made in India gun parts/locks

[RichG]

does anyone have any experience with the made in India locks that are available? Quality,are they comparable to the Italian stuff?Junk? Do the frizzens spark etc.

[Dan'l 1946]

  A good one can make a pretty good paper weight---sometimes.
                                                                                   Dan

[Acer Saccharum]

I don't have much experience with them. But in import machinery, something may look nice, but the fits of the thread assemblies are where the imports really show their true colors.

If you can take it apart, and see/feel the quality. Frizzens can be made to spark with casehardening. You can spend scads of hours tuning a lock.

-or just buy a Davis or a Chambers, and have a lock out of the box ready to go.

[whetrock]

I think the merits of buying lower-quality brands or imported oddities depends on why you are buying and what you are willing or able to do with it. If you are just buying it to save money, then probably not. But if there is something about the style that you like, and you can't find that style in a Chambers or Davis lock, and you are willing to work through a rebuild, then it may work out okay. (If you are picky about the style of the lock, then sometimes you are faced with either a rebuild, or you start from scratch with a chunk of steel.)
If you can do the work yourself and it's just a hobby, then substatial tuning or even a full rebuild of internal parts, springs, etc. can be fun. But if you can't do it yourself, be warned. Many contemporary smiths aren't interested in taking on a rebuild of a cheap modern lock, as it takes too much time and customers may never be satisfied. They might be happy to rebuild an antique lock as a restoration project, even if it was a cheaply made original. But they don't want to waste time trying to patch up modern junk.

You might want to check out the comments on this site:
http://pyracy.com/index.php?/topic/18799-review-of-a-sparrow-flintlock-made-in-india/

[satwel]

I picked up an India Pattern Brown Bess second hand from a re enactor. It's the one sold by Loyalist Arms. My impressions of the lock are as follows:
Cons: Fit is sort of sloppy and the parts aren't finished very well, especially the internal parts. File marks, rough finish, etc. The biggest con is the trigger pull. The trigger pull is so hard, it's ridiculous. You have to squeeze so hard with your right hand, even rudimentary aiming is difficult. The mainspring and the frizzen spring are way more powerful then necessary.

Pros: The thing sparks like crazy. It throws so many white sparks, you can hear them hiss. This is one of the quickest firing flintlocks I own. The tumbler, sear and bridle, for all their sloppiness have been hardened nicely. A file just slides across the surface. The frizzen bears no marks, gouges or streaks from firing. I've fired it very little, but so far flint life seems above average.

I would never consider using one on any musket I might build.

[Chris Treichel]

I picked up one of the English round ish looking locks that looked like it came from India from Ed.  It had an inclusion in the base of the frizen that I had to cut out and weld up and the frizzen was not hardened/ had no carbon in it (tested by spark testing) which turned into a campfire hardening experiement that actually worked (I oil quenched it in motor oil to be safe). The pan and frizzen did not align either but oxy acetelene and a file  fixed that as well. The mainspring and frizzen springs were enourmous and the frizzen spring had to be sanded down a bit to allow it to work. I traded it on to another builder who added it to a club butt fowler project.

[FL-Flintlock]

Y'all screwing around with that India stuff, you won't once you catch a breechplug in the face or have your arms/hands shredded when the barrel bursts.  India made pistol with barely 1/4" bearing surface of an extremely poor soft solder job was that was holding the breechplug in the barrel.  Couple months back the pirate actors had another India Bess barrel split with a blank charge (powder only) during a practice.

[DutchGramps]

In my other field of interest: WW2 Brit motorcycles, we have the same problems with India-made products. Fortunately, not as dangerous as with firearms, but nevertheless dangerous. For instance,  Webbforks held together with cast grey iron lugs, instead of steel forgings. 95% of all pattern parts made there are of extremely bad workmanship, badly fitting, wrong curves, bad material. Fortunately, mine has nearly 100% New Old Stock parts...

[RichG]

thanks for the info. your replies are what I expected. Does anyone know where a person can get a charleville or 1816 musket lock reproduction besides the rifle shop?

[Roger Fisher]

Buy American!

[Chris Treichel]

Pedersoli locks, while not exactly right are pretty good quality and are available but pretty expensive. 

[whetrock]

FL-Flinklock's warning about cheap barrels is no joke. I don't mind tinkering with a lock, replacing a spring or tumbler, etc., but I wouldn't think of working with an inferior quality barrel.