argh... touch hole peep show

[Jon Williams]

Ok, so i noticed that when the frizzen is shut i can see a wee bit of the touch hole. Is that gonna be a problem? Also the touch hole is a tad high i believe.

[rich pierce]

It's not good, that's for sure.  It may fire reliably but will be subject to dampness etc and doesn't look right.  One fix would be to take this liner out and install a near identical liner made of barrel steel that does not have any touch hole or internal cone yet.  Then drill the hole where it belongs, then cone it internally.  Brown it and it's fixed and near invisible.

[Hungry Horse]

 In my opinion that liner has been installed WAY!!! too high. The touch hole should be about at the top of the pan, not the pan cover. If that thing shoots at all, it will require  a butt load of priming powder in the pan. JMO.

                          Hungry Horse

[Jon Williams]

Dang it. I so didnt want to wake up and read that.   

[P.W.Berkuta]

Shoot it and see what happens.

[Hawken62_flint]

As someone else already said, if it goes off at all, it will be a true hangfire and you will have to fill the pan to capacity.  Depending on preference, you can either use steel rod or in the past, I have used brass rod to make a new liner and then as suggested, drill the touch hole, just at the top of the pan.  Brass may not last as long as the steel, but you can always make another. As suggested, I would try to shoot it to see how it acts with this liner.  Good luck.

[Hungry Horse]

 Since the lock looks like a Siler, you may be able to remove the pan, and have the pan built up with welding rod near the barrel. Years ago, I ridiculed a builder for trying to remedy a too high touch hole by doing just this, and had to eat my words. He carefully shaped the metal near the touch hole, to in effect, ramp the fire into the hole. This has been some time ago, but at the time the gun fired pretty fast. Its either that or a custom made touch hole liner. Sorry.

                    Hungry Horse

[axelp]

what about drilling a second vent hole in that same liner--just below the first one, maybe angled up into the internal cone?

[rich pierce]

what about drilling a second vent hole in that same liner--just below the first one, maybe angled up into the internal cone?

Might fix ignition problems, but now you have 2x ventage and gas (pressure) loss, plus it still gets damp easy and looks bad.  This is one of those cases where a shiny "different metal" liner draws attention to a problem.

[Old Salt]

The first rifle I built had the touch hole about the same position.  The rifle fired fine but I was not happy with the position.  I was able to inlet the barrel a bit more to get the right position.  I still shoot that rifle more than any other I have.

[Long John]

I agree with Rich Pierce.  Do it right. 

John Cholin

[Mark Elliott]

I would make a plug out of an oversize steel screw/bolt with a fine thread.    It would have to be a taper fit so it can be turned in tight.  You would also have to shape the part inside to roughly match the bore.   It would probably be best to do this with the breech plug out so the you can file the plug close to the bore.    You would then file the outside to match the flats and drill a 1/16" hole in the right spot.  The right spot is centered on the top plane of the pan.   Once the hole is drilled,  you can probably get a rotary burr in the breech to open up the hole on the inside.   This might be a good opportunity to make one of those coning tools like they made at Colonial Williamsburg. 

[Long Ears]

With the exception of a moisture issue while raining, I bet it fires fine. Pletch has a video or two on the position of the flash hole and timing and it is way good stuff. I also have a friend with one just like it and it runs fine. Give it a go and let us know. Bob

[Old Bob]

I just converted a percussion rifle to flint this week. It had a Siler percussion lock with the same plate as the flintlock and I had always been told that you could swap them out after removing the drum and screwing in a liner. NOT! So I made a new lock from a batch of lock parts (L&R Classic plate, frizzen and feather spring, Siler tumbler, sear and bridle and a homemade mainspring). The L&R plate with just a little trimming fit better than a Siler. Anyhoo, the touchhole was way too high like yours, maybe a bit higher. So I made a temporary liner from brass. After threading, I cut it extra long and slotted it. Screwed it in, filed it flush and drilled the hole as low as I could get by with which put it pretty close to where it needs to be. In my hurry I did forget to cone it, which I wanted to do, but like I said, I was in a big hurry cause I was tired of fooling with it. Might try it out after I mow the yard in a little bit. Might make another one out of stainless later (and cone it).

[Osprey]

For range work and shooting matches I bet it works fine, but I'd be worried about the touchhole showing for hunting.  Too much chance for moisture. 

If you don't want to replace the liner or mess up the barrel finish, maybe find or make a different frizzen that's thick enough to cover the hole when closed?  That would seem the easiest route to me.  Maybe not the correctest, but would get the job done.

[frogwalking]

If the existing vent liner is a factory one such as a white lightning, get Jim to make you one undrilled.  screw it in tight, where it will be when finiished, then drill the vent  hole in the right place.  Unscrew and cone the inside; reintall and problem solved.  If that does not work, you can always try something else.  If it does, it likely won't be noticed.

[Dphariss]

Weld a lump on the pan over that will seal the vent after its filed to shape.
THEN on the next build put the barrel and lock in THEN mark the vent and drill the pilot hole at or slightly below the top line of the pan .
Also always use the smallest vent liner. Having huge cutouts at the breech is never a good idea.

Dan

[Jon Williams]

Best dang forum ive ever belonged to!  Never had i ever got so much help and advice than here.

Thanks everyone.

[Old Bob]

I just converted a percussion rifle to flint this week. It had a Siler percussion lock with the same plate as the flintlock and I had always been told that you could swap them out after removing the drum and screwing in a liner. NOT! So I made a new lock from a batch of lock parts (L&R Classic plate, frizzen and feather spring, Siler tumbler, sear and bridle and a homemade mainspring). The L&R plate with just a little trimming fit better than a Siler. Anyhoo, the touchhole was way too high like yours, maybe a bit higher. So I made a temporary liner from brass. After threading, I cut it extra long and slotted it. Screwed it in, filed it flush and drilled the hole as low as I could get by with which put it pretty close to where it needs to be. In my hurry I did forget to cone it, which I wanted to do, but like I said, I was in a big hurry cause I was tired of fooling with it. Might try it out after I mow the yard in a little bit. Might make another one out of stainless later (and cone it).

Well, I finally got to test my liner. Sure wished I hadn't forgotten to cone it. It would go off, but I would have to stick a drift in it when loading, take it out and pour my fffffg priming in the hole like a fuze. Shot good and fast but dirtied real fast. Got back from the range yesterday and pulled it out and installed a factory liner. The hole is at least a 1/16" above the top of the pan and I'm concerned about it firing consistently, but I'm going to try it out in a little bit. If it doesn't work as well as it should, I'm going to build up the bottom of the pan towards the hole like a ramp and that should help direct the flame upwards to the hole.

[Dave R]

Turn an eccentric touch hole liner on a lathe! Been there done it!!