Tutorial: Snapping Matchlock Mechanism

[benvenuto]

Turn back now if you are on a slow connection - big images ahead!
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Matchlocks in the armoury of emperor Maximilian I. Either Codex Icon or Codex Monacensis 222 depending on who you believe, painted by Nicolaus Glockenthon in 1505. SOURCE: Harold L Peterson, Encyclopedia of Firearms, The Connoisseur,1964

Detail showing lock. SOURCE: Harold L Peterson, Encyclopedia of Firearms, The Connoisseur,1964

Detail showing four guns, three of which have a similar type of lock. SOURCE: Harold L Peterson, Encyclopedia of Firearms, The Connoisseur,1964

Detail of top two locks. SOURCE: Harold L Peterson, Encyclopedia of Firearms, The Connoisseur,1964
to be continued...

 

[benvenuto]

Snapping matchlock, Basle Historical Museum, Switzerland. SOURCE: Harold L Peterson, Encyclopedia of Firearms, The Connoisseur,1964

Detail of lock and butt. SOURCE: Harold L Peterson, Encyclopedia of Firearms, The Connoisseur,1964

Another similar example, Basle Historical Museum, Switzerland. SOURCE: Harold L Peterson, Encyclopedia of Firearms, The Connoisseur,1964

Detail of lock and butt. SOURCE: Harold L Peterson, Encyclopedia of Firearms, The Connoisseur,1964
To be continued...
Questions at the end please!

 

[benvenuto]

"Standard" European matchlock for comparison. The match holder has a slotted tumbler into which is fitted the end of the sear-lever. this is operated by either a long extension or a separate trigger SOURCE: Howard L Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, Chancellor press, 1965

Indian matchlock for comparison. The match holder is connected to the sear-lever by a separate link. Both work in a vertical slot cut in the stock, and are pivoted in tranverse pins SOURCE: Howard L Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, Chancellor press, 1965

Snapping Matchlock, 16th century, German, in the Bern Historical Museum. Interior mainspring A works on tumbler. A spring, B lying inside the lock has stud C in the middle which protrudes through the lockplate and acts as a sear by holding down the tail of the match holder in the cocked position. This is released by pressure on the button trigger D which is fastened through the lock plate to the end of the sear spring. SOURCE: Howard L Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, Chancellor press, 1965

To be continued...
Questions at the end please!

 

[benvenuto]

From a German wall gun, dated 1562 on the barrel, Tower of London. The mainspring A acts on the tail of the match holder on the outside of the lockplate. The sear C consists of a horizontally acting lever pivoted in the middle. On one end is the stud which passes through the lockplate and acts in the same way as the previous lock. The other end is bent at right angles so that the sear can be withdrawn (by a separate trigger) against the pressure of spring B. SOURCE: Howard L Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, Chancellor press, 1965

From a late 16th century German rifle, Tower of London.
This type of lock, which has a set trigger is found only on a special group of european matchlocks (see plates 59 and 60). The **** is controlled by the mainspring A, which works on the tumbler. These two parts, and the trigger D are attached to the inside of the lockplate. Along the bottom of the lockplate, and at right angles to it is the base plate to which the remaining parts are fitted. These are the sear-lever C; an intermediate lever E; and a spring B, which controls both. One end of the sear catches the tumbler, and the other is pressed towards the lockplate by the intermediate lever. In order to **** the lock, the intermediate lever is pulled away from the sear by a piece of string, F (which is threaded through the lockplate) until its pointed end is held by the rotating trigger stem. The match holder can then be pulled back until the sear catches in the tumbler. When the trigger is pulled, the intermediate lever is released. This gives the sear a smart blow causing it to release the tumbler and the match holder falls into the pan.
SOURCE: Howard L Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, Chancellor press, 1965

To be continued...
Questions and comments at the end please!

 

[benvenuto]

Japanese snapping matchlock, from an 18th century carbine, Tower of London. Made entirely of brass and constructed without any screws. Both the **** and the sear are motivated by coiled springs. The mainspring, A is coiled around the tumbler which has a notch into which the sear C is pulled by another coiled spring B when in the cocked position. To allow for any slackening in this brass spring, additional fastening holes are provided on the sear in order to stretch the spring and increase it's tension. SOURCE: Howard L Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, Chancellor press, 1965

Javanese snapping matchlock, no further details known.
The brass mainspring A is fastened to the outside of the lockplate where it presses upwards on the tail of the ****. The sear, C is a simple piece of iron, one end bent to protrude throughthe lockplate and catch on an indentation in the tail of the ****, and the other bent round so that the separate trigger can act on it. A flat leaf spring B bears on the end of the sear with a forked hook.
SOURCE: Howard L Blackmore, Guns and Rifles of the World, Chancellor press, 1965

 

[benvenuto]

Early matchlock. SOURCE: Heinrich Muller, Guns Pistols Revolvers: Hand Firearms from the 14th to the 19th Centuries, St Martin's Press, 1980

Historical Museum, Basle. SOURCE: Paul Martin, Armour and Weapons, London 1968

OK, i'm done... back to my sick-bed...

or rather CLASS DISMISSED!

 

Here the mechanism with hair trigger used on target guns until the middle of the 17th century

 

[benvenuto]

nice pic! Is that from "the Art of the Gunmaker" by Haywood ?

 

I whish I had noted the title on the copy, probably not english. Book from library, I kept the titles but did not track which copy belongs to which book.

 

[robinghewitt]

But the Mary Rose pattern snaps forwards ::

 

[Light Dragoon]

Snapping matchlock, Basle Historical Museum, Switzerland. SOURCE: Harold L Peterson, Encyclopedia of Firearms, The Connoisseur,1964

Detail of lock and butt. SOURCE: Harold L Peterson, Encyclopedia of Firearms, The Connoisseur,1964

Another similar example, Basle Historical Museum, Switzerland. SOURCE: Harold L Peterson, Encyclopedia of Firearms, The Connoisseur,1964

Detail of lock and butt. SOURCE: Harold L Peterson, Encyclopedia of Firearms, The Connoisseur,1964
To be continued...
Questions at the end please!

This is the basic lock pattern that I copied for my snapping matchlock. With a piece of hacksaw blade for a spring to hold the sear out, a copper rivet for the "trigger", and a piece of a Mauser magazine spring for the mainspring and a lot of hacksaw and file work later, "Viola!" a matchlock! ::

One thing about a snapping matchlock, they're FAST in the ignition! :shocking:

Thanks for posting all of these, Benvenuto! :hatsoff:

Cheers,

Gordon

 

[benvenuto]

Yes, and so do two of the locks I posted above if you look carefully...
The mary rose guns DO have a trigger and trigger guard tho' :blah:

 

[benvenuto]

Gordon,
get some pics for us all!
I've been working on the top one for a while now, but all I have so far are stock patterns and a cardboard mockup for the lock. I have been stockpiling industial metal bandsaw blade for springs though
Still puzzling over that barrel. I can buy carbon steel "hollow bar" (thats 32mm bar with a 16mm hole in it, or 25mm bar with a 5mm hole in it) in 20MV6 grade. What i need is access to a milling machine, or some king of grinding jig I can use at home to shape the flats and correct taper on the damn thing. Anything except having to file it! :cry:

 

[Light Dragoon]

Benvenuto;

I've asked the present owner for some pics, we'll see what transpires! But Jeeminy Christmas! Mill stuff out? I guess I'm still in the hacksaw-and-a-*******-mill-file stage, LOL! I think the only power tool I used was a drill. Of course, it's not like these things are hard to make...

I'll post pics if and when I get them!

Cheers,

Gordon

 

[benvenuto]

Well, I do have occasional access to a #300 power hammer, I could make a mandrell and forge the outside of the barrel to size and shape. Problem is the furnaces there are only 600mm (24") deep, and I need at least 900mm (36")for barrel work. I'd hate to heat one end at a time and not have the flats of the octagon meet properly in the middle!

I've read descriptions of the grinding jigs used by the old time pennsylvania barrel makers, its just coming up with somthing similar that doesn't need a water mill that is exercising my brain cells

 

[Philip Chua]

Wow! 2005 seem like a hot minute ago now! Was going to start cleaning up the lock castings from TRS’s snapping matchlock. I don’t actually know how the mechanism works in this one so was searching about the group and found this thread. Ordering a copy of Blackmore’s book since it’s relatively inexpensive used.

 

[TobJohn]

Wow! 2005 seem like a hot minute ago now! Was going to start cleaning up the lock castings from TRS’s snapping matchlock. I don’t actually know how the mechanism works in this one so was searching about the group and found this thread. Ordering a copy of Blackmore’s book since it’s relatively inexpensive used.

I’m pretty sure the TRS snapping matchlock is supposed to be a copy of this style of matchlock, famous for being present on the Mary Rose when the ship sank:
https://royalarmouries.org/collection/object/object-31168

This thread has some great pictures of a slightly earlier version, with additional photos of the lock out of the gun, as well as information on the above style:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7542

 

[TobJohn]

Additionally, @Rudyard and @Pukka Bundook have both built beautiful replicas of this type of gun and may be able to help.

 

[Philip Chua]

Additionally, @Rudyard and @Pukka Bundook have both built beautiful replicas of this type of gun and may be able to help.

Once I got the parts cleaned up it became quite clear how it all goes together! I'll post a pic once I get it assembled.