Loose Flints

[pony]

I shot my new smoothbore the other day. It shot good but my flint is loose after a couple shots.I've tried leather and lead with no difference. Flints are proper size and square with frizzen. I had a rifle before with same results, just thought it was the flints.I'm new to a flintlock and I must be doing something wrong. Any thoughts? Thanks

 

[roundball]

I shot my new smoothbore the other day. It shot good but my flint is loose after a couple shots.I've tried leather and lead with no difference. Flints are proper size and square with frizzen. I had a rifle before with same results, just thought it was the flints.I'm new to a flintlock and I must be doing something wrong. Any thoughts? Thanks

What kind of flints are they...the "sawed" type agate flints? Flat/smooth on the top & bottom, with 45* angle slopes on each end (reminds you of one of those flat pencil erasers back in grade school)?
If so, and if your leather also has a very smooth surface, they can slide around after a few hits.

But if they're good black english flints, there are usually enough irregularities in the surfaces to bite into the leather and stay permanently in place.

Also, ensure the piece of leather you're using is not so thin there's no compression so it's like lead...has no compression and resiliency which usually makes them less than ideal to hold a flint firmly shot after shot...at least 1/16", if not 3/32" - 1/8" leathers have worked well for me with black english...thick enough to get good compression when the jaw screw is torqued down.

 

[pony]

Flints are knapped not sawed. Not sure where they came from. I got some English flints from T.O.W.and the ones I've used look the same. I'm using fairly stiff cowhide. Should I be using soft leather?

 

[roundball]

Needs to be thick enough to be spongy and compress/bite down around the contours of the flint surface...if the common denominator of the same problem on two rifles is a stiff hard piece of leather, you may have identified the problem.

 

[Rebel]

Try some softer leather and put the rough side towards the flint and then tighten the heck out of the top jaw screw.

 

[pony]

I've found me another piece of leather. A little thicker and somewhat softer. He's tightened down and ready to go. Can't wait to try it out. Thanks for your help.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Another little trick is to glue the leather to the flint with a couple drops of Super Glue. One drop at each end of the leather, on the smooth or skin side. When it's time to change anything just peel the leather off the flint and scrape the glue residue off the flint as well.

 

[paulvallandigham]

PONY: Lead takes about five strikes to seat the flint into the lead wrap. There are subtle curves and waves in what appears to be a flat surface of the flint, and those waves have to marry to the lead. I fire the gun five times, and then use my turnscrew on the cockscrew to tight the screw down one more time. I often get up to a 1/4 turn of the screw, no matter how tight I screwed the thing down the first time. I use a thin hammered sheet of lead I get from hammering out a round ball to wrap the flint, because it grabs the flint better, than any leather wrap I have ever used, unless I glue the leather to the flint. It also does not give when the flint strikes the frizzen, becoming a shock absorber, when I want all that energy to cut steel out of the face of the frizzen, and throw it into the pan as hot sparks. I get more sparks, and they are hotter( whte hot compared to dull red/orange in color) than I do using the same flint wrapped in flint.

I did not believe this was possible, until a friend took me to his workroom one night, turned out the lights in the room, made me wait ten minutes for my eyes to adjust to the dark, and then tried a flint with both leather and lead and let me decide for myself which gave better sparks, and which prevented steel bits from loading up the edge of the flint. I tried it with his flints at his place, and then tried it again at my own home with my flints. Later I let my brother see the " test " at my home, and he then went back to his home and tried the test with his gun and flints. Half a dozen other folks have tried the test, and all report that the lead wrap works better for them, too.

If you like leather, stick with it. If you lose a flint because the leather just won't let you compress it hard enough to hold the flint in your jaws firmly enough, then switch to lead.

You can always do the test. But, be fair to the flint, and your own eyes. Give your eyes the time to adjust to the darkness, before doing the test. Its very difficult to see the color differences in the sparks with any kind of light on , or when your pupils are constricted. Its also difficult to see the difference in quantity of sparks if your eyes are not adjusted to the dark, and fully dilated.

 

[Many Klatch]

You may not be getting the top screw tight enough. I drill a hole through the top screw and use a tommy bar to tighten the flint down. Use a cut off piece of Allen wrench for your tommy bar. I often can get one or two turns of the screw after using a screw driver.

Many Klatch

 

[No Deer]

You may not be getting the top screw tight enough. I drill a hole through the top screw and use a tommy bar to tighten the flint down. Use a cut off piece of Allen wrench for your tommy bar. I often can get one or two turns of the screw after using a screw driver.

Many Klatch

Just be careful you don't twist the end of the jaw screw off. I have done that to two jaw screws by overtightening them.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I use a hawken shop flintlock tool to turn the cock screw. You can buy them from that shop, still, or from Track of the Wolf, Dixie Gun Works, and other suppliers. It reminds me of the old " church key " bottle openers that used to be given away free when you bought beer, or soda pop in bottles.

 

[patriot59]

When you hve tightened the jaw screw check to see if it is touching the top of the hammer throat, this will keep you from getting a good tight seat.
Had to file some of my jaw screw down on my brown bess, even with large, thick flints jaw screw would bottom out before completely tight.

 

I ran into a similar situation recently , and it turned out to be the screw bottoming into the neck of the cock, before really tightening the flint. I had to remove some of the screw length. This was on a custom Siler, with BEF's. No real problem since, but you still need to check for tightness every so often.

Bill

 

[2172]

Here's a suggestion no one has made yet: I take the jaws of the cock and use a dremel tool and cutting wheel to score the indents more deeply,and to add some indents...I've been doing this for about 10 years, and have had no damage to the cock, and the flints seem to be gripped better. I use both lead and leather....doesn't seem to matter much which I use. Hank

 

[roundball]

I've read a couple references to creating burrs or score lines on jaws to reduce slipping...haven't tried it as I don't seem to have that particular problem.

A temporary removable option to see if it helps is to cut small pieces of coarse sandpaper to fit the jaws, tack the pieces in place with a brush swipe of rubber cement on their backs.

 

[redwing]

If you have a good lock, which is where this all starts. A flint leather cut from tanned elk hide
is much better than cow hide. If you have a poor
lock with ill fitting flint jaws or soft jaw screws
nothing will work right. :cursing:

 

The old riflesmiths used a graver and chased the burrs (teeth)on the inside surface of both halves of the jaws. Use the graver with it pointing toward the front of the jaw. This way the teeth are cut so the leather (lead) will be caught in the jaws. Much like many fish hook barbs only smaller. Works like a champ. No more lost flints.