Misfires

[JesseJames]

I was talking to a friend of mind he said that he went to his cabin and his boys were shooting their flints (traditions deerhunter). He said that they were haveing a few misfires. He was shooting his a new rmcs flint and had no problem. Any advise as to cure the situation.

 

I'm a newbie to rock locks, but I've learned from some people that really know the mechanics involved in getting the things to work.
There are many things that can contribute to flinter misfires.
Dull flint.
Weak lock (springs).
Soft frizzen.
Flash hole (vent) not clear.
Over or under filling the pan with prime powder.
Flint off center, that is not properly positioned in the jaws, and many more I can't think of.
I'm sure someone with greater experience can think of more ills and cures.

 

More missfire causes - poor hardening of the frizzen - you didn't say anything about sparking ability of the locks used. Another is the sparks aren't hitting the pan - fixed by adjustment such as the turning over of the flint can make a big difference, as well as extending the flint from the jaws, or pushing it further into the jaws.
: The non-sparking flint is a big one. After a few shots, the flint can napp(chip) it's way back to a small hard spot that's slightly rounded & almost invisible and that will hold the flint's sharp edge from the frizzen. It feels sharp - most of it, yet it won't spark enough or the sparks fail to hit the pan.
: Most problems except for frizzen trouble, can be remedied by re-napping the flint - or changing it once the angle of the bottom or top surface becomes too blunt. A blunt angle can cause the sparks to miss the pan, fore and aft. Rain-proof pans are worse for this as the pan is much smaller than older-style pans.
: 4F for priming helps some locks immensely, especially with locks that don't spark well.
Daryl

 

[Zonie]

Daryl covered most of the things that can cause a total mis-fire where there is no flash in the pan.
If it is having a flash in the pan but still mis-firing it is usually due to either too small of a vent hole or the vent hole is plugged.

If someone cleans between shots using too dry of a patch it can knock the crud in the bore off and blow it into the vent hole.
Even with a wet patch this can happen but it is not as likely.
In any case IMO it is always a good idea to Prick the Vent hole by running a wire or vent prick thru it before priming the pan.

As you didn't say that you were using their powder, we only know your powder was good. It is possible they had some old, not very good quality, damp powder. If they did, that could explain a lot of things.

 

[musketman]

If the flint is set out too far in the jaws, it could bind when it hits the frizzen...

A loose flint will slide back into the jaws when it hits the frizzen, or even pop out of the jaws completly...

Oil on the frizzen will cause a misfire...

If the pivot screw that holds the frizzen it too tight, this will slow the frizzen down and break flints...

Is the priming powder still good?