Hi Daryl,
I have 2 wheellocks (just the locks): an Italian reproduction very similar to Taylor's lock, which I totally reworked, and a set of castings for a large early German lock. I also have the benefit of a local collector who has several fine wheellocks in his collection. Based on what I have seen, Taylor's lock is as finely made as any I've seen, including those I looked at in museums. It is a relatively small lock mostly used on military and utilitarian pistols, and therefore, it is fairly simple but sturdy in design (no push button pan, no safety lever, little decoration). One feature that seems to differ from original locks is the ball bearing used as a detent to hold back the wheel. I think that is a good design because it works smoothly and should be very wear resistant if the bearing is hardened properly. However, on all of the originals I've seen as well as parts cast from originals, the primary sear has a tip that protrudes through the plate to hold the wheel rather than acting as a lever to push a bearing into the wheel. I suspect it is a modification of the original design possibly introduced by Lauber in his book? I mentioned push button pans. On the original lock shown by Raszpla above you can see a button between the dog and the wheel. By pushing it in, the pan cover is manually released and slides forward exposing the pan before the shot is made.
dave
