Slow Ignition

No wonder all my load falls out the touch hole :redface:. I better try 7mm maybe. blankty-blank metric system anyhow :cursing:. :winking:.

2 mm is what you want. 2mm equals .079 in.

 

[montanadan]

Rebal-would elaborate on this a little more? The idea is to make non-patent similiar to a patent breech?Not trying to start anything just trying understans the logic behind this..Respectfully montanadan

 

[Rebel]

OK first, i have only done this once so i am no expert on it. Pull the breech plug and using the small Ball type grinding bit on a Dremel, put the bit over the flash hole and slowly grind a depression in the inside of the barrel. I ground a little and then checked the barrel wall thickness with a drill bit through the vent hole. Not real exact, but it worked for me. When i got down to what i thought was thin enough i use a polishing bit to polish the inside where i had ground nice and smooth and put it back together. Hope this made some sense to you. Take care.

 

[montanadan]

Thanks Rebel,I was thinking something else,but I understand about the length of the liner.To long really slows ignition,Thanks again..Respectfully Montanadan P.S. Don't ask me how I learned this.

 

[montanadan]

KaBoom-I have a AH flintlock over the last 3 weeks I have been rounding up different types of vent liners to try.The exception will be white lightning,because they are not easily removed once installed.All of them will 1/16 hole,and I plan to use 40grns. of Swiss 2f.This is just to satisfy my own curiosity,trying to keep every thing the same.I plan on using Swiss Null-B pan primer.I am glad you did this post,because I believe the vent is the heart of ignition for a flintlock.That being said the givens are: reasonable good lock,and it sparks well.I am by no means an expert nor do I play one on T.V.,but like I said just for my own curiosity...Respectfully Montanadan

 

[Larry Pletcher]

Roundball,a gentlemen named Larry Pletch timed all these vents.He published this in the Feb. 2000 Muzzle Blasts.,most of the differences were in mili-seconds,however his results indicated that a Jim Chambers vent with a no. 50 drill bit(.070) with an outside cone added would be the fastest.Sounds Like what Birddog 6 has been saying ,nice buck by the way..respectfully montanadan

I'm not sure who to attach this reply to. I've been away at Friendship to the Nationals. A lot has been said since I left.

I'm the author of the MuzzleBlasts article on testing vent holes. The article did NOT test ANY liners. I timed cylinder shaped holes starting with too small and going to too large. The purpose was to establish a baseline for vent holes. Future articles would then time the liners that you fellows have been discussing. I did post partial results on this forum.

In one phase of the testing I tried an exterior cone on one of the holes and found an improvement. (BTW all testing was done with the same fixture, computer interface, photo cells, software, pan, barrel, and powder. Note that I didn't say lock because no lock was used.) At the end of the article I said that I hoped this experiment would provide a benchmark for comparisons with future tests on liners.
I do like liners and feel that they have the potential for improved ignition. However I don't accept human senses as evidence. I hope at some point to run a test of the various liners and provide a scientific comparison. In the meantime, as I said somewhere on this forum, my preference would be a Chambers liner with a .070 or .078 hole with a slight exterior cone. This is MHO.

Someone made a comment about the speed of locks themselves and said that on one has timed locks. I have timed many flintlocks and have written 5 different articles about the results. Most were published in MuzzleBlasts between 1990 and the present. I also timed priming powders including Swiss NullB (April 2004).

Just for reference a well made large Siler runs around .0400 thousandths. Most of todays locks are comparible with larger locks "generally" slower. The fastest lock I ever tested was an original J Manton (not L&R) at .0277 seconds. The second fastest lock I tested was also an original English.

OK that better be enough. It was not my intention to step on toes.

Regards,
Larry Pletcher
"Pletch"

 

[montanadan]

Pletch-I do not feel like you stepped on anyone toes,thanks for clearing the air so to speak.Respectfully Montanadan