The Finished Wheellock

[Bookie]

Finished case hardening the scratch wheel at the forge this morning. Do not have a pyrite, but the case hardened wheel and a dull flint will really throw the sparks! Guess I have a total of 70 hours figuring this contraption out. Now it's time to hammer up a barrel and figure out how I'm going to get it tapered round. Here are two photos of the work. The TRS Dutch rifle plate has been modified/reshaped and the top jaw screw finial is not for a spanner, but since it's Dutch, it has been sculpted into a tulip and has a turn screw slot. P.S., I NEVER said I was an engraver. Cheers,

 

[crgabel]

Sweet! Nice work!

 

[Viking78]

Nice looking lock Bookie, I guess you will turn out Southern mountain rifles with wheellocks from now on :front:

 

[brubincam]

that looks like a flint in the jaws,,,will flint work???

 

[Owenbrau]

Pretty! I can't wait to see the rest!

 

[Light Dragoon]

Yikes! :: Don't use flint in your wheellock. Remember, flint is used in a flintlock to drag pieces of the frizzen off, turning them into sparks in the meantime. A pyrite is just the opposite, in that the wheel pulls pieces of the pyrite off, turning them into incandescent sparks. If you use flint in your wheellock, you'll fairly rapidly wear away the narrow ridges of the wheel, and then the powder will spill out of your pan past the nicely cut grooves that you put in the pan for the wheel to enter through! Won't drag sparks from the pyrite very well then, either.

I speak from sad experience... :boohoo:

Cheers!

Gordon

 

[benvenuto]

someone should start making abrasive wheels that will fit in a wheellock
Then we can stop hunting pyrites and just use scrap iron in the cock

 

[WRussell]

someone should start making abrasive wheels that will fit in a wheellock

Now there's a thought :thumbsup:

I now have a piece of Misch metal. I gather that the active stuff in the surface gets burnt off by the back blast out the touch hole, so I need to deal with that if possible. Maybe a heat shield on the barrel facing side... ::

 

[Bookie]

I case hardened the wheel as per TRS instructions. (The owner advised me last week that in the last 3 shipwrecks studied and inventoried off the East coast (that had wheellocks in them) that there were no pyrites found, only flints and some were in the wheellock jaws. He stated that dull flints were used as good pyrite was not easy to come by in this country.) He also advised that the dull flint would work well with a case hardened wheel, so me knowing nothing about wheelies and considering he's the fellow who makes the parts, I followed his instructions. At any rate, since I don't have any pyrites, a round backed flint filled the bill this morning to get sparks. And spark, she does! Leon, thanks for the offer of some pyrite. I would like to try some. The mainspring vise I made for the lock works very well. It was cheap AND easy to make. Guess it took about 3 minutes. Am really tempted to throw common sense aside and put an octagon barrel on the lock so I can shoot it soon, but guess I better hold my horses a tad longer. Cheers, Bookie

 

[Bookie]

WRussell... I read somewhere that the vents on wheellocks were drilled at a 12 to 15 degree angle to guide the afterburner jet onto the fence and save the pyrite. I assume that this blast could not totally be deflected by the fence, but what is your opinion? I know nothing about misch metal. Bookie

 

[AZ-Robert]

Yikes! :: Don't use flint in your wheellock.

Drat! I thought I had found someplace to recycle all my old worn out flints.

 

[WRussell]

I read somewhere that the vents on wheellocks were drilled at a 12 to 15 degree angle

I read that too. I'm a little nervous about aiming it back (assuming it's the type of lock with the dog in front) for safety issues - mine and the next guy on the range - but aiming it forward would put it into the pan cover. So I dunno, 'tis a puzzlement.

 

[Light Dragoon]

Bookie;

Well, Flints in wheellocks DO work pretty well, just not for very long is the problem! ::

Try out various rock shops in the area. Lots of touristy places also, they often carry pyrites. But try if you can to get the good solid stuff, not the granular-looking stuff, it falls appart after the first few tries. The good cubic crystals are the best, and you can cut it with a jewler's saw into the proper-sized pieces. Sometimes though, fairly small chunks are sold by rock-shops. That's where I found most of mine.

Another thing, try using lead rather than leather for the jaws to hold. In fact, in the Armoury in Graz, Austria, they found a mould for casting lead around pyrites. You stuck the piece of pyrite into the top of the open-faced mould and poured lead around it. The result was a nice chunk of pyrite you could adjust nicely in the jaws without having to monkey with the leather, etc. Kinda cool really!

Cheers!

Gordon

 

[Bookie]

Hi Gordon!
I do use lead on the flint lock my Grandpa's rifle that he made in 1820, and have about 3 feet of ribbon for the purpose. The idea of pouring lead around the pyrite is really intriging. Looks like I may have to try this. I wrote Dyson's last week and they said that their pyrites were 2 pounds Sterling each, plus postage. Will pick some up next month if we are back in London. Don't know of any rock shops here in Iowa. Not many tourists want to come see corn grow and the pigs wallering. :haha: Thanks for the info. Bookiewhoiswheellockhandicapped

 

[benvenuto]

like these?

or these?

 

[Bookie]

Can't say what the English pyrites look like. I did receive a couple of pyrite crystals (about 1 1/4" cubes)from another gent in the mail today, though. Seemed to take forever to slab off a piece with a Dremel. The dust was horrendous :curse: and made the shop smell like the old coal mines near Bussey. Rounded one end on the grinder and by golly, the thing does work!! It was most gratifying to see the sparks stay pretty much in the pan. After a few trials, I must say that I do prefer pyrites over flints on the lock. What is the life expectancy for decent pyrites? Is there an easier way to cut the crystals down into workable chunks? Bookie

 

[Zonie]

"...Can't say what the English pyrites look like..."

I think they have black bushy beards with little pieces of red yarn tied into it.
They usually have a patch over one eye and wave a big Cutlass in the air while saying things like "Drive 'im ta tha Foksul! Weel Teech that lilly livered fool not ta' fool with Capin Teech!! Ah say that war a joke mates! Ah want's ta heer som laffin!
Ye up f'ward! Grab that man so's we can Keel Haul tha landlubbin scoundrel! Arrrrrgh! ma peg leg are stuck in that Da*n hole again!

Stuff like that! :: ::

I think Disney has some pyrites too. Check out "Pyrites of the Caribbean."

Sorry. The Devil made me do it. ::

 

[Bookie]

EUREKA!! Kansas, that is. At last!! A moderator with the same warped sense of humor that I have! We found a few pyrites when out panning for gold this morning, they are pretty small, so I guess they're not English pyrites. Pygmy pyrites from Ioway! Bookie

 

[benvenuto]

a colleague used a diamond saw on his angle grinder once for chopping pyrites. It stank too, even with the water cooling going...
See the wheelock discussion in Pre-flint for Volatpulvia's solution...

 

[benvenuto]

THIS DISCUSSION I MEAN