Lock bolt(s)

[frogwalking]

I am building a 20 gauge pistol that is based on an English trade pistol, but I am not really worried about being PC. 

The barrel is octagon to round, stock is English Walnut, lock is Chambers Queen Anne, round face, hardware is iron.   Would using a single lock bolt be too far out?  I have a knack of putting the front bolt through the ramrod hole.  The way to ensure this does not happen is to not install a front bolt.  I have made many a percussion gun using only one bolt.  When did this transition from two to one bolt occur?

What do you think about this?   

[Dave B]

I have seen late English pistols with a single screw to retain the flintlock but they have all had a hooked stud in the place of a front lock bolt that latched under a screw in the lock mortise for that purpose.
You can always use a regular pan head  screw to look like a lock bolt then at least you have what looks correct.

When it comes to hitting the ramrod hole with the front lock bolt  we've all done it. The key is to clearly identify the location of the hole with a simple depth gauge. I made one out of a piece of 1/2"square cold rolled stock, a 1/16" steel rod. The cold rolled section is about an inch and a half long. The hole and set screw for the steel rod is in the middle. Having drilled a 1/16" hole at the position of the front lock bolt down trough the bottom flat in the barrel channel into the empty ramrod hole.You just drop it down to bump against the ramrod you have just slid into position. With the set screw secure you can place the gauge on the out side of the lock panel and viola you have exactly where the top of the ramrod is. I have not drilled into the ramrod hole when I have taken the time to use this little gem.

[smylee grouch]

There is also a drill fixture sold by a member of this forum that will make drilling that forward lockbolt almost foolprof.  Gary

[greybeard]

I have always felt that the front bolt on a flint gun was necesary on account of the force to cock a flintgun and prevent breaking out the wood above the foreward part of the lock.
Just me thinkin out loud.  Bob

[G-Man]

I have owned and shot a couple  flint guns that were made with a dummy front screw (wood screw) instead of an actual forward lockbolt and they have held up just fine. 

If you go that route, make sure you do a careful job on drilling and tapping the rear (actually will be your only) lockbolt, for a snug fit.  One benefit of the woodscrew in the front is that it keeps your sideplate in place when you remove the lock for cleaning.

Guy

[T*O*F]

I have owned and shot a couple  flint guns that were made with a dummy front screw (wood screw)

I have done a couple of guns that way, but instead of using a wood screw, I use a regular lock bolt that matches the rear one.  During installation, the sideplate and stock are drilled and tapped simultaneously.  The bolt is threaded clear to the head and cut just short of flush with the ramrod hole.  When it is screwed in, it locks the sideplate and wood together as a unit.  The head bottoms out on the sideplate and, unlike a wood screw, will never go deeper or strip out unless you have gorilla hands and strip the whole works at once.  Once installed, it never need be removed.

[Dphariss]

I am building a 20 gauge pistol that is based on an English trade pistol, but I am not really worried about being PC. 

The barrel is octagon to round, stock is English Walnut, lock is Chambers Queen Anne, round face, hardware is iron.   Would using a single lock bolt be too far out?  I have a knack of putting the front bolt through the ramrod hole.  The way to ensure this does not happen is to not install a front bolt.  I have made many a percussion gun using only one bolt.  When did this transition from two to one bolt occur?

What do you think about this?   

Rivet a "hook" on the front of the lock plate then make a flat head screw the retain the  hook when the lock is installed.

This is how a great many single lock screw FLs were done.

This lock has a hook installed but it does not show well. The front of the lockplate needs to be filed to allow the lock to tip in at the front and engage the screw head.

I have a lock out in the shop but I drove 300 miles today some of it in crappy road conditions and going out and doing the pics does not appeal to me right now.

Dan