" 'we' have a cussin lock that has the half draw position of the hammer cup lower than the tip of the nipple and nipple is short enough that if said nipple was filed or stoned shorter the hammer cup edges would hit said nipple base/boss.."
There is a conspiracy of sorts at play here. Lockmakers feel that they need to include a hammer to make their product "complete". Many users of these "complete" locks try to use them, as recieved, in a application where they cannot work. Often this results in a misalignment with the hammer/nipple/breech, the function of the lock and improperly positioning the lock itself.
The best way to avoid all the problems is to dismount the hammer upon receiving the lock and give it to someone to hide until the lock is properly placed. The hammer is best understood as a connection between the lock and breech.....not part of the lock.
Some welding, bending or even a new hammer blank may be required to successfully connect the lock and breech. The Brits had a name for the specialist who did this work.....the Percussioner who did his work after the stocker had fit the lock.
This from Greener:
The percussioner, upon
receiving the stampings or forgings, first proceeds to drill and square a hole in the
hammer to admit shank of tumbler, and fit the hammer upon it ; it should fit tightly,
to prevent play or liability to fly off; the hole is drifted from round to square by
knocking in different-sized drifts, which condenses the iron round the hole, and so
prevents the hammer from wearing loose. He then files the noses of the forgings,
and adjusts them to strike evenly over the face of the nipple.
Jim Westberg
