Lock in letting question

[Long Ears]

I am building my first non kit rifle. It is a .58 C profile Rice barrel 42". I had Dave Keck inlet the barrel and do a Virginia profile of the butt stock. I was going to use a Davis Large Siler lock but changed my mind and ordered a Colonial Virginia Lock from Chambers. BEFORE I start in letting it I noticed it is a lot larger lock and I am concerned about the huge main spring hitting the barrel. I may be panicked a little here but I thought I would ask first. I am sure someone has used this combo before and could give me some advice or a way to measure it to make sure. Thanks for any advice, Bob

[Dave B]

Bob,
You are going about it in the right way in asking before getting halfway inlet then asking. The position of the lock is determined by where you are putting your vent hole if you have not got one installed find where you want to put it. I have always dropped a ramrod down the bore to get the length from the muzzel to the breach, then place a mark on the out side of the barrel on the lock plate flat indicating where the face of the breach is. From here you can determine the ideal placement of the vent.
Mark the center of where it will be, position the lock on the flat of the barrel out of the stock. Mark where the pan should be with a felt tip marker on the barrel. Is the main spring preventing the correct positioning of the lock? IF so you may have the placement of the vent too high. I have found that on some original barrels the vent placement is not right on the center line of the barrel but slightly lower than center. This gives more space for the big mainsprings of these large locks. As long as you are careful about where the lock bolster fits properly on the barrel with clearance for the mainspring you are home free. The only problem with using a precarve is you may start running out of room on the lock panel if your going with a larger lock with a longer face plate. Most precarves are very generous with the lock plate panels so you shouldn't have any trouble to my thinking.

[Swampwalker]

Long Ears;  I'm currently doing a build with that same lock and a larger 'D' Weight barrel - there should be no problem with interference, provided you are lined up as Dave B. described.  Make sure the front of your lock is also properly alighned to provide proper placement of the front lock screw - is should just barely clear the bottom of the barrel, and be centered vertically on the front extension of the lock plate.   Good luck!

[Long Ears]

Mark the center of where it will be, position the lock on the flat of the barrel out of the stock. Mark where the pan should be with a felt tip marker on the barrel.

There it is, hadn't thought of removing the barrel yet. I do have my vent marked where I would like to have it but have not installed it yet. I learned that on this Forum. It is amazing the free knowlege that you guys offer here. Thanks Dave, Bob

[Stophel]

Though I really do NOT like breaking into the barrel channel with the mainspring, sometimes it's just gonna happen.  Don't be afraid to put a big notch in the barrel to accommodate the spring.   

[Dennis Glazener]

Plus, if necessary you can file the spring down. Be sure to go lengthwise and be sure to polish all the tool marks out before you re-install. I had to do this plus mill some out off the barrel to keep a early Ketland mainspring from hitting the barrel but this was on a "Feather Gun" pattern and I had to about .025 from the lock bolster to keep it in the wood! Original had a very thin bolster, I had a casting of the original lock plate to go by. Those forged mainsprings on the early guns were much thinner than the cast springs used today.
Dennis

[Jim Kibler]

As has been suggested, I don't think you will have any trouble unless you place the lock high.  I would rather chisel a slight groove in the barrel than cut down the mainspring.  It's a simple matter with a radiused die sinkers chisel.  I'm not sure about forged springs being thinner than typical cast springs today.  In my experience I haven't drawn this conclusion.  A final note about the finishing of springs...  Like most others who go to the trouble to make a spring, I finish them pretty well.  In looking at original springs, this is typically not the case.  Our concern about file marks isn't shown on the originals I've examined.  I understand the rational behind longitudinal small tool marks, but perhaps it isn't as critical as we might think.  Even springs by one of the best 17th century Paris makers I've examined show visible file marks at an angle to the length of the spring.  This is on a top quality lock.  Just some things to consider.

[smallpatch]

Does Dave Keck have a website???

Never mind..... I found it.