Flintlock lockplate project

[rich pierce]

Cheap locks lacked bridles and got all wobbly in a hurry.  A low use lock could get by without one.

[Mike Brooks]

do you need a bridle in your lock? ive seen a few locks from videos and such online that dont have one just the tumbler and sear. cause the only use is to hold those two in place correct?

What is the ultimate goal here? A desire to build a functioning flintlock because of the challenge? Or trying to go the "cheap" way by building your own lock? Have you ever had a real working flintlock in hand before? Are you planning on building a gun around this lock? If so, have you ever built a gun before? I hope your wood working skills are at a somewhat higher level than you metal working skills. I'm not saying you're not doing well, but every step in making a longrifle can be very intimidating, especially if you're not familiar with what you're doing.

[smylee grouch]

If I were to make this lock I would have started with a square plate-drilled hole for tumbler-make tumbler and internals-make cock-then make pan to fit under the cock.  That's probably not the way a real lock maker would do it but I'm not really a real lock maker. Just seems like it would be best way to get lock pointing the right direction. Those with more expertise will probably correct me.

[Elnathan]

do you need a bridle in your lock? ive seen a few locks from videos and such online that dont have one just the tumbler and sear. cause the only use is to hold those two in place correct?

The bridle supports the tumbler on the side opposite the lock plate. If you think about the way the mainspring exerts pressure on the tumbler, you see that in addition to pulling the nose down it will also cause the tumbler to want to twist in lockplate hole and cause it to wear rapidly. The bridle ensures that the tumbler is supported on both sides of the spring and keeps it from trying to twist, vastly extending the life of the lock.

Make sense?