siler lock plate

[yip]

  i have an old Siler lock plate that i made a bo bo on years ago.  i'm in the process of building an other rifle, and was wondering how close the dimensions are to a new one. i would use this plate as a template to inlet the new lock. how close are they?

[Acer Saccharum]

Get yourself a new lock to fit. Several people have made silers over the years, and the plates will vary slightly. You don't want to end up with gaps when you finally get your new lock.

[billd]

The foundry we work with holds .005" per inch of casting.  So if the casting is 5" long they get .025" of tolerance, 2" wide would be .010 of tolerance.  Usually they are closer.   I don't know if that is an industry standard or not.  It's also possible that a new pattern could have been made over the years that Bud and Jim owned them.  Patterns get damaged and wear out too.  

Best to measure it and compare with a new one.

Bill

[Stophel]

Probably would work fine.  If not, get the Siler "gunmakers lock" plate (a big blank plate) and shape it to fit.   

[Jim Chambers]

We're still using the same lock plate molds that Bud Siler made years ago.  There should be no difference in size.