lock refurbishing

[Jack Baier]

should i give a builder first chance at going through a lock thats acting up or should i just call the manufacturer? the rifle is 24 years old . i'm not looking for warrenty work just wondering what would be best to maintain rifles value.

[Hungry Horse]

  My first question is what lock. Some are worth a little work, and expense, and some are not. Is it still being manufactured is another big question, that needs answering. The exact nature of the malfunction could be a big factor as well. Some problems are pretty easy to fix, and others aren't.

                     Hungry Horse

[Jack Baier]

lock is a l&r bailes .right now the fly doesn't funtion properly.

[galamb]

If you have a look on the L&R website under repairs and service you will see that for 15 bucks, plus parts and shipping they will refurb/repair one of their older locks.

Sounds like a decent deal to me..

[tuffy]

A good deal indeed. But prior to sending the lock in for repairs, make sure that you haven't over tightened the lock plate screws. An over tight screw can put a bend in a lock plate pretty easy and prevent the lock from working properly.

                  CW

[Mark Elliott]

My opinion is that the lock should be sent to someone other than the manufacturer who normally repairs and refurbishes locks.    I would like to explain why but I am prohibited by the moderators and legal concerns.   

[C Wallingford]

Isn't it possible to put the fly in upside down on that lock? Or am I thinking of another lock?

[Ky-Flinter]

Isn't it possible to put the fly in upside down on that lock? Or am I thinking of another lock?

Charlie,
It is possible (and easy to do, by accident) on the L & R Bailles that I have. 



Jack,

Have you had the lock apart recently?  If so, maybe the fly is upside down as Charlie mentions.

Then again, it's a 24 year old rifle.  If the lock functioned ok for how ever long, then began to give problems, maybe the fly is wornout or just needs a good cleaning?

-Ron

[Jack Baier]

Ron,
       lock has been apart many times and always well maintained.when i watch it with a loupe it appears that the nose of the sear doesn't want to ride over the fly and kick it down to the half cock notch.

[Mark Elliott]

Ron,
       lock has been apart many times and always well maintained.when i watch it with a loupe it appears that the nose of the sear doesn't want to ride over the fly and kick it down to the half cock notch.

My experience is that when it does that,  the fly may not be installed correctly.  Because the fly is on the inside of the tumbler,  it can be hard to get it to stay on it's little post during assembly.    It is also real easy to put it on upside down.   Binding will also cause the fly not to work correctly.   This can be because of wear, or because the bridle screws were tightened too tight on one side.   I really don't like the fly on the plate side of the tumbler.   It makes it hard to assemble and imperfections in aligning the tumbler can cause it to bind.  Alignment problems can result from wear.   The fix for plate wear is a bushing.   

[bob in the woods]

I would check for simple stuff, i.e. fly installed incorrectly etc. If not that, just send it to Brad Emig a  Cabin Creek Muzzleloading.  He will make it good 

[Pete G.]

If the problem truly is wear on the nose of the fly a new part should be a drop in fix. TOW has them listed.

[Mark Elliott]

If the problem truly is wear on the nose of the fly a new part should be a drop in fix. TOW has them listed.

I was talking about plate wear causing binding, not wear on the fly.   

[David Rase]

For $15.00 I would of already sent it off to L&R. 
David

[B.Habermehl]

My first bet is the fly is upside down. Been there done that! BJH

[Jack Baier]

gentlemen,
               thankyou for the help.sure enough the fly was upsidedown/backwards .i would have swore up and down it wasn't.i've used this rifle since it was new and i've never done this before.
                                                                                                          thanks again,
                                                                                                                          jack

[mountainman70]

Hey Jack,heres hoping you aint catchin that ol greybeard  varmint.he is the culprit of a LOT of aggitatin stuff.BTW,did the same boobbo on my Bailes when I was finishing the rifle.Said some unkind words to my ol geezin self.Glad ya found the prob.Dave