Buttoned up with 2 questions

[GaryJ]

After six months of sporadic work on my first rifle, I have finally buttoned up the lock, barrel and trigger.  Actually, I’m quite pleased with it.  I only removed enough wood that was necessary at the moment so it looks big and bulky and the lock and trigger is deeply inletted.  When it gets trimmed down I’m sure it will look much better.  The next time I do this I will not be so afraid to remove wood.

But, at this point I have two problems (only two so far that I can see).  The ramrod hole was drilled with a slight incline so that it is closer to barrel than it should be – not much though.  This meant that when I drilled the front bolt for the lock I was able to avoid the barrel channel, just barely, but the bottom of the bolt intersected with the drilled ramrod space.  As best as I can see, the intersection is no more than 1/16 of an inch and maybe only 1/32.  Not much, but if the ramrod is tight it will interfere with the passage.  I have not trimmed the length of the bolt yet because of the extra wood and I have not chosen a plate yet.  My question is – What should I do?  Let it go for now?  Trim the width of the bolt slightly when I determine the correct length?  Trim the ramrod width?  Or not worry at all and drink another beer?

Question two is more of a puzzlement.  The screw on the hammer that holds the flint is bent.  I purchased a large Siler lock from Chuck Dixon – seems like a long time ago.  After I set it all up I was going to add some wood into the holder to simulate flint for storage and realized that it would not turn 360 degrees.  That means it was a significant bend.  How could I have bent this?  What did I do wrong?  It wasn’t from pulling it back because it is bent the other way.  I may have dropped it once and perhaps that caused it to bend but it looks too sturdy to do that.  I doubt it was like that when I purchased it because even if I didn’t notice, I’m sure Chuck Dixon would have, and he had it in his hands and commented on the workmanship.  I needed to straighten it out before I was able to remove it.  Bottom line is that I hope I be able to buy another screw.

All things being equal – it felt good to pull back the hammer, pull the trigger and hear that click.

[Frank]

Install a number 6 screw. If that is not enough, you can reduce the diameter of the screw where the ramrod hole is.

I seem to recall Barbie Chambers saying that the cock screw can be bent by tripping the lock without a flint installed.

[Roger Fisher]

Yes install the thinner screw (and if needed thin that in center a tad) and taper the rod.  This is a common problem.

First place I can think of (I'm slower now) to get the Siler parts is Track of the Wolf or Barbie Chambers.  Happily its a low cost item.  And while your at it get both their catalogs....

[Blackpowder Barbie]

Hi Gary,
  Got an answer for both problems.  First if your screw is only a 1/16 or a 1/32 into the whole it shouldn't cause much of a problem at all since your ramrod needs to be tapered anyway.  Once it's tapered it should clear that screw.  If not though you can put a little inletting black, or Prussian blue on the ramrod end then stick it down the hole until it makes good contact with the screw.  Carefully remove the screw and you should be able to see where it is making contact with the rod.  Then just file away those few threads.
  As for the bent Top Jaw Screw.  This occurs whenever a lock is dry fired - i.e. snapped without a flint or piece of wood in the jaws.  The weight of the screw head is significant enough at the force it's being thrown to continue in it's movement once the hammer has stopped.  Thus bending the screw.  However if you have a flint or even just a little block of wood in the jaws - the impact will be absorbed by it and not passed onto the screw itself.  So never dry fire a lock without something in the jaws.   It doesn't take but a few snaps to do it either.  Here are a few photos of a lock we got in a while back with a bent screw due to this problem.  The nice gentleman let his boy play with all day not realizing the force that is exerted by the lock action.  Good news is it's an easy fix once you get the old screw out, just give us a buzz and order a new one.

[Dphariss]

In the shop built tools forum of the old site there is a description of a ramrod hole scraper that will fix this if you have enough wood .
I moved it to this sites "Shop Made Tools".
Dan

[Eric Fleisher]

I am just a beginner so I never heard of this bent lock screw problem before.  That is good information to know.  Thank you Barbie for educating me.

[P.W.Berkuta]

I have to agree with what everyone has said - it is amazing how much force can be exerted on that screw with the force of the forward motion propelled by the main spring. You can straighten the screw out but it is best to get a new one, get this one straight and us it as a spare. I would do as some have suggested on the ram rod / lock bolt interference. I would take half of the interference from the screw and half from the ram rod - as in taper the ram rod and reduce the area of the screw enough to allow passage of the ram rod. Good Luck

[smallpatch]

Gary,

The interference of the screw can be alleviated by the methods mentioned.  Tapering the rod, smaller front screw, and grooving the front screw.

On a positive note.... This taper of the rod channel toward the breach is ideal, in that it gives the ability of a slimmer, more sleek architecture.  If I have a blank inlet with rod and barrel channel, that's what I ask for.  Leaves more wood on the outside of the rod channel, so it can have a nice slim profile without the worry of breaking out on the bottom of the forestock.

Good luck.

[Karl Kunkel]

My first build had the same ramrod/lock bolt interference.  I ended up as suggested previously, using a No 6 bolt and tapering the rod to 5/16.

[GaryJ]

Thanks all for the great, and quick, responses.  I never would have thought that dry firing the lock would cause such a problem.  I only did it to get the adjustment of the trigger right.  Next time I'll know.  And Barbie, thanks for the pictures - that's exactly how my lock looks.  I'll be contacting you for a new screw.

Now it's time to tackle the next challenge.  This site makes this hobby so much more fun!  Gary.

[Evil Monkey]

Gary, like smallpatch said, the rr hole being closer to the barrel is often a good thing, actually a necessity for some styles, to accomodate the proper profile. It's a good practice to always determine the hole location prior to drilling for the lockbolt and, in the case of it beong like the one you have, don't be afraid to locate the bolt a bit higher. It's better to notch the bottom of the barrel than to have the bolt invade the RR hole IMO.
BTW, I would never have thought that dry fireing a lock would cause the bolt to bend.