poor fizzen/pan fit

[kingsax26]

I ahve a lock that has a rather poor frizzen to pan fit. I can see light across the whole span of the frizzen all t he way to t he frizzen screw! to my untrained eye it does not look like there is enough of the frizzen to file on...any advice id greatley appreciated. The lock was made by Larry Zorn

 

[54ball]

Can you live live with it? If not send it back. It looks as if the pivot screw is too high....this is not a fix that you can do.

With that said it should really make no difference functionally in the real world.

 

[LRB]

To call that a "poor" fit is being generous. You either need to soft solder a plate on the bottom and re-fit, or get a new frizzen and fit it right. You may instead of a adding a plate, build up the pan edges. I would suggest that you first contact Larry Zorn about fixing it if he is truly the maker, or the person who assembled it.

 

[wattlebuster]

If I were you I would send it back to Zorn an let him do it right this time. That should have never left the shop to begin with in my opinion :shake:

 

[MSW]

I agree ... the pivot screw is probably too high. a return trip is in the works: I wouldn't try to shim this up-it will just jimmy-rig the rest of the geometry.

good luck with your project!

 

[alex efremenko]

If Larry made that lock,he will remedy it. Not at all like other lock of his I've used.

 

[kingsax26]

thanks all for the replies, Does anyone have a phone number or web address for him?

Also as a temporary fix as deer season opens this weekend. I glued a very thin piece of leather to the bottom of the frizzen to seal the gap. seems to work just fine

 

[Loyalist Dave]

With that said it should really make no difference functionally in the real world.

Actually it will allow moisture in and the priming powder to fall out. I had a new flint in my Siler lock made by Chambers, put it in the other day...the edge just touched the face of the frizzen. It was just enough to leak out the 3F used as a prime.

LD

 

[hawkeye2]

Mold and Gun Shop
Larry L. Zornes
6493 S.R. 139
Jackson, Ohio 45640
(740) 286-2743

No web site listed on his card.

 

[kingsax26]

update: leather gasket doesnt work so well. the geomeotry is off just enough that the pan doesnt open all the way .

Thanks to hawkeye, just spoke to mold and gun shop. am sending it out this week.

 

[Vaino]

When first getting into MLing {1975}, I was very disappointed in the quality of the flintlocks then available. So....bought some Siler kits and built 4...one is on my squirrel LR and through the years has worked flawlessly. Did my own hardening and tempering w/ very primitive equipment but evidently was lucky because everything functioned well.

Asre installing a frizzen....the first thing done is to get it to lay flat on the pan area w/ no daylight showing and when this is accomplished, the frizzen is clamped tightly to the pan area and the holes for the pivot screw are drilled and tapped. Impossible to screw up. Then the frizzen is heat treated and installed.

I ceased making flintlocks w/ the advent of the Chambers locks....but, tried one other source later on and it cost me 40 hrs to rebuild a Siler assembled by someone other than Chambers. Never "strayed again"....Fred

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Did you check to see if the hole in the frizzen is over sized and causes the gap because the frizzen spring pushes it up rather than the screw hole drilled too high? If that is the case, a simple fix may be a screw with a thicker shank and shoulder for the frizzen to pivot on. Take the frizzen spring off and see how the pan fits.

dave

 

[jerrywh]

The only way to fix that is to weld up the hole in the frizzen and redrill it in the correct position. You would have to know how and you need to have the tools to do so. I suspect you don't or you wouldn't be asking this question.
It is not a simple operation to make those perfect.

 

[Black Hand]

Easiest fix - return to the supplier and ask them to make it right. Too much daylight - moisture will foul your prime if it hasn't all leaked out. With that gap, I'd expect the pan to be empty in about 30 seconds if the gun hasn't been carried perfectly level...

 

[kingsax26]

i did talk to the mold shop this morning will be sending it back. not the end of the world. no one is perfect and sometimes things slip through the cracks. I am sure all will worl out in the end

 

[Pete G]

I did talk to the mold shop this morning will be sending it back. not the end of the world. no one is perfect and sometimes things slip through the cracks. I am sure all will work out in the end

Like priming powder :thumbsup:

Glad to hear that everything is going to be OK. There are a lot of good folks in this business (even if a few of us are sort of curmudgeons) :slap: