Question on holding flint in the clamp

[Tom Compton]

I have always used leather and it has always worked fine for me, so I never saw the need to try lead.

:metoo:
Old hot rodder's mantra: if it ain't broke don't fix it.

 

[graybeard]

I tied lead as an experiment. Found that you lose flint and the lead or leather every once in a while. It's a lot easier to replace the bit of leather than to pound a musket ball into a wafer. graybeard

 

[SacramentoJohnson]

Howdy All!
Leather it is then! Will try it out this weekend!

 

[MSW]

Mr. SacrementoJohnson, I wish you the best of luck in your upcoming shoot. I would urge you to try both, and see which method works best for your particular system. If you go with leather, you will be in good company, and if you go with lead, you will be marked as an oppositional behavior fellow (and, therefore, also in good company).

either way, go with what works best for you, and don't get too 'wrapped around the axle' about what others might say.

Make good smoke!

 

[Cruzatte]

I tried lead once in the dim mists of long ago. I didn't like it. The rock kept slipping, and I had to tighten the cock jaw screw every couple of shots. So now I stick to leather. And not just any old leather, either. I tried brain tanned elk once, and had the same experience as with lead. I have a lot of oil tanned cow hide scraps about and use that exclusively nowadays. It seems to work very well.

 

[Vaino]

I've always used leather. One thing that's always puzzled me ....seeing the use of screw driver slots in the cock clamping screws are not the handiest way to tightly clamp the flint and do require a fairly large screw driver, how many of these flint clamp screw heads had through holes for a small rod to tighten?

My most used LR which is used for squirrels has a hex filed on the clamp screw head and fits a very small socket wrench. It works easily and really tightens the screw, but unless a very careful look is made, isn't discernible. As I said in a previous post, "buggered up slots" are anathema, even though the screw head has been "Kasinited", but because of the force needed when using a screw driver, does get "buggered".

Personally...I think a screw driver is the least handiest tool to use for clamping a flint.....Fred

 

[hanshi]

You said it very well. :thumbsup: