Lock plate drilling

[Ben Quearry]

I'm trying this with my phone so please bear with me, olde "Nelle Dell" has konked out again. The moderators may want to move this.

This is lock drilling fixture I made that someone may want to copy. It is based on the design in the book "Gunsmith of Greenville" Here I'm setup in the drill press for the frizzen hole. The little post with the horizontal 10-32 screw holds the frizzen in place. The rest is just little toe clamps with 1/4-20 screws.

Ben

[KC]

I've looked over the sketches  for this drilling fixture in "The Gunsmith of Grenville County". It looks like you did a nice job of building it.

[ron w]

nice fixture !. I enjoy making fixtures as much as I can, if even for just a few pieces, because of the accuracy they provide, not only from piece to piece, but in the precision of the individual processes the fixtures are supposed to support and the time saved in set up of those individual processes. the time taken to build fixtures is always well worth the effort. in my wood working mainly building cabinets, I have many fixtures that are for just on operation.....it always pays off to use them.

[rich pierce]

Looks solid as a rock. PM sent.

[Hungry Horse]

I guess I'm just a little simple. That to me is like building a conveyor belt to take the trash out. I have been simply soldering the frizzen to the pan with soft solder, and then boring the hole, for years. A little heat and it's all back apart. It's simple and doesn't take up more work space.

  Hungry Horse

[little joe]

I guess I'm just a little simple. That to me is like building a conveyor belt to take the trash out. I have been simply soldering the frizzen to the pan with soft solder, and then boring the hole, for years. A little heat and it's all back apart. It's simple and doesn't take up more work space.

  Hungry Horse

You are right.

[rich pierce]

The frizzen drilling is just one aspect of the fixture.

[P.W.Berkuta]

I'm trying this with my phone so please bear with me, olde "Nelle Dell" has konked out again. The moderators may want to move this.

This is lock drilling fixture I made that someone may want to copy. It is based on the design in the book "Gunsmith of Greenville" Here I'm setup in the drill press for the frizzen hole. The little post with the horizontal 10-32 screw holds the frizzen in place. The rest is just little toe clamps with 1/4-20 screws.

Ben

I think this is a fine fixture and looks SOLID. If I were into building locks then I would want to make one of these - no doubt about it. Yes - you can "make due" with "fiddling & @$#%&*@" with holding your tongue at a certin angle while drilling holes but all it takes is one screw-up and you now have to get anotherr part and hope you don't mess up again. Fixtures are there to help you do a professional job of it without the hassel of trying to hold the part and drill an accurate hole at the same time. Great work on the fixture Ben;).

[deepcreekdale]

Nice job on that ben, looks very well made. Also, if you are interested, the late John Bivins in the book "Gunsmithing Tips and Techniques" which is a collection of excellent gunsmithing articles from Rifle Magazine has a similar jig with good instructions that might be a little simpler to build.

[jerrywh]

 That is a nice looking fixture but- it doesn't guarantee the frizzen will fit tight on the pan surface. In fact it is a good way to get a bad fit. The object is to get a tight fit between the frizzen and the pan surface. As said before, Soldering the pan to the frizzen is a sure way to get a good fit providing the frizzen screw has a precision fit also. If the screw has slack in the hole you will not get a good fit no matter what you do. Simple logic.

[jerrywh]

 There are three makers I know who can do this with perfection. Dave Crisalli, Bob Roller, Jim Chambers, Ron Scott. I'm sure there are others I am unaware of.

[Ben Quearry]

Here's another shot with it off the drill press



Why go to so much trouble? Well, I'm not skilled enough to keep from ruining a lock plate. I was a tool and die maker a few years ago, fixtures keep me out of trouble. The 10-32 in the post is turned down on it's end to press the frizzen into the pan. There is a little 1/8" wide blade on one block and a toe clamp presses the spring end of the frizzen down onto it.

Ben

[ron w]

whether for just one time or for repeated use, jigs and fixtures are always worth the time and effort to build, simply for the accuracy and being sure your operation goes the way it is supposed to go. to me it's just plain stupid to trust any sort of makeshift set up when a fixture can be had to ensure good results. if you do take the time and effort to build a good fixture, even if for 1 use, you will find that it will be used again and again simply because you have the convenience of doing the operation with the precision and ease of difficult procedures that a fixture affords.
   some of the guys here are posting excuses to not build a fixture,...these are guys who never tried doing the operation with a fixture. if they would have, the only excuses you would see here, would be excuses to build more fixtures for building these guns.

[P.W.Berkuta]

whether for just one time or for repeated use, jigs and fixtures are always worth the time and effort to build, simply for the accuracy and being sure your operation goes the way it is supposed to go. to me it's just plain stupid to trust any sort of makeshift set up when a fixture can be had to ensure good results. if you do take the time and effort to build a good fixture, even if for 1 use, you will find that it will be used again and again simply because you have the convenience of doing the operation with the precision and ease of difficult procedures that a fixture affords.
   some of the guys here are posting excuses to not build a fixture,...these are guys who never tried doing the operation with a fixture. if they would have, the only excuses you would see here, would be excuses to build more fixtures for building these guns.

I TOTALLY AGREE with all that you have said !!!!

[Flint62Smoothie]

There are three makers I know who can do this with perfection. Dave Crisalli, Bob Roller, Jim Chambers, Ron Scott. I'm sure there are others I am unaware of.

... I count FOUR there ...

[jerrywh]

 In the other view I couldn't see the screw that held the frizzen to the pan surface. That look better.
 The big problem is getting a perfect fit for the screw. If the screw doesn't fit with precision all else is in vain. Building fixtures is fun and fulfilling.

[Howard]

John Bivens showed me a fixture close to what you have made back in maybe 1971.  He was good at fitting Siler locks together.  Just a fine person & good mechanic.

[davec2]

For years I resisted building fixtures for a lot of what I considered simple tasks.  Then one day, I had to build a rather complicated fixture just to do one job precisely on a rocket engine.  It took three times as long to design and build the fixture as it did to complete the job it was made for.  But if I had not built it and used it, it would have been impossible to do the original job correctly.  I liken it to building a multi story brick building without scaffolding.  You may not want to spend the time putting up scaffolding, but without it,  your building won't be but a half a story tall.  Besides, even when I thought I would use a fixture only once, I always end up using it far more often than I thought.

Good job on this one !

[ron w]

For years I resisted building fixtures for a lot of what I considered simple tasks.  Then one day, I had to build a rather complicated fixture just to do one job precisely on a rocket engine.  It took three times as long to design and build the fixture as it did to complete the job it was made for.  But if I had not built it and used it, it would have been impossible to do the original job correctly.  I liken it to building a multi story brick building without scaffolding.  You may not want to spend the time putting up scaffolding, but without it,  your building won't be but a half a story tall.  Besides, even when I thought I would use a fixture only once, I always end up using it far more often than I thought.

Good job on this one !

   good analogy,.....most times, after using a fixture for something for the first time, you can't thinking how to make a fixture for just about everything you do !. just the assurance that what you are doing is being done correctly is well worth the effort.

[Acer Saccharum]

When the drill breaks through the bottom of the plate, the fixture holds the lockplate from spinning; instead ripping your hand to shreds, you get a nice clean straight hole.

Safety for your person AND the part is another reason to fixture.