Pedersoli Harpers Ferry Flintlock Question

[FrankV]

Hello!
I recently was given a Harpers Ferry 1807 Flintlock kit bought from Dixie Gun Works.

I have a question regarding the Lock and Hammer.

When the hammer is dropped, it does not seem to fall forward into the pan as my Armi Sport Kentucky flintlock does.
I'm attaching a picture of the hammer in it's most forward position.

Is this correct?

Appreciate any and all help!

I've emailed Pedersoli as well.

thanks!
Frank

 

[rabjr]

Thats where the cock comes to rest after pulling the trigger? Looks like the sear is catching the half cock notch.

 

[FrankV]

Thats where the cock comes to rest after pulling the trigger? Looks like the sear is catching the half cock notch.

Appreciate the response!

That's what I thought as well but it's not.

I took the lock off the stock and examined it.
This is the full forward position after trigger pull.

When I called Dixie the 'smith told me this was the way these locks were designed.

I just tried it out and it sparks like crazy, so maybe this is correct?

Just seemed odd compared to my other flinters.

Thanks!
Frank

 

[mykeal]

If it sparks, don't fix it. :grin:

 

[Will Bison]

Prime the pan and see what happens. If it lights up I'd leave it be. If you don't get reliable ignition then look at adjusting the geometry.

 

[Zonie]

I don't own one of these and what I'm about to say might not be correct for your gun but here is what I would do.

First, I would remove the lock. Then I would look to see what is stopping the hammer (cock) to stop in this position. It might be something on the tumbler hitting a solid piece of metal like the bridle or a protrusion on the lock plate. (This is commonly done with percussion locks).
Most flintlocks stop their hammers forward position a little differently.

On a flintlock the hammer often has a little shoulder on its side on the lockplate side. This shoulder will hit the top of the lockplate as the hammer falls stopping the forward motion.
If your lock has this shoulder on the hammer and it is hitting the top of the lockplate when the hammer is all the way forward you may have the ability to improve the situation.

Assuming my hammer has this shoulder I would then look carefully at the tumbler inside the lock to see if it would hit anything if it rotated counterclockwise from its present position.
If it still has clearance and the mainspring is not about to fall off of the spur on the tumbler I would consider filing the hammers stop upward towards the jaws of the hammer.
If material is removed from this hammer stop, obviously the hammer will stop at a "lower" position.

If the hammer does not have this stop built into it and the tumbler is stopping on something internal in the lock I would have to swear a lot and say something like, "Another shining example of poor design!"

zonie

 

[Wes/Tex]

It should go a bit farther than that. The problem is that the original is a "basher" type lock without the full sweep seen in other types. Earlier guns had a problem with case hardening being insufficient and extremely shallow. Any attempt to smooth things up resulted in going through the hardening altogether. Tyr the advise above and see if it helps.

 

[FrankV]

Appreciate all of the responses!

I took the lock off the stock and I don't think there is anyway to allow the hammer any more forward motion without having the mainspring extend below the lock...then it'll interfere with the fit of the lock to the stock.

a 'Basher' type of an action does appear to be the case here, as the 'Smith from Dixie gunworks mentioned.
...or just poor design by the Perdersoli folks

I don't see any problem getting the pan to flash with the amount of sparks this gal through off..but I will test it.

But I must mention also that the kit was a pleasure to put together! The barrel comes in the 'White' and I browned it to match my Harpers Ferry 1803 rifle. the brass fixtures were rough, but a dremel and some polishing rouge have them looking amazing

Thanks again!!... Pan flash test results to follow.

Frank

 

[mazo kid]

It almost looks like the hammer (cock) is not installed correctly. Take it off the tumbler and see if you can put it back on ninety degrees forward. You will probably have to put the hammer on full cock before removing it in order to try this out. Emery

 

[FrankV]

Update:
took 2 weeks but Pedersoli responded to my email.
apparently this is the way this lock falls. still seems odd.
Flash pan test was positive..instant ignition..took her out last weekend and today and got positive ignition and an almost instantaneous shot..no real delay.

Result: I'm leaving her as is.
Thanks for all the responses and help!
Frank