Frizzens

[Mauser06]

How do you determine its time for a new frizzen?  Or time to harden it?? 



I have an L&R replacement TC style lock..I don't have a ton of shots on it...but it's gouging pretty good and doesn't seem to spark as well as it did...

I've never hardened a frizzen...don't know if it's better to buy a new one or harden the current one..


Almost seems like having a spare for each lock isn't a bad idea...and then can harden them all at once while you are going at it...though I don't even know the best/proper way to harden a frizzen..

[hammer]

Try a search within the forums, harden frizzen by jerrywh.    Lots of material here on the black art of frizzen hardening.    As there is by other contributors.    I did some posts on resoling a frizzen, I still believe to be the simplest way.   Much depends on how experienced is the practitioner and the available tools and facilities.   
Good luck.

[Don Steele]

I don't know anything much about L&R locks specifically but I can offer a general comment based upon my experience with my Chambers lock. IF....if that frizzen is fully hardened steel, and not just surface hardened you may find that gently removing the gouges you mention with an emery wheel..slowly, so as not to get it hot...will dramatically improve both the sparking, and flint life.
That said, the next thing to do is take another look at how your flint is mounted, and see if there's a better way to install it to keep the flint scraping down the face of the frizzen rather than smashing directly into it.

[L. Akers]

As Mr. Roller has said in other posts, L&R uses 52-100 tool steel for their frizzens.  They will be hard all the way through.  I second Don and suggest you experiment with flint position-- bevel up, bevel down, in, out, etc.  I set up my flints to just clear the frizzen with the cock at half-bent and the frizzen closed.  Some of my rifles spark best with the bevel down, other like the bevel up.  Thickness of the flint may make a difference,too.

[Daryl]

An 8" wheel usually matches frizzen concave shape just about perfectly, for grinding a new surface. You can usually re-grind a new surface 2 depending on how deep the grooves are.
Taylor re-hardened and tempered the frizzen on my squirrel rifle - now it virtually showers sparks - with some buzzing in the pan.

[Bob Roller]

I don't know which frizzen an 8"wheel will match but it isn't anything I have ever made.
I use a 5" wheel when I made locks not using the L&R externals.These were my Ketland.
the Chet Shoults and the Bailes/Nock/Manton that I made mostly for the German market.
The Ketland radius was perfect for the 5" wheel,the Shoults required  getting the frizzen red hot and bending it to
conform to the 5" wheel. The BMN was already adaptable with no heating and bending.

Bob Roller

[retired fella]

What these guys said.  I use a dremel stone very gently on occasion to touch up a frizzen face.

[hanshi]

Maybe a little different take, here.  Not being one to overdo things I use emery paper to smooth out any grooves that develop.  However it's rather a rare problem with my lock frizzens. 

[Daryl]

I don't know which frizzen an 8"wheel will match but it isn't anything I have ever made.
I use a 5" wheel when I made locks not using the L&R externals.These were my Ketland.
the Chet Shoults and the Bailes/Nock/Manton that I made mostly for the German market.
The Ketland radius was perfect for the 5" wheel,the Shoults required  getting the frizzen red hot and bending it to
conform to the 5" wheel. The BMN was already adaptable with no heating and bending.

Bob Roller

bob - might have been an 8" worn out to a 5"  

[Bob Roller]

I don't know which frizzen an 8"wheel will match but it isn't anything I have ever made.
I use a 5" wheel when I made locks not using the L&R externals.These were my Ketland.
the Chet Shoults and the Bailes/Nock/Manton that I made mostly for the German market.
The Ketland radius was perfect for the 5" wheel,the Shoults required  getting the frizzen red hot and bending it to
conform to the 5" wheel. The BMN was already adaptable with no heating and bending.

Bob Roller

bob - might have been an 8" worn out to a 5"  

Daryl,
Maybe so. I have some 6" wheels worn to 5" and some 5" down to 4.5.

Bob Roller

[David R. Pennington]

I wouldn't replace until it either quits sparking well or gets worn so thin it is sharp on the edge. You do need to smooth them out ocasionally.