Lock building problems, need advice.

[Rolf]

I'm making a copy of a pair of Swedish officer flintlock pistols. Runar was very kind and sent me a set of drawings. I'm putting together a pair of locks using small siler parts.



The original Swedish lock were brideless and Runar made his copy by cutting off the bridle on the siler pan section and making a 4M fizzen screw. The first lock(top lock) came together nicely. On the second lock I messed up drillring the hole for the frizzen screw. Its a bit to low and to much to the rear,

 



I was afraid this made the frizzen and lock bolster to weak for a bridleless frizzen, so I installed the frizzen with the bridle on both locks.

1. Will the missplaced hole in the frizzen toe make it prone to cracking with use?

2. Should I plug the holes (silver solder) in the brass plates and install new bridleless frizzens?

Best regards
Rolf

[keweenaw]

Rolf,

The frizzen will probably not break, the 1095 they are cast from is tough stuff.  The off center hole will affect the geometry and make the frizzen kick over later than a hole in the center but that may not make much difference.  Plugging the hole in the lock plate by silver soldering in a plug wouldn't be hard to do but I'm wondering about the use of a briddleless frizzen on a brass plate, lots of force on that screw.  Are the plates yellow brass or a harder material like silicon bronze?

Tom

[JCKelly]

Regardless of hole size or off-set, that toe needs to be tempered softer than the face. Keep the face cool with some exotic commercial paste from Brownells, or stick it into a potato. Temper that toe somewhere beyond blue, if possible.

Otherwise it will work just fine until the day when the frizzen flies off to Lord knows where after you pull the trigger.

1095, by the way, is what Nicholson uses, in the USA anyway, to make their (nice, tough???) files

[shortbarrel]

with everything being said, was the brass castings cast oversize and hammer hardened? most of these pistols were made for show, around a bottle of wine. most were fine craftsmanship. soft brass and hard steel don't get along to good together. you got a good project going on.

[Rolf]

Thank you for the replies.

I cut out the lockplates from brass sheet stock and soldered on the brass bolsters.

I think I'll:
1. Fill in the frizzen screw holes.
2. File off the brass lockplate bolsters and silver solder on steel bolsters.
3, Get a new frizzen and mount them bridleless with a steel bushing in the brass lock plate.
4. Temper the toe thoroughly after hardening the frizzens.

Best regards
ROlf