Springs Traditions Hawken flintlock

[Hermanoshawken]

Hi. I will transform a Ardesa Hawken Woodsman (Traditions) percussion to flintlock. But the Flint lock has a too strong sear spring and also excessively strong mainspring.
What force must have the springs of the flintlock?
I want the lock to good sparks but without breaking or eat stones.
Thank you very much for the help.

 

[Hermanoshawken]

Excuse me, I meant what weight has to have the frizzen spring. Thank you.

 

[Swamp Rat]

Are you trying to reduce the spring to fit in the lock mortise? If that is the case can you remove wood instead and have it fit?

 

[Zonie]

It's hard to say how much force the frizzen spring on your lock should have.

The only force really needed is an amount that will keep the frizzen closed.
Some locks work a bit better with a little more force than this minimum so don't be in too big of a hurry to lighten it up.

 

[Hermanoshawken]

I think the frizzen spring have too much force (5 pounds). Thanks for the answers.

 

[Larry Akers]

To reduce the strength of the sear spring you can file the lower leaf thinner--carefully. Don't file across the spring but along its length. File to an even taper, thickest at the bend and thinnest at the outer end. Repolish the spring to remove file marks.
The mainspring and frizzen spring must be in balance. As far as I know there is no formula which will give you spring weights. The frizzen spring must be strong enough to offer resistance to the flint, but not so strong it won't open or causes flints to break. A too weak frizzen spring will open too easily creating weak sparks and may allow the frizzen to rebound with enough force to hit the top of and break the flint. Check the camming toe of the frizzen. It could be too long or at an incorrect angle. The spring should cam the frizzen open after the frizzen rises about 25 degrees.
A too weak mainspring may not have enough force to open the frizzen while too strong a spring may bash fints. The springs must be brought into working balance together which may require not so much science but experience.

Buena suerta, amigo.

 

[Zonie]

Just a note about changing the thickness and width of what is essentially a leaf spring.

The force a spring makes when it is bent is related to its width on a one to one basis.

That is, if the width of the spring is reduced by 1/2 of its original thickness, it will create a force that is 1/2 of the original force when it is bent the same amount.

The force a spring makes when it is bent is related to its thickness by the cube of its thickness (thickness X thickness X thickness).

Obviously, a small change in the springs thickness will have a very large effect on the springs force.
Reducing the thickness 50 percent (half as thick as it was) will reduce the force it will produce to 1/8 of the original force.

What this means to the average person is, reducing the width changes the spring force rather slowly so it is easy to control.

Reducing the thickness can change the spring rate drastically and it is very easy to over-do it.

 

[Hermanoshawken]

Thank you fellow JLA and Zonie . Your answers seem very successful. Thank you for your help.

 

[Pete G]

Also take special care when working on a sear spring. If you shorten the top leaf any you will increase the sear tension because of moving the bearing point of the spring further from the pivot point (the sear screw). This reduces the leverage and makes the spring pressure against the sear stronger.

 

[Hermanoshawken]

Thanks again. The only thing that worried me was the excessive strength of the frizzen spring.

 

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

the frizzen springs on these guns are way over weight. I had to gently compress mine with a small c clamp to get it around 3lbs. Before, it wouldnt fully open and would destroy flints. After that, she pops open nicely and shows sparks.

May try experimenting with flint length as well. This one lines short stubby flints to produce the best spark.