he's right
DON'T LOSE THE FLY ( or 'flye' depending on how you spell it ... never cud spel for a $%^&)
at first, please take whatever i tell you with a big grain of salt (in the two pound range)... i only shoot percussion when i have to- it's a flint thing, but if you want to shoot caps, that's your business and i'll defend to the death your God- given right to do so (there, i just broke the 'no politics' and the 'no religion' rule in one phrase, but that's also a tirade for another day)
so, free advice from a rock banger:
(1) square up the nipple and the hammer before you tinker with anything else. if for no other reason than it's the easiest and least risky thing to do, it's also the most likely to work.
(2) beware of the random pontifications of geezers (such as myself) that the mainspring is too weak, the widget is too small, or the snake oil resiviour suffers a bingo fuel light. be skeptical: there are more old wives' tales in muzzleoading than in just about anything else with the possible exception of french cooking. all the more reason to go with the easiest and most low risk solution first. so, if you bung up a nipple, you're not out too much- the thing was going to wear out anyway, and if you don't have a few spares lying about, you should. mess up the drum, and you're in for an expensive time.
(3) i would avoid taking the lock apart unless you have a proper main spring vise. they're available from Track of the Wolf or Dixie Gun Works, or a bunch of other suppliers. If you use a visegrip, you run the substantial risk of putting small sratches in the surface of the main spring, which may lead to breakage. this will, of course, put your rifle out of commission until the spring can be replaced. Murphy's law being what it is, this will happen as the Boone & Crocket buck turns broadside to you at a range of ten feet. To disassemble the lock, remove it from the stock, clean the outside and put the lock on full cock. then position the mainspring vise so that there is moderate compression on the spring (you don't need to 'reef it down-' you'll see why in a minute). When the vise is on the spring, trip the sear and gently lower the hammer. As you do so, the compression of the spring will be taken up by the vise, and the hammer will no longer under tension, and you can disassemble the mechanism. The only other spring you'll need to worry about is the trigger spring (this pushes the trigger bar into the sear) and this isn't a very strong or very big spring, so be careful that it doesn't launch itself into the next county, never to be seen again.
(4) do all this disassembly business over a piece of poster board or construction paper. (newspaper always hides the little parts, so i don't use it.) do it, of course, on a smooth flat surface, and do it without the usual distractions: TV, hookah pipe, excess beer (if such is possible) etc. You will need proper screwdriver(s) which you should have anyway. If you don't have one, shame shame shame on you- now don't be a cheapskate and go fetch one. If it's any comfort, a good screwdriver will last a lifetime with proper care, which makes the purchase price on a per use basis about a tenth of a cent.
(5) the advice about taking pictures or making drawings as you go is goo, and i wish i'd done that the first few times i took a lock apart. some of these gadgets are very tricky, and it's very easy to put something in wrong ways 'round, only to have the whole thing jam up later. (don't ask me how i know.)
(6) the patch thing seems to settle, and i suspect that after a hundred or so shots, your patches will be whole and clean, your groups will tighten, and cleaning will be easier. Clean, by the way with warm (not hot) soapy water and a flush out widget with a bore jag, followed by dry patches followed by lube/preservative - Ballistol, or some oil of your choice. Be sure to clean the oil out of the bore before you shoot- i use rubbing alcohol). I suspect that you'll get to the point where you will use pillow ticking or something similar. You'll be one of those really eccentric fellows at the dry goods store looking at the bolts of linen and pillow ticking and fooling with a micrometer. To really complete the effect, it helps if you mumble to yourself; arcane stuff about ballistic coefficients and such. Wear either really nice or really ratty clothes, and if you smell of Hoppes #9, so much the better. They might see right through this however. When i did it, the lady at the counter looked me dead in the eye and said (so that everyone in the store could hear), "You're one of those muzzle loading guys, aren't you?" (Being from Vermont, I was able to say "Ayup." and then shut up, which always seems to slam them shut.) Anyway: when you go to the drygoods store, if you have a micrometer, remember that there will be a bit of give in the fabric, and remember that there will be sizing in the fabric, and remember that you MUST use 'natural' i.e. non- synthetic fabrics. Pillow ticking is popular because the weave is very tight (originally to keep the small shafts of the feather stuffing from poking you in the face as you slept), an because it usually comes in a more or less appropriate thickness. The colors of the striping once probably meant something, but now they don't seem to have any significance any more. You can also use muslin (which is all cotton, usually- but check to make sure: the contents are on the edge of the bolt) and if you're shooting a large bore smoothie, you can use cotton canvas (again: check the edge of the bolt, it will say if it's all cotton or a blend, and if it's fire retardant, in which case, don't buy it for patching material). If you use a synthetic fiber or a blend, you will get an horrific coating of melted crud in you bore. It will be a %^&!!! to remove. You will swear mightily,
:cursing:
and you will use time which might otherwise have been better spent. Don't ask me how i know. :redface: :redface: :redface:
Oops- i almost forgot, be sure to wash the material before you cut it, the sizing will also make a mess of you bore and will cause the fabric to resist the uptake of the lube, which is, after all, the object of the exercise.
Which brings us to lube. What i use might or might not work for you, so just 'cause i do something doesn't make it right for you. lubes, like anything else, are subject to the vagaries of humidity and temperature ...
As regards the lube you will use, i would check out Stumpie's formulae, which cover just about all the possible conditions. You will hear stories of shooters who go for hundreds of shots, no thousands of shots, if they use Brand-X lube, and their groups will tighten, and their dog will come home, and their Mom will get out of prison, and the repo man will bring back their pick up truck, and the bank will stop forclosure on their trailer, and their girlfriend will take them back ... you get the idea ...
grain of salt ... ten pound block
check out a few of the recipies and see what works best for you in your conditions and in your part of the forest.
hope this helps... sorry if i rambled on but it's pouring rain and i'm trying to stall before i have to feed the goats, who will tell me that not only am i late but that it's pouring rain and what do i intend to do about it (inexplicably, the weather is all my fault, at least in the minds of the goats).
Best of luck, and
Make good smoke!
