Chambers Late Ketland rebuild questions

[Leatherbark]

My friend has a Late Ketland flintlock on his Southern rifle.  It has been used and fired many times (several thousand) and is now getting a little sloppy, breaking flints and not sparking well.  I suggested he sends it back to Jim Chambers for a rebuild.

Would it be more economical to just buy a new one?  Does Jim Chambers provide this service?

Thank you,

Bob

[E.vonAschwege]

No one better to talk with than Chambers himself - give them a call, one of the family will answer and be able to help you out. 

If it's breaking flints, the first thing I check is the frizzen rebound.  Most the time when a lock is breaking flints, it is because the frizzen is bouncing too hard and snaps back and chips the flint each time.  Spreading the spring slightly to stiffen it usually helps (and of course rehardening and tempering).  Take the face of the frizzen to a beltsander to smooth out any serious gouges too.  Don't let it overheat and ruin the temper. 
-Eric

[smallpatch]

In my experience (limited), the Late Ketland is a lifetime lock.  Should be good for tens do thousands of shots.
That being said.....
Breaking flints an d not sparking well is probably just a frizzen issue.
Replacing a frizzen is an easy and fairly inexpensive task, and I'll just bet it cures the issue.
General information is that the late Ketland internals were redesigned a short time ago, so the upgrade may be a no brainer.
Call Jim or Barbie and see what they say.

[Bob Roller]

I am positive that Jim or Barbie will get this lock working again.They are good folks with a good product. A belt sander doesn't work as well as a bench grinder with a new wheel that is coincidental to the curvature of the frizzen. Touch it lightly to the wheel and cool it often until all the abrasions are gone and then reharden it or find someone who can.

Bob Roller

[Leatherbark]

Thanks all

I'll have him give Mr. Chambers a call

Bob

[retired fella]

I find that a dremmel tool and a light touch does a great job.

[Mark Elliott]

I am going to second Eric on this one.  The Late Ketland has a very strong main spring and tends to be hard on flints anyway.   Most likely,  a resurfacing of the frizzen and re-heat treating the frizzen spring will fix things.  The cam may also need a little work.   However,  an experienced gunsmith or Jim Chambers himself should look at the lock.   They would be able to tell right away what the problem is and how to fix it.  Refreshing the frizzen and frizzen spring would be cheaper than a new lock considering that Jim has finally started to raise the prices to the proper level.