Brown Bess Lock

[Jim Cook]

I would like to try my hand at machining a Brown Bess Musket Flint Lock using the castings from the Track of the Wolf. While I plan on using files, various grits and other hand methods I would like to have a more modern "precision" definition of the screw and pivot locations. Does this definition exist?

[TgeorgeZ]

See:

http://kitravenshear.com/Books.html

Kit Ravenshear was a British gunsmith who came to America years ago and made period correct Brown Besses and modifications to production models to accurize them historically.  He passed away in 1998.  I had seen him and his work at Dixon's Annual Gunshow in PA.

[Jim Cook]

Thanks TgeorgeZ,
I ran across his "Simplified V - Springs" books and found it very well written and packed with very practical information. With your info I sent for several of his other books.  Thanks again.

See:

http://kitravenshear.com/Books.html

Kit Ravenshear was a British gunsmith who came to America years ago and made period correct Brown Besses and modifications to production models to accurize them historically.  He passed away in 1998.  I had seen him and his work at Dixon's Annual Gunshow in PA.

[keweenaw]

There are many, many, many variations of Bess locks made by various manufacturers so no single set of dimensions is likely to be useful unless it exactly corresponds to the lock from which the castings were made and given the 2-3% shrink in the castings over the original model, dimensions from an original lock won't be correct for the castings made from that lock. 

That said, the TRS castings all have hole positions indicated/centered  for the major screws.

Tom