In the 1770s, British gun maker John Twigg made pistols that had innovative and well executed safety / reliability features. As I am building a pair of pistols in the Twigg style, I am looking specifically for more detailed information on the locks that he built that included a separate pan cover and hammer (frizzen) that were operated by a split feather spring. The separate pan cover would hold the prime in place even with the cock lowered and the hammer back. To fire the pistol, the cock was brought back to full cock and the hammer flipped closed. The hammer then latched to the pan cover and the pistol fired in the usual way. As noted in the book "Great British Gunmakers 1740-1790, The History of John Twigg and the Packington Guns", the hammer could be latched or unlatched from the pan cover by the use of a "spring stud situated on the back of the steel". However, the few photos and the text do not go into any more detail about how the connection between the pan cover and the hammer were accomplished. Does anyone out there have any pictures or details on how Twigg did this? I would like to build the locks as accurately as possible and not just make up my own method of accomplishing this lock feature. Twigg also built locks with a safety latch than not only locked the cock in position but also locked the frizzen closed onto the pan by means of a "pin". Any photos or details about that feature would be appreciated as well. Thanks.
Dave C
