A bigger update tonight — I got a lot done the past few days.
The lock I’m working off is almost 300 years old and in some places it needs improvement for the final castings to be useable and look good. So I went into this anticipating that some initial castings would need to be reworked then molded again. That’s may not be super efficient but at my experience level what I felt best about. So those pieces were initially cast in Freeman’s purple wax, which is formulated for rework as it is carve-able and does okay with filing/sanding. Here are two examples of re-work…
This musket saw some action (what I wouldn’t give to know when and where!). And it shows. The pan has been eaten away such that it needed to be rebuilt. I started by molding the lock plate as is, then went to town building up the pan area into a massive blob of wax. Using files, knives, and a gouge, I carved out a new one. I’m trying to strike a balance of not leaving lots of metal work on the final steel casting, but also not getting myself into trouble by getting too cute with wax re-work. The new pan is kinda small so I left the frizzen a little beefy so most fitting can be done by filing the frizzen.
Original pan
Reworked pan
The frizzen spring on the original lock is a bit warped and contorted, but I really like the finial. So, I stuck that finial and screw bolster portion in an open space in another mold by suspending it from above the mold box such that only that part was in the mold (not by design but because the idea struck me right after pouring the silicone for other parts!). I dug through the parts box and found a 1728 Brown Bess spring is very close in all dimensions, but both leaves are longer than this musket lock’s spring. I molded and cast it in some 30-minute silicone then went to work with a knife, file, and wax pen to first shorten the leaves then “weld” the finial to the spring. I’m really happy with how it turned out, especially because I didn’t try to improve the shape but rather kept the original look of hand workmanship (the screw bolster isn’t perfectly symmetrical or in line with the lower spring leaf).
Original spring (top) and TRS Bess spring (bottom)
The cast finial from the original
Time to mash ‘em together!
The original with one that will go to the foundry. I hope Mr. Barbar is pleased!
I did something similar with the mainspring. The frizzen face was concave from many firings so I “re-soled” it with wax build up then filed it flat. Lots of other stuff, too. It had been a lot of work and tedious at times, but it’s very rewarding to see the final wax come out looking good and knowing it will be part of a functioning lock soon.
With four of the final molds made, I started production tonight. This Freeman Ruby Red wax flows so nicely and fills the mold better than the purple. But it’s way too brittle to be reworked, so the purple has its niche. It sure is nice to sit back and fill molds and see the work in its final state. I almost wish I still drink because a cold beer and shooting final waxes would be a nice evening.
No beer but this guy brought me something (he thought was) better while I was opening a top jaw mold!
Next up is more final mold pouring and casting. The purple lock plate has gotten a little thinner than I’d like… any recommendations on how to beef it up? I think I have seen very thin sheet wax that can be applied in layers but haven’t found it… anyone know what is called or have better ideas?
Have a good night!
- Tom
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