Production matchlocks

[robinghewitt]

That being said..why aren't there detailed pictures of those wonderful ECW matchlocks for contemporary builders??

I once asked Martin Pegler if I could get some pictures of the ECW matchlocks in the collection. He seemed rather surprised that anyone would want such a thing but went down to the big vault and shot a roll of film just for me, even took some locks out.

Unfortunately he didn't use the flash so they came out a bit dim and red under the strip lighting. Still interesting though, had a few surprises myself :thumbsup:

 

[arquebus]

Yes, I always found Martin Pegler to be very helpful. He helped me identify a Rifle-Musket I had bought a few years ago, he even sent me photographs of my musket model along with some other similar ones to illustrate the evolution of the style.

 

[widget350]

:hmm: Wonder what it would take to get some of those pictures uploaded...

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

I think Dresden was more of a response to the destruction of Coventry, but the Nazis did ask for it.

There are still surviving matchlocks from all areas of Europe, but there doesn't seem to be the interest in them that you might expect. When I was discussing my new fowler with Allan Sandy a couple of years ago, I mentioned that my next gun would likely be a matchlock, and he said that others seemed to be moving toward older style guns. But I haven't seen much indication of it lately. There used to be a number of Pilgrim Century matchlocks at Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts. I haven't been there in years, but those matchlocks are probably still there.

 

[robinghewitt]

:hmm: Wonder what it would take to get some of those pictures uploaded...

They aren't very good pics and glossy is hard to reproduce, probably not worth pestering Mr Pegler for permission :thumbsup:

 

[oldarmy]

Squire,
They look good to me :thumbsup:
How would you post those on the web?
scan them and then up load to a photo site?
Sorry about the mistake in history.. :redface:
It was the bombing of Coventry that caused the British to respond.
I still wonder about the correctness of it.
After all Germany was NAZI controlled.. Churchill could have shown restrain.
One wrong doesn't justify another.. If Dresden was a military significant target, then by all means attack it. If not...what's the point

 

[widget350]

scan them and then up load to a photo site?

That's how I'd do it. A little color correction, and they may even be better after scanning than as prints. Not everyone has a flatbed scanner, though. Oh, and I agree that they look fine.

 

[robinghewitt]

If Dresden was a military significant target, then by all means attack it. If not...what's the point

If you want the answer to that, do a web search for-> bomber harris

Shame about the matchlocks (ML content) :thumbsup:

 

[oldarmy]

I don't want to mix political views with this thread. Harris was given an impossible job. The English air force and the US8th helped end the war. They saved the lives of our soldiers by attacking the NAZI war machine.
TBS..He never should have fire bombed Dresden..IMHO :v
Strangely enough though, the English Civil war.. Cromwell vrs the crown IS A VERY POLITICAL era.
I see where there is an increasing interest in the period.. given the unrest in the world. :hmm: There is allot of political discontent with the ruling classes :grin:
If you can Squire Robin..please try to get those pics on the web. I am sure there are a great many that would love to see them..
I like that first pic. The upper part of the trigger is very high Does that help force the serpentine down to the pan?
My terminology isn't correct, but I hope you know what I mean.
Regards
Mike

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

I'm old and perhaps my memory is failing me, but wasn't WWII raging at the time? Wasn't Hitler bombing civilians in London in the hope of breaking England's will to fight--and failing badly? Wasn't there a phrase about total warfare floating about? When you do something to your enemy, you are giving them the O.K. to return the favor. Didn't the wholesale destruction of Coventry bring a smile to many a face in Germany? Didn't the wholesale destruction of Dresden make many of the enemy somewhat unsure about the wholesale destruction of Coventry? The little conflagration in Hamburg almost certainly did. But I'm old--what do I know?

Not much, but I do know that it is high time that a truly correct matchlock musket was available on the market. A late 16th to early 17th century matchlock. Now that would be something.

 

[robinghewitt]

I like that first pic. The upper part of the trigger is very high Does that help force the serpentine down to the pan?

They are all like that. You either put a very precise pivot in the middle of the long lever or you pull backwards as hard, if not harder than you push up. It stops the serpentine jamming at the halfway point.

It's obviously mechanically wrong and can't possibly work. The obvious solution is to move the trigger pivot below, (rather than above) the plate, try and cram a tiny little flintlock type trigger under the lock, redesign the exposed part to acount for the extra swing and then pray the lock plate never gets the slightest bend in it :rotf:

 

[oldarmy]

I will not argue about the rationalization of firebombing cities during WW2.
It was an in-rational time :cursing: Much like we have now It just seems like such a shame. Having a son that has been in the "war against terror" for so long.. I grow tired of endless war and yearn for peace.
TBS. WHY Would they put a "trigger" on a lock that clearly was not designed for it..
Squire, that pic is great. We need more of them.. :thumbsup:
there is someone that will make a more correct Period correct weapon, if they had better guidelines.
Regards
Mike

 

[robinghewitt]

TBS. WHY Would they put a "trigger" on a lock that clearly was not designed for it..

It just looks wrong, it is actually perfectly correct.

Any resistance to the long lever moving backwards on it's sloppy bearing will jam the serpentine halfway down as the actuator link on the inside tries to pass it's mid point and bottoms out.

It only looks wrong if you think in terms of modern steel, precision machining and short trigger throw.

If you wanted to make that trigger work today you have a real problem.

You use soft steel and case harden the bejabbers out of it to drop the friction. Watch it bend out of shape because the core is not strong enough.

You use carbon steel and harden it right through to drop the friction. Watch it snap.

The real solution is to use wrought iron. Right strength with a glass hard slag inclusion to make it slippery :thumbsup:

 

[oldarmy]

That is so cool.
What a great explanation.
Do you have a matchlock?