bending a cock

[ddoyle]

Not sure if this is smart or right or helpful but it saved me some aggravation tonight so I thought I'd pass it on in case it could be helpful to some other newbie hack like me.

Had an LR queen anne cock that was cast from a piece of wax that must have traveled in someone's back pocket for a while, twisted and wonky beyond measure.  First bends low down below the neck was no problem lots of ways to hold it. Once I got to the final bend in the neck I was unable to figure a way to hold it with out marring the fine edges of the neck or the paper thin edges of the lower jaw.

ponder ponder ponder......

Mechanic wire. Wrapped the heck out of it above and below the bend location with a bunch of messy wraps of mechanics wire and was then able to grab hold with channel locks heat and bend no drama. Worked very slick no marring and could still see the lines of the cock to gauge the bend.

Also learned that a watched cock never cools and no matter how cool you think it is it is still hotter then your finger nerves are fast..... Worth it though to see things true and straight. Hard to believe you could have so much fun with a bucks worth of mapp gas

[Hungry Horse]

 This reminds me of my first trip to rendezvous with a flintlock. My gun worked O.K. But was not consistent in the ignition department. I knew what was wrong but didn't know how to fix it. The cock needed to be bent to make the sparks end up in the pan. A guy on the trail walk told me to come by his camp after we finished shooting. I stopped by his camp, and he took a look at my Italian flintlock. He declared the "case hardening" fake, and grabbed a box end wrench of the right size, and hooking it over the cock screw, and gave it a tug in the right direction. The cock bent just the right amount, and performed perfectly from then on. I was shock it was so quick, and easy.

  Hungry Horse