Busy with some neat lock projects

[smart dog]

Hi Folks,
I am swamped with work in my shop. This year will be the year of British muskets.  I am working on a pattern 1760 light infantry carbine, a pattern 1730/40 Brown Bess, a pattern 1759 marine musket, and a pattern 1756 artillery carbine. I am also building a 1770 rifled officer's fusil by John Twigg.  For every one of these, I have to build the locks from TRS castings.  Anyway, I'll post some photos soon. 

dave

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

...standing by...

[Goo]

Hi Dave how does the RE Davis Twigg lock look for accuracy ?

[Obi2winky]

Following this thread with great interest. I have a set of rough castings but I have no idea how to get started...

[smart dog]

Hi Dave how does the RE Davis Twigg lock look for accuracy ?

Hi,
Lousy.

dave

[smart dog]

Hi,
Here are some photos.  The first shows the British ordnance carbine lock for the pattern 1760 light infantry fusil.  It requires polishing and I just finished case hardening the internals.  It will be a really good lock when I am done. I will reestablish all the engraving that got wiped out.





The next lock is by John Twigg from a 1770 officer's fusil.  Mine will be rifled and both Twigg and John Hirst made a few of those. The lock is superb but the mainspring needs work or forged replacement.  It is too weak and the geometry is not quite what I want.  Regardless, it is an elegant and well designed lock.  I wish someone would copy it or something like it (hint, hint).





The next 2 photos show the parts for a pattern 1730/40 Brown Bess musket and a pattern 1759 Marine musket.  The Bess is all TRS parts but the Marine musket will use the lock internals and barrel from a Miroku Bess.  The Japanese barrels and parts are second to none for design and quality but just need to be fitted and finished better.





The next photo shows parts salvaged from an original 18th century pistol lock by William Grice, probably dating to the 1760s or 1770s. I salvaged everything but the screws and will rebuild the lock as new with modern heat treatment.  It will make a very nice, attractive medium quality English pistol lock.  It may have had a private purchase military connection.  Dave Price gave me the lock.
 


 Finally, the last photos shows parts from an original 18th century German or Austrian pistol lock.  Dave Price gave it to me.  Is is very beautiful and interesting because the internal bridle has no hole for a tumbler spindle nor does the tumbler have an internal spindle.  The bridle just pushes against the flat internal side of the tumbler.  It should be a delightful pistol lock when I am done.  Again, I will either sell it or use it on a project.
 


dave

[rich pierce]

Cool stuff. If you need a screw plate to make swaged screws I can lend you one that should work.

[smart dog]

Hi Rich,
Thank you.  That may be necessary and I will let you know.  Some of the screw holes are so rusted that I will have to thread them for slightly larger screws. The lock plate on the German lock is really thick and there is a name along the lower edge "Plotz".  I'll preserve all the engraving but the insides of the locks will be fully functional, safe, and polished new when I am done.  I am restoring them to be used not add to a collection.  Nice small locks for pistols, especially English styled, are so hard to come by that I want to use these.

dave

[Bob Roller]

I am getting tired just thinking about all the work needed here on these locks
The lock picture shows an ordinary tumbler with a support to go thru the bridle.
Bob Roller

[Justin Urbantas]

So, in your opinion the Miroku made Japanese Brown Bess are pretty high quality? Better than Pedersoli?

[smart dog]

Hi Justin,
No, quality of the lock parts is better and the barrels are superb.  The brass hardware are poor reproductions although well cast and with so much extra brass you can turn them into authentic copies.  The butt plate is too small.  The trigger guard is misshapen.  The stock is garbage.  The Pedersoli in is a more authentic version in general but the truth is neither repro would have passed 18th century British ordnance inspections.

dave

[Clint]

Dave,
Carful with those TRS locks! They become addicting. I love building locks from scratch, but the casting sets are fun because of the small details you would never think of. Plus you don't have to make ALL of the parts from nothing. One bit of advice I can offer is to take all of the cast parts out of the bag and put them in a kiln at 900F for an hour or so. It relieves any "chills" left over from the  initial cooling. After building a dozen TRS locks, I get two or three a year with no gun at all in mind, just fun.
Clint

[smart dog]

Hi Clint,
Thanks for the note and vote of support.  I've built about a dozen locks from castings before these.  After the first one years ago, I learned right away to anneal the parts before working on them.  I nearly ruined several files on that first project.  I enjoy doing the big musket locks because they are pretty easy.  The parts are so massive that you have enough metal to really clean them up nicely and also give you a little margin for error.  In that respect, never completely trust the witness marks punched on the cast lock plates.  I always check the geometry.  Usually, I need a strategy tailored for each lock design.  For example, on Bess locks, the position of the sear is always well defined by the engraving that circles it.  I drill and tap that hole first, clean up the sear, and screw it in place. I use the sear then to determine or check the location of the witness mark for the tumbler hole.  At this point, I pay no attention at all to the locations of the bridle screw and pin.  I just get the sear and tumbler located, the bridle falls in place by default. On other locks I usually locate the tumbler hole first making sure the throw of the flint cock is going to be right. Then I position the sear and finally the bridle. When the bridle is in place without the tumbler spindle hole drilled, I mount the plate with bridle screwed in place on my drill press making sure it is level. I drill through the tumbler hole with a drill exactly the same diameter as the tumbler hole and use that to just "kiss" the bridle so the point marks the hole location.  Then I swap out the big drill for the smaller correct drill for the spindle hole. That gets every thing lined up correctly.  However, with castings, you you have to check that the spindle and tumbler post are true and concentric. I spin the tumbler in my lathe to check this and true up the spindle, post, and faces of the tumbler.  You have to be careful because some later locks have shoulders or raised collars around the spindle and post that act as a bushing against the lock plate and bridle.  That bushing needs to be trued up rather than the faces of the tumbler. Big locks are not hard but small pistol locks can be a nightmare. The cast internal parts are from an original finished lock and consequently, have no extra metal anywhere. By the time you clean up the casting and true up all edges, you may have made the part too small. Currently, for pistol locks, I buy the plate, cock, top jaw frizzen and usually the frizzen spring and then fit commercial parts like those for a small Siler or Chambers small round-faced lock if I can.  Otherwise, I make the parts from scratch.
Clint, you are right that this work is addicting and I enjoy making locks but I do get tired of polishing them.  I need a minion to do that for me.  Below are photos (in no particular order) of locks I've made or completely reworked over the years.

dave





































upload pictures anonymously

[Craig Wilcox]

Dave, what can you tell us about the unusual lock in the middle?  It is truly a beautiful piece, and your engraving on it, with the "crocodile" and dog head, is fantastic.
Been "teaching" myself lock building with a couple of Chambers kits.  Kinda fun, even the polishing part.  Been using the filing sticks, some stones, and some very fine polishing sandpaper.

[smart dog]

Hi Craig,
It is set up as an older French snaphaunce that was later converted to an early style English lock (which were often converted snaphaunces).  The designs are French Mannerist and very early French Baroque. Everything is symbolic, iconic, or magical.  The bone lilies, brass sunflower, and copper dove refer to the reign of Louis XIII of France.  The side plate panel has the story of St. George and the dragon.














 The "crocodile" is actually a sea monster and there are others on the gun that represent Louis' ocean empire (he settled Canada).  My late wife Gail loved that sea monster.  She thought it had the most contented look on its face and wanted me to make a pendant of it for her.  She died before I could do that. The butt plate for the gun is shown below.  It tells a story derived from Han Holbein's "Danse Macabre", that rich or poor, we all die.  The soldier is facing death symbolized as the skull at his feet.  The pretty woman's portrait above him represents all of his joys, achievements, and treasures in life but death is the great leveler. Finally, at the bottom is a winking green man, which in Catholic France suggests birth and regeneration. The gun was a practice piece for me to deeply understand and practice 17th century decorations in preparation for some ornate 17th century guns I want to make.  I hope to get to them before too much longer.  The engravings are all my designs but borrowing ideas from 17th century French design plates and French engraver Jacques Callot. 
 


Here is the front of the frizzen:




Here is the front sight:

[Craig Wilcox]

Dave, you have helped me up one more step on the ladder of understanding, and I sure appreciate it.  Magic and mysticism, religion and psyche - you did create a very unique piece of useful artwork.
I stand in awe.