Charleville is finished. I'm very pleased with the results. I can cock the thing with my little pinky finger. I haven't measured the pull yet, but it is much improved over the factory pull over over 12 pounds. Frizzen tension is right at 3 pounds or just a bit under. Kicks over easy at about 30 degrees. Trigger pull is much improved after stoning of sear and tumbler full and half-cock notches, and cleaning up the gouges in sear arm and trigger, smoothing and radiusing/de-burring trigger edges that were causing the sear arm gouges. Action is very smooth, two nice clicks when cocking. All screws are tight, bridle, sear screw, frizzen spring screw, frizzen screw (thanks to the replacement 1777 screw I cut down to fit), pan screw. Lock plate screws are tight, tang screw tight. I've snapped the lock multiple times with the German agate, always getting great sparks, agate has not come loose, but I used my brass bar (not to worry, I choke up on that bar to tighten, and make a point not to get carried away), not a turn screw to tighten it down, and both sides of the agate stone are very flat. Some re-inactors told me it would come loose very quickly using lead instead of leather, I believe that was using English black flints or French amber flints though. So far so good with that. I'm using the lead Pedersoli supplied. I do have leather if it becomes a problem though with English flints.
Pan is now polished to a mirror finish.
I did make one mistake putting it back together. I probably should have tightened the tang screw a bit, before I put the rear barrel band in place. I did not, and it scratched the barrel on top, probably due to the barrel spring pushing up on the barrel. about 1/4" of light scratches. I can polish them off, but I may not fuss with it too much.
Also, for now I'm holding off on the acru-glass treatment. I may do that later. Maybe even the barrel band wood area if it wears with take down and use. For the time being I did it the old fashioned way, you know, Beeswax and a heat gun! I put a good coating of beeswax on the barrel, heated it to soften and bedded it. That is one reason I got in a hurry putting the barrel bands on. I wanted to seat it while all that beeswax was soft, so excess would ooze out the sides at top.
It did a great job of sealing. I don't plan to clean with water anyway, and I will break the musket down to clean, remove lock and barrel. I'll use WD40 and alcohol. I use brake parts cleaner on the pan and frizzen to de-grease. I plan to use Jojoba oil for swabbing the bore, and my beeswax/Crisco mix for lube goop softner.
I learned a lot working on this musket. I did treat the lock parts with Militec-1, that stuff is great. Good for engines and transmissions too. Internals are greased with old school Mobil 1 synthetic grease. It is a very light grease and slick as snot!
I'm ready to make something go bang now! If the screws don't hold up from take downs I may order more and case harden them using Brownells surface hardener goop. I have the right screw drivers for all screws though, and that will help keep them from getting buggered up too. I found Jim Chambers excellent tool worked great for the cock to tumbler screw. It was wide enough, and thick enough to fit the screw like a glove.
My vent hole lines up like the rising sun with the pan flat surface, agate stone points to middle of the pan at half cock.
What I have learned for sure, is anyone who buys a factory piece should tune that lock before ever even dry firing the piece. Clean, de-burr, polish, decrease spring tension if needed and lube. On the 1766 Charleville I highly recommend replacing the frizzen screw with the 1777 screw from Dixie. That way you can tighten it all the way into the shank, and it won't come loose, you'll have to cut off about 1/4" from the threads so it won't stick out into the mortise. Some of the other screws may need work if you want them to seat tight without binding.
The cam on my frizzen needed some work, it was too squared off, and needed rounded to kick over easier, and the flat was too wide, all of that was also causing gouging the frizzen spring. I cheated and used Dave Person's excellent tutorial on his Brown Bess project to reshape the cam, without making a mess of it.
The Pedersoli lock had great geometry as Dave Person commented about it. The springs were heavy but shaped well. It was very rough, and those MIM parts needed stoning and polishing, the tumbler was the worst of all, especially that boss that was supposed to reduce friction by lessening the contact surface with the lock plate. It was rough as cob, with what looked like welding slag on that boss. It had scratched the piss out of the lock plate in just the few times it had been cocked at the factory, and by me. Main spring cam arm on it was rough as cob too, with casting ridges on both sides that had already cut grooves in the main spring end that made contact with it. All was stoned with Hard Arkansas stone and polished to mirror finish. Pan to frizzen gap was .007" from the factory. I've got it touching now.
Pedersoli used a light grease to seal the lock pan and barrel. I didn't like that at all. The grease was too close to the vent! I figured it would heat up and wick its way up via capillary action, and into the pan. Petroleum products and black powder are a bad mix. I used beeswax to seal that area.
I ordered the 8 book set of Kit Ravenshear's books from Dixie. They are on the way.
I am looking forward to building that The Rifle Shoppe French Charleville 1763 pistol kit at some point in the future. For now, I am getting kitted up to dress the part of a militiaman at SAR.
I have the rasps, files, and wood chisels needed to work on the stock of the 1763 pistol kit. Only thing I don't have are some of those round scrappers Brownells sells. I will need advice when it comes to finishing the wood. That part I have zero experience at.
When I get around to it, I will post some pictures of my completed 1766 musket for the members to see. I took my time with this project, worked on it when I was in the mood. I really enjoyed it, and it was well worth the effort. No lock jump when firing now. I can hold on target with no movement when firing now.
I posted a picture of my horn and bag too, I have since tied the stopper to the sling, so I won't lose it. Used dark green hemp string. I took Black Hand's, and others advice and got the smallest bag I could get from The Leatherman. It is 8" X 9" Trapper model.
Thanks for all the help and advice, and encouragement members gave on this lock tune. Especially Flinter Nick and Dave Person!
Jim Chambers tool I used for cock screw.
Pan is now polished to a mirror finish.
I did make one mistake putting it back together. I probably should have tightened the tang screw a bit, before I put the rear barrel band in place. I did not, and it scratched the barrel on top, probably due to the barrel spring pushing up on the barrel. about 1/4" of light scratches. I can polish them off, but I may not fuss with it too much.
Also, for now I'm holding off on the acru-glass treatment. I may do that later. Maybe even the barrel band wood area if it wears with take down and use. For the time being I did it the old fashioned way, you know, Beeswax and a heat gun! I put a good coating of beeswax on the barrel, heated it to soften and bedded it. That is one reason I got in a hurry putting the barrel bands on. I wanted to seat it while all that beeswax was soft, so excess would ooze out the sides at top.
It did a great job of sealing. I don't plan to clean with water anyway, and I will break the musket down to clean, remove lock and barrel. I'll use WD40 and alcohol. I use brake parts cleaner on the pan and frizzen to de-grease. I plan to use Jojoba oil for swabbing the bore, and my beeswax/Crisco mix for lube goop softner.
I learned a lot working on this musket. I did treat the lock parts with Militec-1, that stuff is great. Good for engines and transmissions too. Internals are greased with old school Mobil 1 synthetic grease. It is a very light grease and slick as snot!
I'm ready to make something go bang now! If the screws don't hold up from take downs I may order more and case harden them using Brownells surface hardener goop. I have the right screw drivers for all screws though, and that will help keep them from getting buggered up too. I found Jim Chambers excellent tool worked great for the cock to tumbler screw. It was wide enough, and thick enough to fit the screw like a glove.
My vent hole lines up like the rising sun with the pan flat surface, agate stone points to middle of the pan at half cock.
What I have learned for sure, is anyone who buys a factory piece should tune that lock before ever even dry firing the piece. Clean, de-burr, polish, decrease spring tension if needed and lube. On the 1766 Charleville I highly recommend replacing the frizzen screw with the 1777 screw from Dixie. That way you can tighten it all the way into the shank, and it won't come loose, you'll have to cut off about 1/4" from the threads so it won't stick out into the mortise. Some of the other screws may need work if you want them to seat tight without binding.
The cam on my frizzen needed some work, it was too squared off, and needed rounded to kick over easier, and the flat was too wide, all of that was also causing gouging the frizzen spring. I cheated and used Dave Person's excellent tutorial on his Brown Bess project to reshape the cam, without making a mess of it.
The Pedersoli lock had great geometry as Dave Person commented about it. The springs were heavy but shaped well. It was very rough, and those MIM parts needed stoning and polishing, the tumbler was the worst of all, especially that boss that was supposed to reduce friction by lessening the contact surface with the lock plate. It was rough as cob, with what looked like welding slag on that boss. It had scratched the piss out of the lock plate in just the few times it had been cocked at the factory, and by me. Main spring cam arm on it was rough as cob too, with casting ridges on both sides that had already cut grooves in the main spring end that made contact with it. All was stoned with Hard Arkansas stone and polished to mirror finish. Pan to frizzen gap was .007" from the factory. I've got it touching now.
Pedersoli used a light grease to seal the lock pan and barrel. I didn't like that at all. The grease was too close to the vent! I figured it would heat up and wick its way up via capillary action, and into the pan. Petroleum products and black powder are a bad mix. I used beeswax to seal that area.
I ordered the 8 book set of Kit Ravenshear's books from Dixie. They are on the way.
I am looking forward to building that The Rifle Shoppe French Charleville 1763 pistol kit at some point in the future. For now, I am getting kitted up to dress the part of a militiaman at SAR.
I have the rasps, files, and wood chisels needed to work on the stock of the 1763 pistol kit. Only thing I don't have are some of those round scrappers Brownells sells. I will need advice when it comes to finishing the wood. That part I have zero experience at.
When I get around to it, I will post some pictures of my completed 1766 musket for the members to see. I took my time with this project, worked on it when I was in the mood. I really enjoyed it, and it was well worth the effort. No lock jump when firing now. I can hold on target with no movement when firing now.
I posted a picture of my horn and bag too, I have since tied the stopper to the sling, so I won't lose it. Used dark green hemp string. I took Black Hand's, and others advice and got the smallest bag I could get from The Leatherman. It is 8" X 9" Trapper model.
Thanks for all the help and advice, and encouragement members gave on this lock tune. Especially Flinter Nick and Dave Person!
Jim Chambers tool I used for cock screw.
