If you bother to read my posts closely, you will read that I own two Pedersolis.
They include a bess that needed a rebuild due to sloppy fits on the lock. The hole for the tumber axle was drilled 10 degrees off of perpendicular to the face of the bridle. The hole was .031 larger than the axle on the tumber. The tumbler axle hole in the lockplate is .010 larger than the axle.
I can live with .010 oversize hole, but not the .031 hole. Clearance on those axle holes should be about .005, not .031, or even .010.
That oversize hole was not the result of wear. The hole was still round, not oval, as it would have been from wear.
The lock was so sloppy that the mainspring had worn away part of the bridle and the tumbler had worn a deep score mark in the top of the bridle. There was/is, a deep score mark on the lockplate where the bottom of the tumbler rubbed against the plate.
The sides of the tumbler are still convex, as opposed to flat. Ideally, the sides of the tumbler should be flat with a bearing surface .010 high and about .125 larger in diameter than the axle.
The person who assembled this lock apparently compensated for sloppy fits by grinding the sides of the tumber into a convex configuration. That's real quality. :hmm:
I can't remember how many times the frizzen needed rehardening over the years, at least twice.
Yeah, the lock worked, but it was slow...real slow. I mean REAL slow.
I still shoot that bess quite often but now the lock works 1000% better.
I think I paid about $250 for that od bess, btw. IMHO, the new one I handled last week might have been worth that, but not a lot more.
The 32 frontier rifle needed work too, though not as extensive as the bess lock, and it works much better too.
So I do own and shoot two Pesersoli guns. And to be honest. I began learning how to work on flintlocks because of those two guns.
I also own and shoot a coupla custom guns.
The new Pedersoli guns I saw last week DID NOT COMPARE to the older ones in any way, shape or form.
The price of the bess was nearly $1000,the kentucky rifle was closer to $700, if my memory is correct. IMHO, neither gun is worth half of what they want for them. The quality just isn't there.
I have talked to other gunsmiths that specialize in ML and cartridge BP rifles. Their experienced with Pedersoli products compares with mine.
One very good smith was working on a Pedersoli sharps rifle. He found the same issue with screw holes not being drilled perpendicular to the frame. The holes were drilled at an angle to the frame. They were doing that 20-25 years ago, and they are still making the same mistakes today.
There are a lot higher quality guns available for about the same price, or a little more.
The question is, do ya wanna buy a new gun that needs quite a bit of work to make it right, in part because the manufacturer doesn't care if screw holes are properly drilled, or do ya wanna buy a gun that is right, out of the box, for about the same price?
Like everyone else, I am merely sharing what I have experienced over the years...and as recently as last week.
The point of all of this is, IMHO, the quality of Pedersoli products has never been top notch, and appears to have taken a nose dive recently.
J.D.
