Latch on Chamber's Patchbox kit

[frogwalking]

I have made a patchbox using the parts from Jim Chamber's kit.  It is installed, and now the latch is being installed.  The spring on the latch is cast integral with the latch hook and is very strong.  Who has used this kit, and did you file the spring down to lighten the force required to push the latch button in the buttplate return?  How did it work?
(The instructions do say to file the spring if it is too strong)
Thanks,  Frog

[techdiver7]

  I really like the Chambers kits but I couldn't get this piece to work for me. I had to file it so much that the "springiness" was gone and just failed. Wound up soldering my own from a large bobby pin (good spring steel) to a small base plate I made, worked great but I can't believe that's the right answer.

[Mike Brooks]

I have made a patchbox using the parts from Jim Chamber's kit.  It is installed, and now the latch is being installed.  The spring on the latch is cast integral with the latch hook and is very strong.  Who has used this kit, and did you file the spring down to lighten the force required to push the latch button in the buttplate return?  How did it work?
(The instructions do say to file the spring if it is too strong)
Thanks,  Frog

Never been a problem for me.

[Bill-52]

Frog,

I had a similar issue with a Chambers' patchbox latch spring and did two things to reduce the pressure required on the release button.  First I filed a slight draft on the end of the button rod such that it contacted the latch hook bar as high as possible. While this changed the contact point only very slightly, it did make a small difference.

Second, I filed the latch spring. I read here that filing such a spring on the "flats" has eight times the impact on lessening the spring strength as opposed to filing on the side. So I filed the sides a bit and tested, again and again. It didn't take too much filing to adjust the spring strength to exactly what I wanted.

Hope this helps.

Bill

[smylee grouch]

Other than the spring itself you might want to check to make sure the push rod or button is not binding against the butt plate or toe plate, whichever you used.

[frogwalking]

Thanks to all who kindly gave advice.  Although I have been building muzzle loaders since the Turner Kirkland/Numrich Arms days, I have never attempted to make a patchbox (kit) nor to use the little button actuated door release.  In the past, I bought the patchbox and installed the little spring that held the door open and/or closed.  This time, I did what some of you (and Chambers) said and filed down the spring until it works without undue force.  The patchbox still requires final filing and polishing, as well as engraving, but it sorta fits and everything works. 





If some of you have never tried the patchbox kit Chambers is selling, it really is fine.  My work does not do justice to what can be done with it.

[bob in the woods]

Nice job. It is very satisfying when it all works the way it should.   I've not had any of mine have that long a "stud" on the lid, though.  Maybe it's just the photo. 

[Curt Larsen]

That latch spring is the same one that TOW supplies wit its kits and the same one supplied for the model 1803 Harpers Ferry rifle.  The firs time I used one I asked the same questions and ended up filing the face of the thick portion of the latch to the point I could bend it easily with the push rod.  Later I realized that it was the other part of the spring that was already thinned that was designed to do the bending when the push rod did its work.  In short, the mortise is supposed to be cut to give a close fit to the thin portion of the spring.  Thus, when the push rod engages it pushes against the thin portion of the spring.  It should require no thinning in this case.  The main issue in getting to operate correctly is to make sure that you push rod engages it as close to the filed notch as possible.  That is as high on the spring as possible.  I've had trouble aligning my drilled hole for the push rod properly so that it comes out too low on the spring.  It's a pain.  If you can find a system that works, fine. 
Curt

[Pete G.]

I once had a pushrod hole that didn't emerge exactly where it should have. Drilled it out a little bit larger and installed a piece of small diameter brass tubing as sort of a liner to the hole. Once I got it adjusted to where it really needed to be I glued it in place with a mixture of wood glue and sawdust. It worked so well that I almost considered making that a standard procedure.

[draken]

Seems like installing a piece of brass tubing as Pete describes would also protect the push rod from binding if dampness caused the wood to swell.