bess lock reworked

[sonny]

I was having problems with no flash an poor ignition from my bess lock. I made a phone call to hugh toenjes out in south Dakota an wow what a difference he made on that lock.He replaced a few springs,tuned an polished it up,replaced the frizzen with a properly hardened one an now, i can probably get the gun to spark with a stick in the jaws of the cock. magic..man is magic with a lock...............sonny

[Blacksmoke]

Sonny,   Thanks for the kind words re: the "upgrade" that I did on your musket lock.  It was a classic example of many that come to my shop for repairs.   I am finding that contemporary lock makers do not "beef up" their springs enough to make a flintlock perform properly.   There is also a philosophy out there that believes a frizzen spring is unnecessary except to keep the priming  powder from falling out of the pan.    This is absolute nonsense!  The frizzen spring is there to provide sufficient resistance to the flint as it scrapes it's way to the bottom of the frizzen face.  Then when the cutting edge of the flint has finished it's travel, the frizzen cam in conjunction with the spring, will snap the frizzen forward to a solid stop.   If your frizzen rebounds back towards the flint - even a little, the spring is too weak!
   Anyway good luck with your rebuilt lock and your reenactments,      Hugh Toenjes

[Old Ford2]

Hi Hugh,
Thank you for the information on the need for proper spring tension on the frizzen.
Years ago, I was told by a well respected author ( black powder ) that there was no need for said spring.
Through all my shooting years, my clatch locks always worked better with the frizzen springs intact.
In years gone by, I have shot too many imported ( cheap ) BP guns to know the value of a well made in the USA lock.
I have seen and used some British, German, and Swiss locks that are as well made, but they are very hard to find here in North America.
Best regards
Old Ford

[Blacksmoke]

Here is a formula for determining correct spring pressures between cock and frizzen.  use a spring loaded fish scale to measure the lbs. that it takes to pull the cock to the full cock position - make a note of it-what ever it is.   The use the same scale to measure the poundage needed to open the frizzen forward from the closed position.  It should be 50% of the lbs.  to pull the cock back.   Most well made flintlocks have a cock pressure in the forward position of at least 6-10 lbs.  My original Bess is 15lbs.!!
  Hugh Toenjes