as fast as a properly made percussion gun. Its a physical impossibility.
Simply look at a slo-mo of a flintlock being fired and its easy to see why.

Flint makes sparks from frizzen. Sparks fall/thrown into priming, powder finally ignites, main charge ignites.

Go to http://blackpowdermag.com/featured-articles/index.php
In case the link gets modified by the site:
Blackpowdermag dot com featured articles tab and scroll down. You will find lock slo-mo videos going back several years, priming powder tests and other tests of flintlock speed, vents priming location etc.

Dan

 

[Grumpa]

I am waaay out of my element here, but I find this entire discussion very interesting, and it sent me on a search for more understanding of the topic. You have years of experience, so I hesitate to even jump in here, but I came across this - the entry cone of a Venturi tube is, typically, 30 degrees, and the exit cone 5 degrees. These gradual changes ensure minimal resistance to the fluid flow, and the best Venturi performance. I hope this may be helpful. If not, like I said, I'm out of my element here.

Also, my search took me into clarinet bores! They have a subtle hourglass shape, not visible to the naked eye. The tone holes are chamfered on the bottom edge (inside the bore), "making the tone hole function as if it were larger".
Given that the direction of flow is from inside the clarinet bore out through the tone holes, it makes sense to me that the chamfering of a flintlock's vent hole should be on the outside of the barrel, rather than on the chamber side, so that the flaming gas is travelling at a higher speed/hotter temperature when it encounters the main charge of powder.

 

[Grumpa]

Thank you, for all of your curiosity and experimentation. And for sharing. I feel much better about my rifle, after reading your experiments. Now, if I can just get out and shoot!
The Grandkids go back to school Tuesday...

 

[Stillwater]

Good comment...

Bill

 

[Stumpkiller]

Also, my search took me into clarinet bores! They have a subtle hourglass shape, not visible to the naked eye. The tone holes are chamfered on the bottom edge (inside the bore), "making the tone hole function as if it were larger".
Given that the direction of flow is from inside the clarinet bore out through the tone holes, it makes sense to me that the chamfering of a flintlock's vent hole should be on the outside of the barrel, rather than on the chamber side, so that the flaming gas is travelling at a higher speed/hotter temperature when it encounters the main charge of powder.

Never tried loading up a clarinet with powder, but I believe the thought behind the chamfer is to get substantial powder of the main charge near the heat of the flash - not as a venturi to speed the flow.

Mr Venturi published his works in 1797, and by then the flintlock had reached well into it's Golden Age.

 

[Claude Mathis]

For a practical and very easily understood demonstration of this, Look at which way the water flows when a toilet is flushed. It swirls to the right in the northern hemisphere, and swirls to the left in the southern hemisphere.

That's not true.

This is so far off topic, I don't know where to start.

Please go back and re-read the original topic and get back on track.

 

[Pete G]

Myths????? Most of my shooting is hit or myth. :rotf:

 

[Grumpa]

Point well taken! I just got caught up in all the discussion of the Venturi effect. Theoretically, I do think it would get a hotter flame into the main charge faster, but, as has been pointed out in this thread, who could tell?
Pletch's excellent experiments indicate to me that a lot of what we think we know/see/hear, just "ain't necessarily so". In my case, I need a lot of good ol' range time to counteract all this readin' time.