Polishing a Siler lock

[rich pierce]

I put this tutorial together 8 years ago I guess. Glad it’s useful!

[Bill in Md]

I put this tutorial together 8 years ago I guess. Glad it’s useful!

I am going to polish up the 10 year old Siler Deluxe on my hunting rifle this week end with the hopes of getting a little bit sweeter trigger pull along with an R.E. Davis I am working on for a friend.....A simple, and easy tutorial for dummies like myself.....b

[stan57]

I get a more uniform, and maybe a more durable, finish with Jax Black, etc, if I stop at the scratch pattern from the gray ultra-fine 7448 Scotch-Brite. Taking it further to full mirror polish seems to inhibit a good "bite" and causes a splotchy less-uniform coat. Just my 2c; ymmv.

[Bob Roller]

On the external surface of the plate I'd use a long angle lathe file and put threading fluid on it before starting the filing process.
The trigger pull is determined by the depth and angle of the full cock notch in the tumbler and the load imposed by the mainspring..
I would take a close look at the back angle of the full cock notch while AT full cock and maybe changing the angle to one closer to but not all the way to vertical  and check the pressure of the sear spring and see if the lower limb is as close as possible to the hole thru the sear that the screw goes thru.This hole and the diameter of the screw going thru it is also a factor in trigger pull on any lock.IF the arm of the sear will twist so will the area that engages the full cock notch  and this must be corrected first or you're wasting time.This style of lock mechanism is common but apparently made for easier production as opposed to the later styles that used a link to connect the mainspring and tumbler.
I made NO locks with this style of tumbler after 1967 when I bought a milling machine that enabled easy slotting of a tumbler arm for a link.
It also made a square area to mount the hammer easy.Most of this post pertans to single trigger guns,Set triggers either double or single are another thing entirely.This is also based on over 50 years of lock making from primitive to the "3 and 4 pin" English styles.
Bob Roller

[Joe Stein]

For more information on lock polishing, see this post from Tom Curran.
https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=2585.0