Curious to see what everyone's preferred method on lock maintenance is.
How often, procedure, lube, cleaners, polishing up parts, etc.
Lets hear it guys.
How often, procedure, lube, cleaners, polishing up parts, etc.
Lets hear it guys.
-
Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.
We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.
Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103
Lock Maintenance.............
- Thread starter ETipp
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
When I first get a new rifle or lock for a build I take it apart and polish all metal to metal surfaces that I can to 10,000 grit and make them a mirror finish, after that every time I shoot and clean a gun I remove the lock and clean it ( must be the old Marine in me), blast it with chlorinated auto brake cleaner, let it flash dry, then a drop of break free where needed, that's it.
Brake cleaner spray to de-grease a new lock and or new to me used lock to get that old gummy stuff off.
Soapy water with a brush and drying.
Full disassembly to inspect for wear or burrs, then polish anything that needs it once (New or used).
Back when I was an active shooter in the rendezvous circuit when I was shooting at least twice a week with practice and events, I'd fresh the oil weekly and de-grease again with fresh oil once a month.
During those 50-60 shot events, the lock is pulled with the hammer getting cleaned with soapy water and a tooth brush and oil added again.
Some might think that excessive, but there's ton's of threads on the forum about lock problems, that simple cleaning of olde oil gumming and fresh oil will solve.
There are quality locks made today that do have fine tolerances to fit and finish, but most factory locks don't have that.
These things are made to have lubrication to function properly and smoothly.
Even winter storage, properly lubed and stored for months,, that old oil has to come off and fresh added to work again for the season.
Soapy water with a brush and drying.
Full disassembly to inspect for wear or burrs, then polish anything that needs it once (New or used).
Back when I was an active shooter in the rendezvous circuit when I was shooting at least twice a week with practice and events, I'd fresh the oil weekly and de-grease again with fresh oil once a month.
During those 50-60 shot events, the lock is pulled with the hammer getting cleaned with soapy water and a tooth brush and oil added again.
Some might think that excessive, but there's ton's of threads on the forum about lock problems, that simple cleaning of olde oil gumming and fresh oil will solve.
There are quality locks made today that do have fine tolerances to fit and finish, but most factory locks don't have that.
These things are made to have lubrication to function properly and smoothly.
Even winter storage, properly lubed and stored for months,, that old oil has to come off and fresh added to work again for the season.
If the inletting is tight, and the bolster fits tight against the barrel, how can any fouling get into lock? I never remove mine, no problems, works as well as ever.
evr remove one and check for rust? especially in the humidity of LA?
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2009
- Messages
- 3,087
- Reaction score
- 3,050
Every couple years i remove the lock, clean it with brake cleaner and a brush, lube and re-install.
I remove my flint locks after every shooting session. I give the lock a good dose of Carb Cleaner, then blow the lock dry with my air compressor, then lightly lube the moving parts with 3 in 1 oil in the warmer months, and graphite in the colder months. Twice a year or so, I will place the entire lock in my ultra sonic cleaner for 30 minutes, then blow it dry and lube per the above. I always check for wear, loose, and broken parts. My percussion locks get removed every other shooting session, and get the same treatment.
Percussion or flint? Percussion locks get wiped down after shooting, every few shooting sessions they will get hosed out with brake cleaner, taken apart and re-greased on the contact points and waxed inside and out for corrosion protection. With the amount of pressure on the springs I think grease is a far better idea on locks than oil. With a cap gun I think this is plenty of maintenance. For a flint gun the lock gets pulled after every shooting session, including a single shot if I am hunting. It will get wiped down and lube checked, then reinstalled. When it gets dirty it gets washed with soap and water, taken apart and re-greased, and re-waxed.
hanshi
Cannon
I remove the lock each time I clean. I clean the internals and put on a drop of oil. That's about it.
Every time I shoot I clean my flintlocks at the well house with water and a toothbrush. No soap needed. Then G96 the lock and put some grease on the contact points. Over time oil will can into the wood. New locks get disassembled and all the contact points are polished was bright.
Last edited:
It's not about "fouling" in it's essence.
Yet, removing any fouling is important.
It's about allowing the parts of the lock to function without friction.
Aka; lubricated.
The engine in my truck is all sealed up, right?,,,,, and it works,,, just fine.
but I still put oil in it,, (and change the oil).
Last edited:
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2020
- Messages
- 7,480
- Reaction score
- 20,986
- Location
- On the Border in Idaho looking at BC
I remove the lock after each shooting session and spray it down with windex. then i rinse it with 99% alcohol, let it dry and put a drop of oil on the axle and use silicone grease on all bearing points of the tumbler.
i was doing some work on the seats of a faucet a while back and greased the stem with plumbers grease, AKA silicone grease. got some on my fingers and couldn't pick up anything.
figure anything that slick can't be bad. seems to work just fine.
i was doing some work on the seats of a faucet a while back and greased the stem with plumbers grease, AKA silicone grease. got some on my fingers and couldn't pick up anything.
figure anything that slick can't be bad. seems to work just fine.
I thank you all for the information. So my next question is, what parts do you polish and what do you use to polish them.
I polish the brass furniture with Brasso, not historically correct but but it's what we used in the Army and it gets the job done.
However many say they never polish.
As for the 'Lock'; unless it needs polishing when you get it or if you already polished it and it's working to your standard then you really should never need polish the parts again, not if it:
1) Fits proper to the barrel.
2) You keep it clean.
My Pedersoli. 50cal has functioned fine from the day I got it and some two thousand shots later I see no reason to disassemble let alone 'polish' anything.
Keep in mind that 'polishing' generally involves removing some surface material: my rule of thumb is 'If it ain't broke then don't fix it, just shoot it's
However many say they never polish.
As for the 'Lock'; unless it needs polishing when you get it or if you already polished it and it's working to your standard then you really should never need polish the parts again, not if it:
1) Fits proper to the barrel.
2) You keep it clean.
My Pedersoli. 50cal has functioned fine from the day I got it and some two thousand shots later I see no reason to disassemble let alone 'polish' anything.
Keep in mind that 'polishing' generally involves removing some surface material: my rule of thumb is 'If it ain't broke then don't fix it, just shoot it's
Attachments
My New Englander could use some polishing to ease the trigger pull. It does not have a set trigger and its a bit on the firm side. However, know nothing about working on it.
I remove the locks on my ML's, clean them and oil them up and that's about it.
Tuning locks is not my expertise by far, for that you will have to wait for one more knowledgeable then I to chime in.
But I have read every post here on the subject and it has been discussed in depth. Try searching the forum for 'Lock Tuning' or start a ne thread with that as the subject.
What I can tell you is that every time it has come up, those with the experience generally always forewarn to 'Polish by hand only' and Go Easy....you want to Polish not Sand. Also make sure that your specific issue is indeed the lock's internal components and not something elsewhere.
I will be watching for your responses/thread, those type of discussions are the ones I find most interesting.
The vast majority of lock "tuning" you will read about is just finishing the lock, work that could or should have been done when it was made, flattening contact areas and fitting all the parts to work together. There are some posts where smart guys talk about matching spring pressures and things like that, things I think are actually tuning the lock rather than finishing/completing the lock. Dave Persons has the most informative posts I have seen on lock tuning.
Older thread but I popped the lock off of my Pedersoli Frontier flintlock today after shooting several hundred PRB's over last 6 months or so. That was the last time I took the lock off to clean it. It was quite clean inside, zero rust, so gave the wood a good wipe down and then wiped the inside of the lock out good, sprayed it with Ballistol and put it back on. All good.
Same
I enjoy cleaning my guns as much as shooting them. I tear them to pieces every time I shoot and clean/lube every piece, including locks. I learned several decades ago to never let my weapon be the reason I blow a hunting opportunity. It’s 100% on me to make the shot count.
