Lock work

[dannybb55]

Hey folks. I am tn the middle of taking apart my new Common Rile Lock to file and polish all of those pesky casting marks and make her look like a Deringer lock. Here is my problem:How do I remove a tight fitting Factory installed cock off of the tumbler without dinging it all up? Thanks for the help.  Danny

[mark esterly]

there may be a better way but i've always backed off the cock screw one turn at a time and whacked the screw with a small wood mallet with each turn of the screw til it was loose. with everything else off the plate and set on a block of wood with a recess for the tumbler you don't need to hit it very hard.  ya don't want to bend the screw neither.

[Jim Kibler]

Lay the plate over a partially opened vise and drive the tumbler out of the cock with a properly sized square punch.  I pad the vise with brass jaws to keep from marking the plate.

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

I use two chunks of brass as a base to support the lock plate on and a brass piece that fits into the mortice for the tumbler into the cock and a tap or two and it's out. real easy and no damage to anything, just don't lose the fly.

[Dphariss]

Hey folks. I am tn the middle of taking apart my new Common Rile Lock to file and polish all of those pesky casting marks and make her look like a Deringer lock. Here is my problem:How do I remove a tight fitting Factory installed cock off of the tumbler without dinging it all up? Thanks for the help.  Danny

Press it out with an arbor press.
Just be careful not to bend the plate.
Chambers recommends a punch that presses on the face of the tumbler shaft.
Its possible to do this with a vise with proper blocks etc.

Dan

[Rasch Chronicles]

And don't forget:

Lock Tuning 101

Best regards,
Albert “The Afghan” Rasch
Real Men Hunt
ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!

[dannybb55]

I'm on my way, out of all that advice my tolls fall in there somewhere. Thanks

[Acer Saccharum]

Do not tap on screw to get the tumbler out of the cock, you'll bend the screw, bugger the threads, or break out the threads in the tumbler. 

Use the square punch. Won't hurt anything.

[Long Ears]

Acer is dead on with his advice as usual. Learned that one the hard way. Also don't just keep tightening the same screw to pull the cock down on the tapered shaft either, that will also strip the threads. Great advice on this forum. Good luck, Bob

[T*O*F]

Use the square punch.

All my punches are round.  Why a square punch?

[Jim Kibler]

Use the square punch.

All my punches are round.  Why a square punch?

It just provides a little more bearing surface for the punch.  I agree that it's not required.

[dannybb55]

No Trouble forging up a square punch and filing her flat, I have some old 5/16 bronze carriage bolts that should work and some lignum vitae 1 in scraps that should shoulder the load. I'll put the screw in the TOW ziplock bag that I have the fly in. Don't want to lose those. This Common Lock is a pesky one to polish, lots of casting lines.

[mark esterly]

so what you're saying is i've been really lucky for once.  i was more afraid of mashing the start of the tumbler threads with a punch.

[Pete G.]

I used the hit the screw method before. Stripped out the screw. Now it is putting the plate across the open vise and using a punch that fits down in the screw hole.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Pete, be careful with that method too.  One can break the square shank of the tumbler, leaving it in the cock, with that method.  A brass or bronze square punch is what I use.  The threaded hole should have a little chamfer to protect the threads, like the muzzle of a rifle barrel.

[Long John]

I agree with Taylor.  It is so easy to take a little piece of 3/8ths brass hex stock and file about 1/2 inch down to a 1/4 inch or 3/16ths inch square.  Now you have your punch.  Measure the maximum diameter of the tumbler and bore a hole that diameter into a small block of maple deep enough to allow the tumbler to drop in it.  Now you have your anvil.  Lay the lock plate on the anvil with the tumbler in the hole and tap on the punch situated on the tumbler extension with a small hammer and it comes apart.

Best Regards,

JMC