Polishing my lock

[Acer Saccharum]

What I thought would be a fairly straight forward job has turned into a considerable one. This is my first time polishing a TRS roundfaced Jaeger lock, one with a little tiny rebated edge all around the perimeter. I am prepping it for engraving, in rococo style.

Months ago I had filed most of the grainy casting surface off, and thought it would be a snap to polish this up. Man, I could not have been more wrong. That little edge needs to be cut with a chisel to crisp it up, and that sharpness maintained during polishing. Never polished a curved surface either. Yikes!

This is what I started with today. It's not nearly good enough, when you really look at it, all the wee pits and the moulding under the pan, etc.


Mechanically, I have it all together now, main, sear and frizzen springs installed, halfcock notch set where the cock stops exactly over its raised outline on the plate.

So this turned into a two day job when I had expected a half day job. At first I am frustrated, then I settle in and do it right. Now I am happy, even tho the work ahead is much more than I expected.

It's a reminder that it's not the quantity of time that's important... it's that you are enjoying the time you are spending.

Acer

[Acer Saccharum]

One of the things this brings to mind: how was this done back in the day?

I assume they hammered the plate material into a mould. Is that right?

I also assume they had rifflers, as these have proven to be the best tools for the job.

This roundfaced lock is much more difficult to polish than a flat faced bevel edged plate. Maybe labour is one reason why the round faced got supplanted by the flat faced locks.

Just musing.

Acer

[rich pierce]

Perhaps wrought was easier to work.

[Dphariss]

They likely shaped and polished it before cutting the border around the edge. Then maybe scraped the cut to improve the finish. Just a guess.
??

Dan

[Acer Saccharum]

That's a good guess, Dan. If the plate were clamped down to a flat plate, you could run a scraper around it pretty easily. Any moulding detail would be a fixed height from the flat plate, depending on the design.

I look at the mouldings on some of the late English locks and scratch my head. They may have been able to scrape those in, too, especially if the plate is soft iron. Or did they have profiling milling machines by 1800?

The 12L14 steel on a Getz barrel is soft enough to scrape, the lead lubes the cut.

[George F.]

Hi Ya Tom!, I had a learning experience myself with the Chambers English round faced lock. It was a tedious job, someone published here  about  a few sets of stones for detailing from Gesswein. They come in different widths and different thicknesses, but are all the same length about 6" long , unless you drop a box of them, and grits ranging from 120 grit up to 1200 grit. These allowed me to get into those areas where that recessed detail line on the lock plate are. By the way, how do you like the TRS lock? I've been thinking of ordering a few parts from them myself...Geo.

[Dave B]

This plate is from the translated copy of Espingarda Perfeyta (The perfect Gun)from Portugal circa 1718. As you can see the aprentice powers a 48"? wheel to drive a 2"? shaft that has a arbor with bristles or an abrasive charged felt. For you math types out there what would be the possible RPM for shuch an arrangement? You can see other shaped arbors on the shelf behind as well as a whole shaft with arbor still attached. The bowls will hold abrasive compounds to charge the arbors with I would imagine. This is as close as it comes to having a high speed buffing wheel IMHO.

[Acer Saccharum]

Dave, I was musing on this very kind of apparatus this morning, and here it is. Rotary files could have been made, since mold cherries were already in use. I have seen, perhaps in the JHAT series of books, a rotary tool to mill out the cavity for the pan. Very similar to a oval carbide burr, only larger.

I have often thought of Diderot's encyclopedia of the trades, but never saw a copy of theses books. I understand there is a translated version? Perhaps from Dover books.


George, I have all the stones and diamond compounds, as I did a lot of moldmaking back in the day. I was just complaining about the tedium. But vigilance must be mainained every second, even tho' it's monotonous.

For cleaning up the groove around the plate edge, I made a brass lap, and charged it with diamond compound. The grit embeds in the brass, thus becomes a cutting tool. (like a gritty brass rod cuts the muzzle of your rifle)

[Dphariss]

That's a good guess, Dan. If the plate were clamped down to a flat plate, you could run a scraper around it pretty easily. Any moulding detail would be a fixed height from the flat plate, depending on the design.

I look at the mouldings on some of the late English locks and scratch my head. They may have been able to scrape those in, too, especially if the plate is soft iron. Or did they have profiling milling machines by 1800?

The 12L14 steel on a Getz barrel is soft enough to scrape, the lead lubes the cut.

Milling machines as we know them did not arrive until the late 1840s. The machines that made true interchangeable parts a reality were developed by Robbins & Lawrence and their employees.  Including a profiler, the "modern" milling machine and others.
http://www.crjc.org/heritage/V09-60.htm
Prior to this everything was pretty much hand work using patterns. They had lathes and such but nothing that would cut that border.
Scrapers are still used to fit double shotguns/rifles I suppose. The high end British stuff anyway. I scrape pans/frizzens to get good fits so it is doable even with alloy steels though annealing is needed for bigger jobs I suppose.

Dan

[Acer Saccharum]

What I meant by milling machine, would be in the very crudest sense: a spindle that holds a rotary file/cutter and the work is clamp in a fixture and fed into the cutter, by a lever. A single purpose machine.

Fun to think about.

[George F.]

If the wheel is 48" and the smaller wheel be 2", then the ratio would be 48:2. Now this is where the guess work comes in,how fast can our lowly apprentice turn that crank, without tiring, and without the whip. But I'm sure there was allot of yelling and cussing. After much research ( simulated cranking sitting at the keyboard)  I came up with a rpm figure around 200-300 revolutions per minute. The large wheel would be effective as a flywheel with it's mass, and once up to speed wouldn't  have a load on it. So with the ratio of 48:2 , or 24:1 that would be 4800-7200rpm. How do ya time that with an hour glass..................Geo.
P.S.    ....Tom I should of known better to throw those stones at you, knowing the background you have.

[Acer Saccharum]

George ..... throwing stones only hurts if you live in a glass house.

my point is, even with all the tools, THIS IS A PAIN!

I am now done with 220 grit on the plate. still have the cock, frizzen and top jaw to go. You aint heard the end of it yet! ;

[George F.]

Tom, I purchased the stones to get into that detailing line, but most of the work was done with sanding sticks I picked up from Woodcraft, Small sanding belts in either 1/4" or 1/2" widths that slip over a pencil length holder. The working end comes to a point, with working flat areas on the top and bottom, and the back is rounded.  Grits available from 120-600. These worked great for that P.I.T.A. job. I posted on here on Sept 16, my exact frustrations you are experiencing now. And basically  just have to put your mind somewhere else and suck it up. As Larry the cable guy would say....." Get her Done!"......Geo.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

In addition to the little belt sanders George mentioned, a piece of flexible diamond tape at 800 or even 1200 grit will amaze you ........... I had a similar problem with the Chambers' English and the Wilson Trade lock...... but the diamond tape on a popsicle stick made fast work of everything but the very, very hard frizzen........I never could get it the way I wanted it.....So I antiqued the heck out of it!!  I just don't have the guts to anneal and reharden a frizzen.........

[Larry Luck]

Missus Saccarum,

Would you please let Acer get back on ALR?

Seriously, Tom, your attention to detail and expection of perfection have created a rifle that will be a significant work.  I just had to give you a fraternal jab.

Larry Luck

[Acer Saccharum]

Larry, from one girl to another kind of jab?

I love to complain.

George, I have those belt sticks. Thanks for trying to help me out of my corner, but there is nothing for it except elbow grease, and like you say, put your mind elsewhere.

On to the next grit.

Tom

[Acer Saccharum]

At dinner one evening this Dixon's past, a Mr. Bill Shipman told me he loved to polish locks, and said he would polish any lock I sent him. This was after several Manhattans, and I wish I'd gotten it in writing. He no longer returns my e-mails, and I think he's screening his calls.

[Ed Wenger]

Hey Tom...   I feel your pain!  Although I love all aspects of building a rifle, polishing a lock is something I love a little less.  Nothing for it but elbow grease and a couple days of tedium.  I have no doubt that your efforts will be well rewarded, so keep us posted.

Ed

[Larry Luck]

Tom,
Exactly!
Happy New Year,
Larry Luck

[Dave B]

Tom, This is exactly the reason the whole aprentice system came into beaing. The master was needed for sketching sessions with the nude models and the elbow grease was applied by the youngster

[Acer Saccharum]

Where are all the apprentices when you need one?

Actually, they way things work now-a-days, if someone wanted to learn the machine trade from me, they would have to pay me to teach them. When I stop to teach them something, I am not making money. My whole day turns into instruction, making drawings for them to follow, watching over them while they work the machine. Nope, that old apprentice system doesn't work anymore in this world.

We now have forums.

[E.vonAschwege]

Where are all the apprentices when you need one?

We now have forums.

The ALR and the guys at Dixon's have been my apprenticeship.  I'm so glad I stumbled upon this site years ago... @!*%, it's been a while hasn't it! 

No Tom, just because I apprenticed on the ALR doesn't mean I'll polish locks...

Phew, I survived first semester at college... For all those who thought I'd been swept away by a young blonde woman, never to return to the ALR again...  She's actually a brunette . 

I can't tell you how much I missed working in the shop and exchanging jabs with you guys though, and with the 30 days I have for winter break, I'm back to work on a fowler that's been on hold for a year. 

What grit are you taking the lock to? 
-E

[Acer Saccharum]

Hey, is that Eric von A? Wow! Glad to have you back!

Brunette, hmm? Terrific!

600 grit for engraving and casehardening.

Once past the filing, the grits actually go pretty fast. You just gotta make sure you get ALL the filing marks out with the 220, else those scratches will show thru the 320, 400, 600.

When the case is done, the lock gets polished up again with 600, maybe 800. See those locks in Steinschloss book? they are VERY shiny.

Tom

[Roger Fisher]

Eric: Good to hear from you again!   A brunette!!   Hmm Just one??

[rich pierce]

Youse guys are like a bunch of teenagers- in your heads.   Wishing you were young again and knowing what you know now- but it doesn't work that way!