What lasts longer?

[Redcoat]

How many shots can you get out of a good frizzen before it can't be re-hardened anymore and must be disposed of?

And how many shots does a nipple usually last before it needs replacing?

 

[musketman]

My brown bess is going strong after almost 20 years, it depends on how it was made and what is made of and the tempering...

It's my only long term flintlock, so that's all I'll quote on...

 

there is no definitve answer - so much depends on who made it, what it's made of & who tempered it, etc. The same goes for the nipple.
I've seen alloy nipples flattened by strong main springs in 5-10 shots. I've seen stainless nipples on the same lock go hundreds of shots, if not thousands.
: I wore almost 1/8" off my frizzen and it's still sparking as it did when new. I've replaced the lock for a better lock, but the old one's just fine - a spare.
: I've seen cheap Itiallian & similar US gun flintlocks wearout in a single season and they never did spark well until re-heat treated by soneone who knew what they were doing. Some use mild steel only, relying on case hardening for the entire hardened surface. These wear through quickly as the 'case' is only about .005" thick. If Tool Steel is used & cased as well as headened properly, they never seem to wear out, as my original hand made lock was.

 

[Doc Arroyo]

Quality is the key here. Good steel and good flints last a long time!

The state park that I volunteer at has a number of muskets that are routinely fired for blackpowder demonstrations. These get beat severly due to different shooters, and differing ideas on how to take care of a flinter. Most of the guns are 20 to 25 years old and are Pedresoli and Navy Arms Brown Bess and Charleville muskets. Many of them are shot 5 to ten shots a day, daily for 20 years. (35,000 rounds on one weapon!) Yet, as "gunsmith" of the fort, I have only had to change 1 frizzen on 1 musketoon.

My own fowler is running upwards of 15,000 rounds, and my rifle is in the 7,000 round class. I have not had to even reharden either of these frizzens. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

(edited because of a glich in my system - reran the numbers) :redface:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Had 15 years on one frizzen and it was not needing to be 'refreshed' or rehardned. I'm guessing 4,000 rounds and no signs of problems (though it was streaked and shiny - it was still an excellent sparker). If you can mark it with a file it's too soft. If it snaps in half when you fire the lock you got it too hard.

I usually 'sharpen' the flattened top of my nipples twice before I toss them with a broadhead file. Maybe 500 to 1,000 rounds? I believe since 1979 I've had very few actually break. More often they just peen down to be too thick or the hole erodes too much for my tastes. Poor man's go/no go gauges: a small paper clip wire should enter but not a large one.

 

[Redcoat]

now, with flintlocks you don't really HAVE to buy anything (but powder). Pick up a piece of flint and knap it. Heat the frizzen and harden it. But with percussion guns it is necessary to buy nipples and caps. Is there any way you can make your own stuff for percussion guns?

 

[Rebel]

know how you could make your own nipples. There is a little tool for making your own caps out of paper caps for caps guns, but don't know how well they would work.

 

Forsters "Tap-o-cap" is the tool your're referring to. There was a thread on this recently and should be accessible in the archives. I bought one, used it for a while and have since packed it away, somewhere, and haven't seen it in 10-15 years. The only reason I would ever hope to see it again is if I can't buy caps. They work...but so does a teaspoon when a shovel would be better.

Vic

 

[Myra lou]

I saw that thread also on the 'tap-a-cap'........It said something about don't use chinese caps.....not enough oomph!......either way they said you would have to dig the paper/manure out of the nipple hole after each use......better than nothing......john......

 

An incredibly 'hot' compound for the tap-o-caps can be made from 5 parts potassium clorate, 1 part sulfer, 1 part charcoal. I used postassium clorate, sublimed sulfer(flour of sulfer) and BQ briquets. I do belive my compound was more stable than the original as it took a good blow to set it off - but beware!- 1 drop liquid of mix, from an 1/8" brass rod is all that's needed. I then let them dry. They were hot for sure & NEVER failed to set the charge off, even in the TC I used them in. The rifle HAS to be cleaned after firing as the residue is quite hydroscopic (or hygroscopic) & I think perhaps is also a bit corossive, but prompt cleaning works just fine. A barrel left for 4 years without cleaning showed excessive rust around the nipple, but not inside the barrel due to dry climate in the basement. I discarded the barrel due to ringing it on the bottom dovetail (wedge) that wa cut within .050" of the bottom of the grooves - Thankyou TC for lousy design.
: I was told that compound was outlawed in England in 1898 due to it being unstable. Up until that time, it was the common percussion compound and also for the pill locks and tube locks of Europe.