Facing a frizzen

[Dan Fruth]

I'm looking to face a frizzen, and really don't want to solder it on. Anyone ever brass braze a new steel to a frizzen? I am looking for instruction before I start....Thanks...Dan

[Kevin Houlihan]

Frank House demonstrates this exactly in one of the “Gunsmith Companion” videos available from Muzzleloader Magazine.
Good luck
Kevin

[smart dog]

Hi Dan,
Why do you want to avoid soldering?  It is incredibly easy to do.

dave

[HSmithTX]

Can you braze a facing on without compromising the heat treat and temper in the facing?  Seems like solder would be a better option or am I missing something?

[Eric Kettenburg]

I've always brazed them on and just assumed a lot of cleanup.  I don't know how others do it but I heat it until the braze material runs, let it just barely solidify (at which point the whole thing is still glowing) and then quench the whole shebang. Then I draw it back to where I want it and then at that point the cleanup is all grinding stone and polishing stones.  Some people now and historically riveted them before brazing but if you're careful it's really not necessary.  Never tried soldering one since I just don;t trust it if we're talking soft solder, although there are some silver solders that would be just great.  Still pretty high heat though so you might as well just braze it.

[rich pierce]

I do the same. I know soldering works as does riveting. Whatever approach, it’s essential that enough frizzen face is ground off to not have the sole clunk into the pan fence when the job is done.

When soldering I harden the door before soldering.

[smart dog]

Hi Eric,
Soft solder works very well.  I've soled many frizzens.  You shape the sole to the face of the frizzen, harden it, then simply flux and tin the surface of the frizzen, flux the sole and lay it on top of the tinned surface.  Heat the frizzen from underneath until the solder flows and the sole seats it place.  Grind the edges flush and you are done.  The sole will still be hard.  The only trick is to bend the sole a little more than the bend of the face of the frizzen, if it has any bend.  That way, when the sole is quenched it tends to straighten a tiny bit. With a little experience, you can usually gauge how much it will straighten.    Here is one I did with solder to add mass to the frizzen.  The casting was kind of thin and I wanted greater thickness.  It has been going strong for several years.
 






Of course, if a sole is added, you have to make sure it clears the pan fence.

dave

[Tim Crosby]

 What do you use for the facing?

   Tim C.

[Eric Kettenburg]

Best stuff I have found are pieces of old Disston hand saw blades.  Spark like a mother.  I've also used pieces of 1082 (it's 10 eighty something, I think 1082) from Admiral Steel that I used to use for making a lot of knives; that also works very well.  I like straight high carbon steels, nothing weird that requires funky or tricky hardening.

[BOB HILL]

I've used a piece cut from an old handsaw I've used for making scrapers. Worked great. I'm a little slow, Eric.
Bob

[Rich]

I riveted in 3 places then soldered. I cut out and fit the new metal, drilled for the rivets, then heat treated until I knew it would spark. Then I riveted it at the top and two sides and then a little solder. It's been a couple of years and all is still holding up.

[smart dog]

What do you use for the facing?

   Tim C.

Hi Tim,
When I want a fairly thick sole, I use metal cut from an old meat cutting band saw blade. I have no idea the alloy but it sparks like crazy. When thinner metal is needed, I use 1095 steel.

dave

[Dennis Glazener]

I have an original Golcher flint lock that would not spark very well. I sent it to LC Rice to see if he could get it to spark. LC tried for over over a month to get the frizzen screw to break loose but never could. He suggested I let Dale Johnson resole the frizzen. Dale used an old clock spring, it sparks great now.
Dennis

[Dan Fruth]

When you brass braze, do you use a thin pi3ece of sheet brass, or brass fillings?

[Kevin Houlihan]

Dan,
 Frank House used thin brass rod.
Kevin

[rich pierce]

Even super thin brass sheet is a lot to place like a sandwich though most of it will likely run out. I feed the brass or braze rod in from the side and it flows in.