Lock inletting

[Bob Roller]

One thing is certain. I have NO romanticized ideas about lock making and view that work as an extension of my machinists skills,such as they are. Are modern machinists being taught any bench skills at all or is it computers with a  cycle start button and repetition beyond boredom? The mid 19th century gunstocker wanted to learn this level of ability because nobody then or now can be forced to learn something that may be beyond their ability to learn. A high level of interest must be there to begin with. I used to do a bit of cartooning and drew up fantasy drawings of classic cars but the real artists were the ones like Helen Simpson,a friend of ours did oil paintings that looked like photography. That was far beyond any level of ability I ever hoped for. I once watched a young woman at Friendship do pencil drawings of faces that looked like black and white photography and I doubt if anyone forced her to learn this class of work. This is a natural ability,some call it a gift. Whatever it is,I'm glad we get to see it from time to time.
The rarity of it makes it a pleasure and delight.

Bob Roller

[westbj2]

Bob, no I made the lock.
Here is another.  The one on the bottom is an original, the upper one also made in the shop.  Notice that they have a "cranked" lockplate and all the internals were made to fit
Jim

[Bob Roller]

Fine work on these locks and I am glad to see it.
What is a "Cranked"lock plate? I know this is a back action lock .Is it one like seen on an Alex Henry breech loader with an offset in it and the mechanism made to match?

Bob Roller

[westbj2]

Bob.
Actually it is for an Alex Henry .450

[Jim Kibler]

Jim,

That is some beautiful lock work!  Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Jim

[J. Talbert]

Dennis,

I tried this method also on the latest gun I'm working on, and am quite happy with the result.
It turned out at least as good as most of the guns that I have made using the more common disassembly method.

My reason for doing it was simply that I never really enjoyed the lock inletting process the other way, and was looking for a better alternative.  It seems less tedious to me and I will likely use this method in the future.  Positioning the lock to begin the process may be a bit tricky, but after that, I found the inletting of the internals easier, and probably more precise than my usual result.

Oh by the way, the first person who ever suggested this method to me was Jack Brooks, quite a few years back.  I'd be happy if my work was anywhere close to the quality of his.

Jeff

[bgf]

It seems like the only big objection to this method is the initial placement.  That seems like it could be eliminated by using a simple template of the lockplate.  I know the only reason I take the lock apart initially is to get the placement right, then I put it all back together to inlet, only to take it apart to do some other stuff to it later...  Making a template for the lock with a piece of cardboard or even light steel might be a good compromise.  I can even imagine a hole for locating the sear, which would get you closer to the panel, and other index marks on the template or a series of templates might be useful as well.  I think I will try it.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

So Dennis, How do you do the initial placement??

[Dennis Glazener]

So Dennis, How do you do the initial placement??

Both times I just did it by eye but used my try square to insure I had the the top of the pan exactly where I wanted it. I also drilled a pretty large hole for my sear bar when I had a little play to work with. I thought about making a template out of something but was too lazy. I guess I lucked out on both trys, lock ended up exactly where I planned it. Watch the next one really screw up!
Dennis