lock repair

[bobtaileddog]

I recently bought a turner kikland 45 cal. flintlock pistol at tulsa gunshow. When I cock the pistol and fire it the lock strikes the frizzen, but it doesn't make the frizzen break over and spark into pan. I don't know what to do? Any help would sure be a blessing.
bob

 

[Larry Pletcher]

Bob,
There are a number of possibilities that might be tried. First, look to see that the flint is installed correctly. At half cock the flint edge should be just short of the frizzen. If the flint is too short it may not give the frizzen enough push. You may want to try the flint both bevel up and down. Some locks show a preference. Also sometimes poor lock geometry can be minumized by reversing the flint.

Check to see if the frizzen is bound up in some way. With the frizzen spring removed the frizzen should flop back and forth freely. Make sure it doesn't leave a wear mark on the barrel. Make sure the frizzen screw isn't too tight.

The foot of the frizzen may be rough where it contacts the frizzen spring. If it is, one can use a stone to smooth it. Don't change the shape of the foot just yet; just take the rough spot away. BTW with the frizzen and spring off the gun you can look for wear marks where either may be rubbing on something.

The frizzen spring may be too strong. Springs are generally weakened by taking off material from the back edge, the side that goes against the the plate.

The lock may be poorly timed. If the flint is allowed to slide slowly down the frizzen face the frizzen should kick open when the flint is at the bottom of the frizzen face. If the flint gets to the bottom of the frizzen and it doesn't open, the frizzen foot may need to be reshaped. You want to rule out all the other things mentioned above before resorting to this. Watching the frizzen contact the spring as it opens may give you the idea. However . . .

Reshaping a frizzen foot is an acquired skill - I don't do this. When I rule out all the other things, I take the lock to a friend with better lock-tuning skills that I have.

Good luck with your lock. You may have found out why the former owner decided to sell it. By trying a little harder that he did, you may find the solution which he did not. It could be quite simple.


Regards,
Pletch

 

[Birddog6]

Well, right off the bat you have to decide whether you want that lock to ever work.

If you have never worked on locks, this is not the place to start as most likely you are about to screw this one up.

Send it to someone to have it repaired or made to work and then buy another one to play with if ya feel ya have to play......

Lock work reminds me very much of the 70's and guys building carburators for hot rods. You take 100 guys that are doing it & sometimes 1 of the hundred Really knows what he is doing & can make it right..... 10 of them fool around til they luck into it & get it right, the rest of them are never right, some kinda run some don't, even tho most of them will not admit it.......

I suggest ya have someone repair it for ya & then go enjoy the gun. :hmm:

 

[Brasilikilt]

things like this drive me crazy.

What I would do is simply watch the lock in action very closely. Hold the hammer and let it fall very slowly and see it's relation to the frizzen. do the same with the frizzen, open it up very slowly and check for any resistance.
A properly working frizzen should open with a slight flick of your finger, if it isn't something is too tight, or rubbing against something else.
Take the lock off and watch the internals in action.......it could be that one of the internal parts is hanging up on something.

Also check the lock plate screws, ya never know when a screw is in too tight and is rubbing the back of the hammer enough to slow it down considerably