I have been working on several more guns, rather sporadically, but did something last evening that may be of some interest. One of my pet peeves is a trigger that rattles. A second preference (not really a peeve) is that I don't like to pin a trigger through wood. I know it will probably out last me by a couple of hundred years, but then again, I am an engineer and pinning a trigger through steel or brass has always seemed like a better idea.
In regards to the trigger rattling, I always had a $#*! of a time getting the trigger / sear engagement just right so that there was no rattle to the trigger at some point in any of the uncocked, half cock, full cock positions. So, some time ago, I started putting a leaf spring under the trigger bar to lightly keep the trigger in contact with the sear at all times. Works great, but it does take some additional parts as well as excavating additional wood in the trigger mortice to allow the spring to function properly. Here is what the spring arrangement looks like..
The beauty of this arrangement is that no matter where the sear ends up in each of its three positions (uncocked, half cock, full cock), the trigger stays in contact with it and will not rattle.
However, last evening, while working on a Chambers English rifle, I made a few modifications. First, to avoid pinning the trigger through wood, I bent a 1/16" piece of mild steel and silver brazed it to the trigger plate. Second, I had intended to place another leaf spring under the trigger to stop the rattle, but the trigger plate is really too short to do that. The sear on the Chambers lock stays relatively in the same position when at any of the three lock positions, so I didn't need quite the range of motion. Instead of the spring, I made and installed a 5-40 screw through the front face of the steel trigger pivot support and used it to push the trigger bar into light contact with the sear. Works great and is simpler than the leaf spring arrangement. No rattle in any position.
