Should I reach out to builder or adjust at home? Gap between lock and barrel

[cjsoccer3]

Hey everyone,

I’m very new to flintlocks. I have my first one. When the lock is on, up towards the front it is touching the barrel, but towards the rear there is a gap.

I’m not sure if the lock is cast a little unevenly but it at least appears that there is a gap growing between the lock and barrel as you lock towards the rear. I’m not sure if this can be corrected by different assembly, the gunsmith being asked to inlet further, etc. but I wonder about powder getting between the barrel and pan.

Thanks

 

[hawkenhunter50]

You shouldn't have a gap there. You didn't put the lock bolts in incorrectly did you? Your frizzen spring looks to be pushed out away from the lock like maybe you have the longer lock bolt in the front and maybe the shorter one is in the rear? Just a thought.

 

[smo]

The lock plate could be slightly bent as well..

 

[S.Kenton]

You shouldn't have a gap there. You didn't put the lock bolts in incorrectly did you? Your frizzen spring looks to be pushed out away from the lock like maybe you have the longer lock bolt in the front and maybe the shorter one is in the rear? Just a thought.

Good catch on the lock screw. I think your on to somthing Hawkenhunter. One other observation, when you take the lock off next time I’d polish the heck out of that pan. You can use 1000 grit sandpaper.

 

[cjsoccer3]

Three things:

1. Here’s the lock with nothing but the plate firmly hand pressed. This appears to confirm screws or lock itself isn’t the issue. The screw by the frizzen is the shortest of the two screws holding the lock. They over protrude.

2. Here’s the lock plate. I see a slight bend outward at the very end / rear (which I think would help the lock bow in at the middle if anything, honestly). Maybe it’s this? But I’d think this would be geometrically advantageous.

3. Idk if this somehow happened from two shots at one range visit, but the front sight is crooked and slightly noticeable when you shoulder.

Maybe I should reach out to builder. Can be implied by my thread history during the build.

 

[oldwood]

Bending a lock plate is not what to do. The lock plate could need inlet deeper , or the lock plate inlet might have a pc. of debris inside the mechanism , not allowing the lock bolster to seat against the side of the barrel. I wouldn't shoot the gun in this condition. Find someone that can check the lock inlet for you , and fix it. ....... A neighbor brought a 30 yr. old custom longrifle to me , and it had a gap between the bolster and barrel. There was ignition fire going through the gap , and charring toe lock mortise. Deepened the lock inlet , closed the gap between the bolster and barrel , all was well . ......... oldwood

 

[ArmorerRoy]

Lead ball smashed flat… make a shim

 

[Mgbruch]

your bolster looks straight, as does the barrel flat. Make sure that they are. Then, if there's nothing in the lock mortise that shouldn't be there, it probably needs to be inlet a little. That front sight is absolutely unacceptable; which also leads me to believe the builder didn't finish the job of inletting the lock. that gun should never have left the shop.

 

[smo]

Lock plates can get bent during a build.
It’s my understanding most are not hardened..
That was why I ask if it was bent or not..
I would lay a straight edge across the plate too make sure where the bend needs straightened..

You can try too straighten the front sight , but it’ll probably break..
I would measure the dove tail and order a new sight..

 

[oldwood]

Front Sight............Looking at the sight from above , like you show it , the sight dovetall is not equal. That's ok , but the sight blade is bent into a bow shape to compensate for the out of center sight dovetail. If the sight dovetail is centered with a drift and hammer , to the right as seen from above , the front and rear halves can be straightened with a small crescent wrench to be inline with the center of the barrel . Once the sight is straightened and centered , the rifle can be properly sighted in. Note....To straighten this type of sheet metal front sight , hold the opposite end of the sight with a tool,like crescent wrench , and straighten the opposite end of the sight. Don't put any stress on the area mounted on the dovetail. Any stress on the jointwhere the sight blade is attached to the dovetail , will surely break the blade loose .........oldwood

 

[cjsoccer3]

No intention to pile on here. New to flintlocks, so very hard for me to assess what’s normal. I have some pictures of when I first got the rifle. I ran into a problem where at the first trigger pull the top of the cock jaw (holding the flint) slightly scraped the frizzen and was hitting at too sharp of an angle. The flint really wasn’t properly installed when it left the shop. Looking back at photos when I was diagnosing contact w/lipstick and adjusting the flint I can see now the start of another issue I had. The cock is about 1/16 inch left of frizzen center.

This captures it more.

I don’t know if the longer frizzen lock screw was accommodated via screw tightness but I did see one / both lock screws not all the way seated on arrival and touching the outer lip of where it’d reside in the lock. Here’s a photo of that with the front screw noticeably protruding on arrival.

Maybe there were fitment issues during the build given how the screw holes in the plate were ovaled out.

Once I fully seated the screws after my first cleaning (it took only an index finger and thumb of torque - really minor pressure honestly), I cocked and pulled the hammer/cock to test everything. I got a scratch on the finish from the hammer / cock contacting the stock. It seemed like the relief on the other side wasn’t enough. Am I new and missing something or is everything a little out of wack here down to the crooked front sight?

 

[Rob M.]

Hey everyone,

I’m very new to flintlocks. I have my first one. When the lock is on, up towards the front it is touching the barrel, but towards the rear there is a gap.

I’m not sure if the lock is cast a little unevenly but it at least appears that there is a gap growing between the lock and barrel as you lock towards the rear. I’m not sure if this can be corrected by different assembly, the gunsmith being asked to inlet further, etc. but I wonder about powder getting between the barrel and pan.

Thanks

View attachment 220957View attachment 220959

Wow ! Some of these answers ! No gap should be there at all . It doesn't matter the reason for it . Contact the builder and he will fix it if he is any kind of builder . Nothing changes , nothing bends , Nome of that ignorant .... . The bolster is thick and doesn't bend . The builder will put inlet black or suet on the lock and tap.it in the mortice then back out and inlet the lock till the gap is gone. I've had bad ones where I had to file the barrel and or the bolster to fit till there was no gap left but that is not typical....and its a ..... to do . Some times , which may be the case with yours as it looks , the lock is not square with the barrel flat and the bottom or top hits the flat and the smith stops inletting the lock but , since its not squared , there is a slight gap . The top and bottom have to be square ...look down the lock side of the gun . Compare the side flat of barrel and the lock ...see if the lock is canted a bit ...on t square with the barrel flat ...it looks as though on your lock the bottom of the bolster is touching but not the top of the bolster .
That's usually when the bottom of lock has been taken in too much canting the lock , so fill at the bottom I'd necessary ... Hard to tell for sure without seeing it in person but that's a good possibility..... Sometimes the lock then goes a bit too deep and then you have to take down the lock mortice edges down too then the mortice border because it makes the border wider .... All part of the job . Good luck ...and don't be shooting it 'till its fixed . It's funny when locks blow off a gun or rifle but not for the owner ....or the guy standing to his right when shooting.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Take out your front lock screw completely. Tighten up the rear as much as you dare. If that doesn't bring the plate against the barrel contact the builder .

.

 

[ColonialRifleSmith]

I'm looking at the tang. See where the builder shaved the raised edge on the lock side? Looks like the barrel was installed slightly cocked. Look down the barrel as if you're sighting it in. You can see if the barrel is in square or not. If not, the barrel will have to be re-installed or the gun will never zero. IMHO, this needs to go back to the builder and repaired. Semper Fi.

 

[EC121]

Looks like you need a longer flint, and It isn't uncommon for the cock not to be square with the frizzen face. There are a number of reasons for a gap at the pan. Hard to say without the rifle in hand. Is the hammer hitting the wood of lock panel? Could be the sear bar hitting the bottom of the hole or the lock inlet isn't deep enough at the rear or finish build up needs to be scraped out.

 

[LME]

Three things:

1. Here’s the lock with nothing but the plate firmly hand pressed. This appears to confirm screws or lock itself isn’t the issue. The screw by the frizzen is the shortest of the two screws holding the lock. They over protrude.
View attachment 220971

2. Here’s the lock plate. I see a slight bend outward at the very end / rear (which I think would help the lock bow in at the middle if anything, honestly). Maybe it’s this? But I’d think this would be geometrically advantageous.

3. Idk if this somehow happened from two shots at one range visit, but the front sight is crooked and slightly noticeable when you shoulder.

Maybe I should reach out to builder. Can be implied by my thread history during the build.

View attachment 220975

The front sight would really upset me. How did it get so far out of alignment escapes me?

 

[Dave Marsh]

Take out your front lock screw completely. Tighten up the rear as much as you dare. If that doesn't bring the plate against the barrel contact the builder .

.

This is what I would do.

 

[ColonialRifleSmith]

Looking at the tang position and filing in the pic's, I think the barrel was installed cockeyed to the left, ergo gap at the top of the pan and barrel on the right. The barrel needs to be installed correctly. Doing anything else will just cause more issues. When the barrel is correct, the lock inletting can be adjusted if need be. Semper Fi.

 

[HSmithTX]

I'd be disappointed if I paid for that.

 

[waksupi]

Lots of bad guesses here. The bolster needs fit to the barrel. In this case the lower part of the bolster needs filed to fit the contour. I've done dozens of these using my belt sander. Once you understand the problem, it is an easy fix. A bit of inlet clean up may be necessary. You may also need to grind a bit from the frizzen so it doesn't contact the barrel.
As far as lock bolt tightness goes, they shouldn't be gorilla tight, just nice and snug. The rear should be snugged first, then the front.
If the cock is contacting the stock, it's wrong. All in all, whoever built the gun did a half assed job of it.