Fixes

[Dphariss]

I have a lock that I am putting on a pistol.
 I have used this lock before and actually like it...with some reservations.
The internals being screwed up is now the norm for this lock it seems. A shame since its a very good design and creates very little jarring of even a pistol when fired.
I decided the best option was to fix it.
This shows the tumbler relation to the plate as received.



Tumbler does not pass though the plate straight. This makes it difficult to get the sear to properly engage the tumbler. Not to mention looking "unprofessional".
So I clamped a carbon brush from an electric motor to the face of the plate to keep metal from running through then welded it with my Hobard wire welder.



I then annealed the weld, installed the bridle and drilled a pilot hole through the plate using the bridal as a guide. Then drilled and reamed to .007" +- under the tumbler shaft. Put the tumbler in the lathe and turned it to fit. It cleaned up almost totally and now is almost round. Out of round tumbler shafts are the norm if left as cast.



The assembly now looks like this.


The lock maker needs to make up a fixture that will allow who ever drills the holes to drill them in the right place and 90 degrees to the plate surface so the tumbler is square with the lock plate.
"Workmanship" of this  level is really pitiful. It takes no more time to drill the plate properly to do it wrong.

I wish someone would make a good English lock circa 1800, like a Manton, that would work on a pistol. Or at least castings that were actually available.

Dan

[T*O*F]

I wish someone would make a good English lock circa 1800, like a Manton,

Dan,
You have said this time and time again.  Why don't you do it?  Surely it is not beyond the capabilities on a man with your talent, experience, and contacts.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I've got a good fingernail brush I'll send you.

Great work Dan!

[Dphariss]

I wish someone would make a good English lock circa 1800, like a Manton,

Dan,
You have said this time and time again.  Why don't you do it?  Surely it is not beyond the capabilities on a man with your talent, experience, and contacts.

Yeah I know.
I even have a gun parts foundry about a 5 minute walk from my shop.
But it takes money, some could be saved on moulds by only casting the external parts then machining the tumbler and such.

Maybe I should start buying lottery tickets and stop whining
Dan

[rich pierce]

Dan, thanks for showing us a neat fix.  Turned a worthless lock into a smooth one I'll bet.

When a well-known lockmaker was asked why he didn't make more models of left handed locks, he said it took selling a thousand units (or some other big number, I can't remember) just to pay for the tooling.  Not at all sure how The Rifle Shoppe makes so many parts.  How many units of a single new lock could someone expect to sell each year?  There's a lot involved.

Most folks capable of design and development eventually deplore production work and have to trust others to do the assembly and heat treating and quality control, and it is hard to be able to afford skilled and reliable workers for this.  I'd go nuts ding the machining and assembly of locks all day.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Dan, that has to be an upper bridle screw in the sear screw hole, right?  The sear screw would have a longer shank with threads in the plate only.

[Dphariss]

Dan, that has to be an upper bridle screw in the sear screw hole, right?  The sear screw would have a longer shank with threads in the plate only.

The screws are both the same. I will have to make a proper one. Always do. I have yet to get a lock with a proper sear screw. I have been known to make them to seat against a shoulder if the hole in the sear is too oversize.
I generally finalize the screws at final assembly using one set for building the gun then making a clean set for the final product.


Dan