New kit progressing nicely!

[bigdog2]

Hi gang, it's me again. First, I want to say thanks to all who answered my newbie questions, and those yet to come.

I've got pretty much all the hard stuff done except the barrel lugs. Did my first one today by hand, and you guys were right, cutting the dovetails by hand ain't no big deal after all. Took me more time to work up the nerve than it did to actually cut the first one. Still need to inlet the first one, and then cut and inlet the other two.
The lock, escutcheon plate, toe plate, and all three ramrod loops are inlet and complete. Barrel tang and breech plug are done as well. Perhaps I'll try my hand at some engraving work, or maybe bug a fellow lodge brother who is in the biz to do a compass and square on a silver inlay. I'll probably have the other two barrel lugs complete tomorrow, and might even start on the first sight cut.

One upcoming question: when I brown the steel parts, how far apart should I pull the lock and trigger assembly? I'll brown all the screws, breech plug, and barrel as separate pieces, but I am curious how much to disassemble the lock and trigger assy.
Wish I'd done some digital photos along the way now, would have been nice to see what it all looked like before I started.

Thanks again,

Bob DeVarney

 

[paulvallandigham]

Bob : NOrmally, only the lockplate and the hammer are finished, brown or blue. That is all that is visible. You certainly can blue the rest of the parts, but there is little reason to do so. Polish them, and remove all burr. Check the lockplate for any rub marks, indicating some moving part is dragging on the plate. File, or remove whatever is rubbing, then polish the lockplate, so you will be able to see any future problems that arise. I am referring to the inside of the lockplate, except in flintlocks, where the flashpan, and the frizzen spring and bridle are located on the outside. The frizzen, frizzen spring and bridle, with its pivot screw need to be inspected for any burrs, or dragging, and polished. Most people will blue or brown the frizzen to match the lockplate and cock. They can be left " in the white " and allowed to develope their own patina with age. Just keep the surfaces oiled. The patina will develope under the oil.

 

[Geoff Jones]

Quote: "I'll brown all the screws, breech plug, and barrel as separate pieces, but I am curious how much to disassemble the lock and trigger assy."

Bob,

You imply that you'll remove the breech plug when you brown the barrel....DO NOT!!

Browning, as I'm sure you know, is nothing more than accelerated oxidation....You're "rusting" the parts to a certain degree and then stopping the rust at the proper time and "sealing" it with a finish.

DO NOT risk rusting the breech plug threads and face....assemble the barrel....cork or seal the muzzle and apply the browning solution. (this assumes you've not yet drilled the touch hole)?

 

[Birddog6]

When I brown a lock I completely disassemble it. Reason being the screw threads will hold oil & when you try to brown them they will have a unbrownable ring around the screw where the oil leaches out. To get all the oil out you need the screws out. So I take them completely apart & brown everything that shows on the outside of the lock except the frizzen spring & the frizzen face. Now usually the frizzen face ends up witth some rust on it but it is easily removed.

I suggest you use a mainspring vice to disassemble the mainspring. I suggest a frizzen spring holder to remove it (Dave Motto makes them) but vicegrips will work here With Caution.

Also caution removing the tumbler, as you punch it out of the lock, not pry the hammer off of the tumbler shaft with a screwdriver. Mike Lea makes a nice lil hammer puller that works well if you want to go to that expense, but a 1/4" brass rod ground square on the end has worked well for me for many years. Open the vice a little, lay a rag across it, put the stripped lock on top of the vice with the tumbler going in the vice & bring the jaws in to where they are just off gripping the tumbler. Now insert brass punch into the screw hole in the hammer & lightly tap the shaft out of the hammer & the tumbler will fall into the rag.

Oh, and before ya lose that lil fly out of the tumbler, when ya take the bridal off the lock take the fly & stick it on a 1" piece of electrical tape & tape it to the lil tupperware container lid the lock parts are all in. Lots easier to do when ya take it apart than it is to try to find that sucker after it fell thru the crack in the workbench into never-never land...... :redface:

 

[MSW]

what Birddog said!

use tape and label all those tiny little parts which are escape artists extraordinaire. if you're like me, you'll want to make a sketch or take a digital photo of something, so you can figure out how it goes back together. depending on the lock design, if you manage to misassemble the thing, it will break when you try to use it.

 

[bigdog2]

Okay, sounds good. I finished all the metal parts today, including dovetailing for the barrel lugs, and, yes, even the sight dovetails. They really aren't any big deal, and I can't describe the sense of accomplishment I have looking at my finished dovetails! Now it's on to finish sanding and shaping the stock. And of course any more inlays I decide to do. Actually looks like a rifle now!
I'll leave the breech plug/tang installed when I brown that, and disassemble the lock as much as I dare, at least the pieces that show. I've already drilled, tapped, and installed the flashhole liner.
Still haven't decided whether to blue or brown. I am guessing blueing is easier, while brown might be more historically correct.
Another question: do I remove the front sight ( which is brass and silver ) but leave the rear sight installed ( which is a cast iron or steel piece )

I hope to post some pictures real soon, perhaps tomorrow if I remember.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Yes, you remove the front sight during browning or bluing. Saves you from having to polish them back out again, to remove the stains. If you hot bloe or use heat to brown, you can loosen the solder joints on the sight. Just take it out. It is easily put back in place when the finish work is done. Just remember to make a witness mark with an awl on both the sight base and the barrel, so you can return the sight to the same position in the dovetail.