Wheel Locks

[Col. Batguano]

Are there any out there commercially made that are of a decent quality and commercially available on a reliable basis? I know TRS makes them, but their delivery schedule is a bit suspect. I've also seen one of their locks, and it did not seem to spark very well.

 

[Canute Rex]

The short answer is no.

Loyalist Arms sells an Indian made wheellock pistol, but I have read (here, maybe?) that the lock requires a partial rebuild to work reliably.

Razpla/Bolek has a 2 year waiting list. Beautiful work if you are willing to wait.

Leonard Day can make them, but he makes them with an internal coil spring and is having trouble finding the correct wire to make that spring. (0.070" "Rocket Wire", if anyone knows where to get 250' of that)(Easy to get in a one ton coil, no less)

I think there is also a gunsmith in Hungary (?) that can make them.

There is a gunsmith in Germany named Armin Konig who makes them, but I recently contacted him and he is taking a couple of years off from gunsmithing.

That's what I know about wheellock suppliers.

 

[rickystl]

Hi Col.

The situation with Wheellocks is for the most part, like Canute mentions. No really good options.

However, if you're considering a long gun, here is a possible option: You could purchase an original lock in working order, or made to be with a little work. Once you have the lock, all the other parts (barrel, stock, hardware, etc.) can be obtained without too much fuss. Believe it or not, these locks do occassionally come up for sale. Not cheap, but way less than the cost to have one built. In fact, there are one or two available now on the famous gun website. One of them from a sporting gun that looks pretty nice.
Of course, this would be a custom made gun. But again, once you have a working lock their are many builders out there that could do it. I've thought about doing this myself, but have too many other projects in the fire at the moment. LOL
Just a thought.

Rick

 

[Col. Batguano]

That's a great idea. I would be the builder. Wheel gun architecture is a little bit different than what we're used to, but so what? Since TRS' locks are $600+, and their order to delivery time line is unsure at best, any price for a working lock less than that (and a delivery schedule more certain) would seem quite reasonable. Making a working spanner wouldn't be the toughest thing to do either.

 

[robinghewitt]

IMHO the tricky bit is getting the pan next to the touch hole on a barrel that clears the end of the axle. You draw it end on and the barrel shrinks before your very eyes :shocked2:

 

[Canute Rex]

You actually might consider buying one of the Loyalist Arms wheellock pistols and cannibalizing it for the lock. The whole thing costs about $650. You would undoubtedly have to tweak a few things to make it work, but all the parts would be there.

 

[eggwelder]

if it does not work properly, Loyalist will not sell it or will inform you that the thing does not work properly before you buy it. flintlocks anyway. they make they`re reputation on stuff that works, not stuff that does not. yes, its Indian made. what i`m not sure about is if they will ship a working firearm to the US

 

[wahkahchimaol.com]

I have one of Leonard Day's .54 wheellock rifled carbines. It works well. I formerly owned a Gary White .54 wheellock rifle with a TRS lock. It broke three times so I sold it, but it was accurate. My thought is that wheellocks are obsolete for a reason. If one must have a wheellock, I would consider Leonard Day, but it's not authentic. If innards matter, try Bolek. Completely authentic, original design. I'd love to get one of his masterwork firearms.

 

[Feltwad]

if it does not work properly, Loyalist will not sell it or will inform you that the thing does not work properly before you buy it. flintlocks anyway. they make they`re reputation on stuff that works, not stuff that does not. yes, its Indian made. what i`m not sure about is if they will ship a working firearm to the US

The ones I built in the late 70,s the locks were by Italian Mendi it was the same size and did for both rifle and pistol it gives me good service
with little trouble
Feltwad

 

[curator]

I bought the Loyalist wheel lock pistol about 6 years ago. I understood that Blair had "tuned" the lock before he sent it to me. It worked fine out of the box and gave good service for many years. About a year ago, the pan-opening lever broke so that the pistol would only fire if the pan was open and the dog lowered on the wheel. No problem, but less reliable as the wheel doesn't build up a bit of sped prior to having the pyrites dropped on to it. Miss-fired about 1 out of 3 tries. I was able to make a replacement lever in my home workshop and the now works fine. My biggest problem with it is finding pyrite the right size and consistency to give good sparking.

 

[wulf]

I use "fire sticks" instead of pyrites and they
seem to work just fine.

 

[Preflint]

I have one of Leonard Day's .54 wheellock rifled carbines. It works well. I formerly owned a Gary White .54 wheellock rifle with a TRS lock. It broke three times so I sold it, but it was accurate. My thought is that wheellocks are obsolete for a reason. If one must have a wheellock, I would consider Leonard Day, but it's not authentic. If innards matter, try Bolek. Completely authentic, original design. I'd love to get one of his masterwork firearms.

How does one get in contact with them to possibly order a wheelock. My understanding Leonard day prefers contact by phone( called him once years ago) but can't find anything for Bolek.

I'm may be finally in the position to obtain a wheelock, but now I don't know how to obtain one, and my ability to make anything is questionable at best.

 

[rickystl]

Hi Curator.
Yes, the pan-opening arm was the only weak point I saw on the lock. When new, I sent the lock to the gunsmith for inspection and any needed tuning, he noticed the same thing and said it would eventually break. So I had him make me a new one more robust.
Never had a problem with it.
And, since he had the whole pistol there, I had him slim the stock down, and make a different trigger guard. LOL I seem to have the bad habit of doing things like this.
And now, lately, I'm thinking about using the lock along with a spare Jager style barrel, and have a paddle butt style carbine made. LOL
The possibilities in my mind never seem to end. :haha: :shake:

Rick

 

[rickystl]

Hi Wulf.

YES!! They do in fact work much better than pyrite. The only problem is that I lost the original packaging and can't remember where I ordered it from.
Do you remember ? Thanks.

Rick :hatsoff:

 

[wulf]

Hi Ricky...I'll have to check and find the receipt.

 

[wulf]

It could be worse... I built a wheel lock rifle
using a German # 535 lock...after the 11th shot
the main spring snapped in two places. It took 6
months to get another from TRS. I consider mysself
lucky. I ordered two springs....

Wulf

 

[rickystl]

Hi Wulf.

Thanks for the PM. Much appreciated.

Rick :hatsoff:

 

[Canute Rex]

Hey Preflint,

You can reach Leonard Day at 413-527-0184. I found him some rocket wire so he should be back in the wheellock making business fairly soon. He's a great guy and built me a well balanced 54 smoothbore matchlock.

By random chance I just got my hands on an actual Bolek made wheellock lock. It's a clockwork sculpture - a real work of art. It's the exact same one that is in the so-called John Alden or Mayflower gun, an Italian design. I'm going to get Leonard Day to build a rifle around it. I'm looking up Italian wheellock designs.

I ordered up a 100g (4 oz.?) bag of pyrite crystals from eBay, from China. Mostly ~5/16" rough cubes. I put one in the dog of the lock and it sparked nicely. I got maybe 30 of them for about $5, so even if some don't work it's cheaper than flints.

 

[hawkeye2]

I use "fire sticks" instead of pyrites and they
seem to work just fine.

What are these "fire sticks" of which you speak?

 

[Canute Rex]

"Fire sticks" are the words that pre-technological people use to refer to firearms in old movies. Also how bears refer to firearms in Gary Larson cartoons.

But seriously, look up "ferrocerium." That is what makes up the "flint" in a Zippo lighter or a cutting torch lighter. People sell sticks of the stuff for fire starting kits for campers. You can buy them on eBay.