New flintlock arrived: Signs of frizzen rebound?

[SDSmlf]

Half cock with frizzen closed

Looks like you need a longer flint, or maybe thicker leather or a matchstick (or similar) behind the flint to get the flint closer to the frizzen. Try for 1/16” or closer, as long as it doesn’t touch. I would also consider trying the flint flipped over, just to see how it works.

 

[SDSmlf]

Should I sweat it about the markings on the jaw?

Call it patina. If it bothers you, clean up and polish everything nice and pretty and never shoot it again. Then at some point in the future someone will get a deal on a gun that looks like it’s never been shot.

And DO NOT APPLY HEAT TO THE FRIZZEN.

 

[SDSmlf]

Feels like one of those 1911 reassembly scratches (hah).

No one here will call it an ‘idiot scratch’.

 

[cjsoccer3]

Understood on the frizzen. I mean putting browning on this little mark on the top jaw that holds the flint. The browning got taken off from the bounce or frizzen strikes. Maybe it just sticks out since the flintlock is new and immaculate at the moment. Obviously will change.

 

[smo]

You can touch that up if you want too, but in a few shots you’ll never notice it again…

 

[toot]

agreed get a longer flint.

 

[beyu]

Pardon me — but is anyone else disturbed by the marks/gouges/scratches on the face of this frizzen?

I have never seen anything like that on the frizzen of my Charleville; some small and rather fine vertical scratches perhaps, but nothing like that.

It makes me wonder if the frizzen is properly hardened?

 

[rich pierce]

That’s a pretty good dig there. If you’re getting good sparks, I’d leave it alone.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
First determine if you really have rebound. Place a bit of masking tape on the frizzen spring where the toe of the frizzen hits when it is fully open, then fire the lock. If you see a dimple in the tape, the frizzen is rebounding. If not, it is just not opening completely. The solutions to those problems are 180 degrees different.

dave

 

[dwtrux]

There is an article in the January 2023 Muzzle Blast by Fred Stuzenberger[?] about fixing Flintlock problems with photos of the jaws just like yours where he explains that the frizzen is bouncing back and the old lock makers fixed that problem with a small hump or ramp at the end of spring to capture the tail of the frizzen as I recalled.

 

[nhmoose]

Polish the pans bottom also. It will hold crud and moisture the way it looks now.

 

[M. De Land]

Hey everyone,

I received a flintlock back from a known popular builder after an 18 months wait or so. At the front of the jaws there was an ever slight polish that was small enough to over look on arrival, after a couple dry fires it’s slightly more pronounced.

After every dry fire, the frizzen opens and stays open as expected. When slowly dropping the cock / hammer, I don’t see any window of opportunity for the jaws to touch the frizzen. I’ve attached a photo below of the jaws / flint at the beginning and end of the frizzen.

I’m guessing (since this is a first flintlock) that this is not from the jaws striking the frizzen or from a too short of a flint, but rather frizzen bounce. The lock is made by Chambers, so I don’t think those typically give issue.

When I close the frizzen with a dropped hammer / cock, it appears to exactly coincide with where the polishing / peening is taking place on the top jaw. I suspect the frizzen is bouncing back and then off of the jaw resting in an open position as can commonly be seen in various online slowmo firing videos.

Is this supposed to be happening and what should I do? I’ve kindly inquired of the builder. I haven’t got much a clear answer, so trying to learn / see here what next steps might ought to be.







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Two things I notice: the flint is to thick as well as short which raises the front of the top jaw into frizzen contact which also may be causing the bounce. Try a thinner and longer flint by grinding off the hump and see if this solves the issue.
I've been known on occasion to grind off a bit of the front end of the upper cock jaw to give a bit more frizzen clearance on the cock swing to make flints last longer.
The photo of the frizzen strike shows there is not much of a scrape length which tends to cause frizzen face gouging and flint edge fracture.

 

[hanshi]

When ever I found a frizzen face to be badly marked I just used a bit of sandpaper to knock off any burrs it has acquired.

 

[TrophyGuy]

If you want to check for frizzen bounce simply place your finger or thumb 3/4 in. in front of a closed frizzen and dry fire. The frizzen will smack your digit hard enough to sting a bit and your soft tissue and bone will dampen frizzen energy enoigh to prevent bounce. It will stay open after passing the toggle point of the frizzen spring, bottom out and stay there without bouncing. Frizzen bounce back is too fast to be seen with the naked eye, at least mine. Frizzen bounce doesn't help the shower of sparks land in the pan. Bounce can whack the cock jaw or flint, neither good. As noted above, fixing flint size, orientation and position are important for good ignition, but it won't stop frizzen bounce. My T/C frizzen bounced when I changed out the old cock for the second generation cock to strike the frizzen higher. I fixed it with a tiny patch of black butyl rubber glued to the frizzen spring where the frizzen stop lobe contacts. Voila! Strong spark shower and no bounce. Fun to tune up these ancient, magnificent anachronisms.