Learning to Build a Lock

[Rasch Chronicles]

Greetings from the Far East Longrifle Appreciation Club, Afghan Division! Albert A Rasch, President and only member...

As I have mentioned, I read the archives quite frequently, I just go back and hit the next button until I have something more pressing to attend to.

That got me thinking...

In several comments, it has been suggested that one build his own lock. "You'll learn from the experience.", "It's a good skill to aquire.", "Nothing beats building your own lock.", and any number of comments similar to those are frequently made.

What flintlock lock kits are the suggested ones? For the sake of arguement, lets say you're going to build a Chunk Gun with a one and one eighth to one and one quarter inch barrel. [Coincidently that's project number 2 after the Chamber's Fowler. (Which I should be ordering in two weeks!!!)]

Best regards,
Albert A Rasch

[Acer Saccharum]

I built up a lock from castings and found that it was quite a challenge. I had to make a tumbler, my own screws, ad learned a bunch of things I had no intention of learning.

Does one really need to learn to build a lock? No, not with the high quality locks available. But back in the day of the colonial gunsmith, most guns were built with imported locks. I doubt that more than a handful of gunsmiths actually built their own locks or forge welded their own barrels.

You would build your own lock, then, out of curiosity. How does it work? What is the relationship between the parts? Learn the hardness and temper of the parts. The right geometry for the best spark, the right weight of frizzen spring to counter the impact of the frizzen thrown forward.

It is a tinkerer's dream, the flintlock. You learn a whole lot about the lock that will serve you for your whole lifetime of shooting the flinter. Learn how to tune a lock for best operation, to make a spring that will last for thousands of cycles without fail, to make a frizzen of the right temper and curve that will peel the spark for thousands of shots.

Do you need to build your own lock? No. But do you want to? You may want to venture in this direction. You can go as deep into this study deep as a scientist goes into studying the universe.

[bob in the woods]

I started with a Siler lock kit.  They are the bestIMO, and the instructions with points plotted etc are very helpfull. They are also forgiving in that you can get a workable lock out of them!!   A friend had a set of castings for a "Clark" lock, and it gave himfits trying to get it to work. [ Not that they are not good locks}
The Siler will give you a good understanding of the working relationship of the parts. I have made one [ 1] lock [flint] from scratch, and it was a challenge. It was a heck of a lot of work, and needed much fiddling as I went, to get it to work the way I wanted. A quality lock from Chambers or one of the other  suppliers is a real deal at todays prices if you ask me. Assembling a Siler from the castings is a doable project if you take your time.

[Bioprof]

Is the frizzen hardened and the springs tempered in the Siler kits from Chambers?

[Blacksmoke]

Gun locks are the "life blood" of the gun that they are mounted on!   I've built, from raw materials, restored, assembled from castings and made my own lock springs from old vehicle leaf springs over the past 35 yrs.  The reason for doing this is because "gun making" is a life long experience for me.  Like Tom said you will have to learn lots of new skills for working with metal and it's properties.  There is also the geometric and mechanical advantage systems to learn.     For me it is worth it because I am the eternal perfectionist!  I will spend many hrs. assembling and tuning a flintlock so that it will perform efficiently and fast!  However if you are a firstime builder and not wanting to go beyond to that level  then there are a number of "ready made" locks out there that will work fairly well for you.  All of Chambers locks for instance and they are reasonably priced to boot.  R.E. Davis also comes to mind and there are others - check out Track of The Wolf - they have a large selection of contemporary made locks.
Hugh Toenjes

[Long John]

I recently delved into the lock-assembly-from-castings arena using a small Siler lock kit to build a circa 1750 French lock for a pistol I am working on.  As a matter of fact , Acer made the frizzen pivot screw for me as I do not yet own a lathe. 

It definitely is a learning experience.  It teaches you a lot about the importance of precision and attention to detail.  It also forces you to develop metal working skills that, at least for me, haven't been necessary until I started assembling the lock.  So it is a skill development activity, part of the journey.

I am confident that all of the guns I build from now on will be just that little bit better simply because of what I learned assembling this lock.

On the Siler kits only the springs are heat treated.  All of the other parts are as-cast and must be heat treated, including the frizzen. 

The instructions that come with the lock are fairly good.  There are a couple of details missing but if I can figure them out so can you!  The instructions include detailed heat treating instructions for each part.

Best Regards,

JMC

[Captchee]

not to mention  if you need a matching lock thats not avalable in say left hand . you learn to make it .
some years back i was doing a .410 SXS . 
 on that project i used a davis becky lock . but davis only makes it in right hand . so a mirored the lock  so as to have a left hand lock




and yes that was only a temp screw  you see lol

[Dave B]

Albert,
I assume you are there as a part of our armed forces helping sort things out over there. If that is the case Thank you for your service. I am sure we have others not in the military that are also a part of this venture and must say its a brave soul that goes in harms way to help others.

I was told that the tribal blacksmiths in Afghanistan can make just about any thing. I saw a copy of a British Enfield rifle I was told was made by one of them. What a great opportunity if one had one of them willing to let you watch over their shoulder.  I have built several of the Siler kits and have had really good luck with them. I have several TRS (The Rifle Shoppe) locks that I want to build but have not yet gotten around to doing it just yet. I think it is a process that is good to do and have a functional understanding of what it takes to repair or even restore what pieces come your way.

[Jim Kibler]

I've built a few locks and will say it's not easy.  In my mind if you go to the trouble to build a lock, it should be superior to any comercially available lock.  Plan on a great deal of time.  I could build a carved longrifle in the time it takes me to build a lock.  Another consideration is the amount of knowledge that's required to build a good lock.  Working on production locks helps this learning process as does careful study of originals.  I guess the way I would sum it up is to say that the difficulty and amount of work required is easily underestimated when looking from the outside. 

[Don Getz]

My question would be "why?".   I have built many rifles in my lifetime and have always been able to find an appropriate
lock.   I would rather leave it to the experts in the lock building field, and spend my time gunbuilding.  If you must, you
can customize a lock to look more like what you are looking for, but to build it from scratch......no way.............Don

[Jim Kibler]

Don,

How can you have any "lock building experts" if everyone followed the advice of "why do such a thing"?  There's certainly a small place for custom built lock.  People just need to be aware of what an undertaking it is.  It's easy to talk about it, but the doing is another story.  There's a million places to screw up on a lock, that's for sure.

[keweenaw]

Jim,

I'm detecting in your comments that it took you longer to build those Moravian and Harmon locks than you thought it would in our discussion at the CLA the other year!  My comment is that lock building isn't for everyone.  You have to be a person who can work for a whole day on your first lock and realize at the end of the day that you haven't accomplished anything worthwhile in terms of actually making a working lock.  That doesn't bother me (and it also doesn't pay well!) but some people get incredibly frustrated.

Tom

[Captchee]

 why ?
 well because its a skill that needs to be passed on .
Sure its not for everyone and yes it takes a lot of time to do and do correctly . Yes there is more cost in making one then  buying one
 But as was mention earlier by another poster . The knowledge gained  is insurmountable .

 I also wonder if we were to apply the same Why question to  what we do as a whole , could we not then also ask WHY . After all a lot of folks could just go out and pay someone else to do  build a rifle .
 Thankfully a lot of folks do just that .

Myself I don’t build many locks  completely from scratch . I find it much easier to use already made locks or to  basically kit bash existing locks .
 But  still every now and then something comes along .

[Jim Kibler]

Jim,

I'm detecting in your comments that it took you longer to build those Moravian and Harmon locks than you thought it would in our discussion at the CLA the other year!  My comment is that lock building isn't for everyone.  You have to be a person who can work for a whole day on your first lock and realize at the end of the day that you haven't accomplished anything worthwhile in terms of actually making a working lock.  That doesn't bother me (and it also doesn't pay well!) but some people get incredibly frustrated.

Tom

It's a good thing that I typically understimate what an undertaking some projects could be or I might never attempt them!  Excitment sometimes clouds clear judgement.  Who cares about money anyway

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Jim, you have touched heavily upon my own philosophy.  There is one thing to be said for having built locks from scratch, and even from a set of castings...when it comes to tuning someone else's good lock, or trouble shooting problems on how to make it better, the knowledge, and confidence gained from the first is invaluable in the second.  But like all education, it takes time, commitment, patience, and perseverance, and a true lust for the knowledge..

[Don Getz]

Kibler......You have become an outstanding gunbuilder in a rather short period of time.   I guess when you decide to build
your own lock, you are just taking gunbuilding to the next step.   I just can't see trying to build my own lock until I have
conquered gunbuilding.   Personally, it might make me a better builder, but I would rather go the other way.....become
a good builder, then if you are looking for perfection, or just major improvement, go to building your own locks.   I know
a lot of super gunbuilders that have found a way to use the locks that are now available, sometimes modified, but standard items nontheless...........Don

[Rasch Chronicles]

Fellows,

Thank you for all of your comments.  I like to tinker and mod, so the idea of moding a kit, and ulimately building from scratch appeals to me. I really was interested in the consensus as I have seen several comments in the archives on how lock building goes hand in hand with character building...  Good stuff!

I love the mechanics of locks, and since I am artisticly challenged, I stick with the mechanical aspects of machines.  I've seen the innards of some bespoke boxlocks and other fine examples of British lock works, and they were unbelieveably gorgeous!

Best Regards,
Albert A Rasch
Albert A Rasch In Afghanistan

[Jim Kibler]

The primary reason to build a lock ,as I see it, is to make a style that isn't available as a production piece.  The current project I'm working on is a mid eighteenth century English fowling piece.  No production locks are close enough for my taste in such a project.  Some might suggest a Chambers round faced lock, but it's of later styling.  As you study these things in detail, differences become obvious.  Another project was a very close "copy" of RCA #42.  I might have been able to approximate the original lock with a bunch of comericial parts, welding, reshaping etc, but it would have been a lot of screwing around and the results would have likely not been as good as just building a custom lock.  If I go to all the pains to capture the original rifle in the stocking etc, I would hate to settle with the lock.  I don't like compromise too much.  I'll post a picture of the English lock I'm working on in a few days.  I have to re-make the mainspring since the first broke.  An example of the pains associated with lock work.  Several days worth of work can be gone in an instant.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

You've said a mouthful there Jim.  The same applies, perhaps not in so much detail, to making a single set trigger.  I wanted a trigger for my Hawken pistol build about thirty years ago, and none of the commercial offerings suited, so I made my own.  It took a week, and I made all parts at least twice, some many more, before I was satisfied with it.  But I still own the pistol, and it has served me so well over all these years.  That satisfaction is difficult to duplicate with an offering by another maker.