New Argentine Wheel lock

[curator]

Many of you have seen posts by a member/gun-builder in Argentina, Prof. Ozvaldo Gatto. I ordered a completed wheel lock (lock only) from his company to complete a special order build from a reenactor/client who is in a big hurry. I figured a completed lock would cut significant time off the build and allow me to meet my customer's deadline. I was a bit reluctant to buy from half-way around the world but Mr. Martin Gatto helped me through the international financial maze and kept me informed of my order's progress. In all, it took barely one month from payment until I received the lock. Having built a couple of Rifle Shoppe and Blackley lock kits before, I am quite impressed at the fit and finish of the lock I received from the Gatto Company. I am posting some pictures of the lock. I believe Mr. Gatto posts here on the forum under the name "columbus."

 

[Columbus]

Nope, not me. All I did was post some pics of Gatto's work.

 

[Treestalker]

What's a symphony of steel like that worth?

 

[Columbus]

According to the website, it's $1,050 for the lock.

 

[Carbon 6]

$1,050 for the lock.

 

[Nyckname]

$1,050 for the lock.

That better come with a lifetime guarantee. And I mean my [hypothetical] grandchild's lifetime.

 

[Carbon 6]

It looks well made, They don't look easy to make, and wheel locks don't grow on trees. I guess He can choose whatever price he wants.

 

[Canute Rex]

Look at the photo and do a parts count. You can't see the hand made bicycle-style chain behind the raised plate. These things are devilish to make and tune. There's a reason everyone went to flintlocks as fast as they could, a few Teutonic aristocrats excepted. A thousand bucks for a decent wheellock is a good price. I wouldn't make one for that if I knew how.

 

[curator]

I figured that it took me about 60 to 80 hours to do all the filing, drilling, taping,threading hardening, polishing, tempering, and tuning to get a TRS wheel lock parts-kit working reliably. Even longer if I screwed up something. I am neither the most efficient or the best equipped for this level of custom firearm replication. Miquelets and Jacobian locks are significantly easier than wheel locks to assemble, but still need a lot of hand fitting to work well. Being able to cut this time from a build for a "generous" but impatient client is a real plus for me. TRS quoted me a lower price but a one-year wait time. The lock at $1050 is good value from my point of view. My client is more than happy to get the gun on time rather than one year or more from now. My test using ferrocerium rod indicates this is a real good spark-maker. I would not hesitate to buy again from the Gatto Company in Argentina.

 

[Pukka Bundook]

Wheellocks were never cheap, and still aren't as there is Such a lot of work to them. Thanks for showing us this lock Curator. It's Very well done!

 

[AAOG]

Curator, many thanks for your words about our work and for share your experience with the members! We are making that locks fron 2007 for our Wheellock German pistol replica, and that pistol win the first place on Germany when be tested and analyzed for experts. We have an Note into the VISIER MAGAZINE (the best guns magazine of Germany) about that proof.
I know... We are located in Argentina and it is a problem for many people around the world... But we have experience on export our products to Europe and USA from 2003.
We are an Italian family located in Argentina, but the gunmaker bood are alive in our tradition.

My best wishes for you Curator and many thanks again for your posts and members comments too!
I want ti see pictures of your finished work here!

 

[rickystl]

Hi Curator

That lock looks really good !! The quality looks impressive. And the cost very reasonable. I'll have to check out their Web Site and see if they also make other types of locks and keep them in mind.

Rick

p.s. TRS also told me recently that assembled locks of any style are a year out.

 

[Col. Batguano]

DO you have a link to their web site> I couldn't find it using a Google search.

 

[Columbus]

DO you have a link to their web site> I couldn't find it using a Google search.

http://www.osvaldogatto.com.ar/?fbclid=IwAR0NemLj7VG-7iQqjqFj-le9UlLws3BleUlRs-bIMcNKWni2BGslNlLQ9F8

 

[William Rooks]

I find that to be a reasonable cost for such a lock, particularly given the hand work required, plus tuning etc. Let's face it. Nobody is mass producing wheellock locks that I know of. Good job AAOG. I ordered a custom wheellock lock from a Hungarian guy named Andras Konya. I don't have it yet, he's just sending it now, but he's sent me pics throughout the construction and it's a fine looking job.

 

[dd832]

QUOTE="Carbon 6, post: 1560304, member: 32296"]

[/QUOTE]

Very funny graphic there Carbon 6, but go back to page 3 of this forum & look at my wheellock build titled "Rebuilding a Mendi Wheellock" - https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/rebuilding-a-mendi-wheellock.109624/. It took me months to build it & 5 pages of posting to finish it (hobby build). Making a wheellock from scratch it like making a large watch in your shop that only runs for one second. You can't buy a good one for $300, but you can buy one that doesn't work for $300. Mike

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

You can't buy a good one for $300, but you can buy one that doesn't work for $300.

BEST retort I ever heard about a wheellock, an instant classic - hilarious, but true!

 

[tenngun]

I would note wheelocks had limited use because they were so expensive in the old days.