The increasing demise of small businesses due to the various restrictions having been laid down by state & federal governments due to the Covid-19 virus, has exacerbated a trend that had already been taking place.
Which is to say, the loss of many small foundries, and the unwillingness of the remaining foundries to accept orders from small muzzleoading businesses because the volume of work was too small.
Couple those facts with the lack of quality control that many of the remaining foundries seem to have, and what the custom builders of muzzleloading guns are experiencing is a intermittent lack of parts, and when parts are available, the quality is not always what builders might desire.
This seems to especially be true when it comes to breech plugs, either percussion, or flint. Even more especially true, when it comes to hooked breech plugs of either type.
My question to those members that have extensive experience handling original rifles, is how exactly was the snail drum applied to a muzzleoading barrel?
Was the snail drum always an integral part of the patentu breech plug?
Or, was the snail drum soldered/brazed to the sides of a flintlock barrel?
I am aware that a conventional drum was attached to the side of the barrel by drilling a hole in the side flat of the octagonal barrel, and then tapping the hole for female threads. The drum's male threads were subsequently threaded into hole, snugged up tight, whereupon the smith could then set up his jig to drill & tap the drum for the nipple so that the nipple would be in correct alignment with the hammer of the lock.
Is there a reason, other than legal liability, that modern rifle smiths can't silver solder a drum onto the sides of a barrel?
Thanks.
