Modifying a Small Siler

[Eric Smith]

My small Siler ought to arrive any day now. I was wondering about modifying the lock for a slightly different look. Anyone care to show examples, posibilities, techniques?

[Hungry Horse]

 When you say different, could you elaborate a bit? Do you want it to look less like a Siler, but still Germanic, or do you want it to reflect a more English look?

  Hungry Horse

[Eric Smith]

When you say different, could you elaborate a bit? Do you want it to look less like a Siler, but still Germanic, or do you want it to reflect a more English look?

  Hungry Horse
[/quote

Not sure. Possibilities?

[deepcreekdale]

About the only thing that most people do is change the shape of the cock. It is an excellent, very fast lock as is but the curve at the forward curve of the cock is maybe a little bigger than needs to be. There is quite a bit of material there that can be removed, making the lock a little more graceful and elegant than from the mold. It is even called the "Siler hump" among some builders it is so pronounced. When you get it, compare it with pictures of originals, you will see what needs to be done.

[sqrldog]

Here's a picture of a small Siler modified by Mike Miller for use on a pistol he made for me. I think it looks good.

[Hungry Horse]

 The small Siler lends itself to modifications quite well. A reasonable English lock can be made by soldering the pan and frizzen together and then grinding them to resemble a round panned English lock, and then heat them up and separate them. The cock can be reshaped to a more English contour, and the plate can be reshaped as well.
 A lot depends on what kind of gun you’re building. Southern guns traditionally use more English locks, While Guns made in Pennsylvania tend to use more Germanic styled locks.

  Hungry Horse

[Eric Smith]

Here's a picture of a small Siler modified by Mike Miller for use on a pistol he made for me. I think it looks good.

That is an outstanding looking lock from Mike.
My initial impulse is to change the tail of the lock a bit. I have good files, a belt sander, and a grinder. How do ya'll approach the task? Also, I like the cock modification suggested.

[Hungry Horse]

 It’s been a while since I’ve built a small Siler, but, if I recall correctly there’s not a lot of material for modification between the end of the sear and the tail of the lock plate. They always tend to look like just what they are a small Siler that somebody ground the tail off of.
 I have pondered trying to put the flint parts onto the mountain rifle percussion lock plate. The mountain plate is spotted for the large Siler internal parts, but are not drilled.

  Hungry Horse

[Scota4570]

I made a new plate. 



To my sensibilities the sear nose was too short necessitating a tiny flint.  I did bend the cock neck after the picture was taken.  The half and full cock notices are also too close together IMHO.  The cock comes back about 20* after the full cock notch.  Mine may be an older version.  The newer ones are redesigned?   

[smart dog]

Hi,
Having a welder and knowing how to cut an ovolo border really helps.

dave

[rmnc3r]

That's a really nice alteration,  Mr. Dog, Smart - 1 ea.

How are Ovolo Borders cuts?

[FALout]

With files

[smart dog]

That's a really nice alteration,  Mr. Dog, Smart - 1 ea.

How are Ovolo Borders cuts?

Hi,
The way I do it is to cut a lower and upper line along the beveled edge of the lock plate and flint cock with a small square graver.  Then I use a flat graver and shape the lower line into a flat shoulder. I usually have to even spots on the shoulder with a flat riffler file.  Finally, I use a riffler to give the bevel a slight outward bulge between the upper and lower borders. It sounds more complicated than it actually turns out to be and I can do a lock plate and flintcock in about 1.5 hours of steady work. It is a really good technique to practice because it demands precise graver control to cut the lines right along the edges of the bevel.  Again, with a good sharp square graver it is not as hard as you might think. All the following locks have ovolo borders that I cut.  They look really nice and were used frequently on good quality English locks.
   









dave

[flatsguide]

Dave, that is very impressive work cutting those borders especially the inside curve of the cock. Is there any trick suggestions in tricky area?
Cheers Richard