English Round Faced lock?

[ltdann]

My last build is complete....and I'm jonesing for the next one.  This building stuff is addictive, I may have to find a 12 step program .

I'm trying to figure out what I want to build next and I'd like to use a Chambers English Round Faced lock.  From my reading, I know they were used on fowlers and fusils. 

Where they used on anything else? The rifleman in me just can't go smoothbore.

Thanks in advance.

[rich pierce]

The “Griffon” Moravian rifle had an English styled round faced lock made in Philadelphia. 

[RockLock92]

Early southern rifles used early English locks like the one you’re wanting to use. Often these guns are described as “early Virginia” though from what I understand this is about as generic as saying “early Pennsylvania”. The woods runner rifle has a round faced lock I believe and If I’m not mistaken the new Kibler kit has one. The Faber rifle has a round faced lock for sure.

[smart dog]

Hi Dan,
There are several rifles and smooth rifles in RCA volumes 1 & 2 that have round-faced locks. Many German Jaegers and some early to mid 18th century English rifles also used them.  Chambers' round-faced English lock is a very good lock.  I've used it on quite a few fowlers and rifles and it looks and performs very well.  In fact, I shot more than 500 rounds through my little English rifle, which has that lock, without a single misfire or hang fire even when the flints were worn down to dull nubs.  All Chambers' locks that I've used and tuned work very well, but the lock on that English rifle is extraordinarily good.  Attached are photos showing the round-faced lock on 2 rifles I built.

dave   

[n stephenson]

Hi Dan,
There are several rifles and smooth rifles in RCA volumes 1 & 2 that have round-faced locks. Many German Jaegers and some early to mid 18th century English rifles also used them.  Chambers' round-faced English lock is a very good lock.  I've used it on quite a few fowlers and rifles and it looks and performs very well.  In fact, I shot more than 500 rounds through my little English rifle, which has that lock, without a single misfire or hang fire even when the flints were worn down to dull nubs.  All Chambers' locks that I've used and tuned work very well, but the lock on that English rifle is extraordinarily good.  Attached are photos showing the round-faced lock on 2 rifles I built.

dave   

Dave, I`m familiar with your Turvey , but I haven't seen the top rifle . I really like the color contrasts on that one . Any chance of seeing more?             To the OP  , as stated there are a number of rifles you could build with that lock . Those are some really nice functioning locks so they do well on rifles as well.  Nate

[Pukka Bundook]

Any English areas of settlement could have used round -faced locks, as they were very common still in mid century.

The Chambers locks is to me the best lock there is. I have used it on rifles and fowling pieces.  Possibly used more in the south, or away from Germanic areas, but as Smart Dog said, round -faced locks were used in Germany as well at an earlier period. 




The above are both Chambers R-faced locks.

[Bigmon]

Here is a round faced lock with an all round barrel.
It is actually made from acivil war rifled musket barrel and shoots patched round balls and 510 gr minie balls. 
It was my first build getting back into the hoby after 25 or 30 years and is a little crude looking but functions well and will really knock fown the deer.
Ya know, I had the barrel and I had the lock so I made a gun.  That's sort of what I think the original old timers did back in the day?

[ltdann]

Thanks Gents, I'll dig in to RCA a bit more.  I'm thinking something along the lines of a pre-revolutionary war piece or maybe an early Virginia rifle.  I'd like to stay with .50 cal, just for simplicity as all my other ML are .50.

The chambers is a bit larger than the large Siler.  Did that give any of you problems?

I could wait for kibler's kit, but that might be too easy for me, as much as I like the looks of it.

What I'm hoping to do is find a partial pre-carve with only the barrel cut for a swamped barrel  and ramrod drilled.  Don't think I'm ready for a blank yet, as my practice sessions haven't gone well, despite Mr. Brooks excellent tutorial.

TOTW has some nice stocks that I like but they're mostly cut for straight octagon. 

Any ideas or advice?

[ltdann]

by the way, NICE rifles, one and all!

[Bigmon]

There was a man at Dixons that specializes in just what you want.
I just can't recall his name for the life of me.
But I remember he also does high end great castings.
I'm sure someone on here will remember as I have seen him mentioned on here.
Even Google the subject and you'll find him.
Hope this helps

[ddoyle]

Advice? You can buy a new mold for any cal for peanuts. Build something not .50

[Monty59]

Hello Itdann, take a look in the book Rifles of Colonial America volume 1 page 312 there is a very nice Lancaster with a round face lock made by Valentine Fondersmith.
The Flintlock below was built by Allen Martin about after the original  not exactly but in the style of Valentine Fondersmith and he use a Chambers lock the gun is one
of my favorites

Regards Monty

[ltdann]

Monty,. That's pretty close to what I'm after as far as architecture.  Nice rifle!

[ltdann]

  Attached are photos showing the round-faced lock on 2 rifles I built.

dave   

Dave,

Can you talk about this rifle, I'm intrigued.  More info please, especially how you got that contrasting color.

[smart dog]

Hi Dan and nate,
Thanks for your interest in this gun.  I hate the stain job.  It was a very difficult piece of maple that was so hard that it did not absorb stain very well.  At the time I did not know about ferric nitrate crystals and tried aqua fortis from Track of the Wolf on a test piece, which was awful, and it was difficult in Alaska to get nitric acid to make my own stain. So I tried LMF Lancaster stain.  On the test piece it looked good, but on the gun it was a nightmare. It would not soak in many places and dye just ran into the corners and dried. That accented the carving nicely but was not my objective. I eventually put on several coats to get the wood stained and of course it stained the softer curl very dark but not the adjacent hard spots.  Ferric nitrate and possibly a wash with strong tea would have been much better.  The brown on the metal is very heavy and I don't care for it but it is a brown I did on guns I made in Ketchikan, Alaska for locals who used them for hunting.  It holds up to the heavy rain (up to 160-200 inches annually) and sea spray (my guns were often transported to hunting areas in small skiffs in rough water).  This particular rifle has now killed a record Sitka black-tailed deer and a record mountain goat.  The owner hauled it all over the mountains and killed the goat with a shot from 130 yards.

dave

[ltdann]

The more I look at it, the more I like it but then I'm partial to red.  Is
 it based on any particular style? What caliber?

[smart dog]

Hi Dan,
The barrel is a Colerain 42" 58 caliber with round bottom rifling.  The owner swears by it.

dave

[Daryl]

Here is a round faced lock with an all round barrel.
It is actually made from acivil war rifled musket barrel and shoots patched round balls and 510 gr minie balls. 
It was my first build getting back into the hoby after 25 or 30 years and is a little crude looking but functions well and will really knock fown the deer.
Ya know, I had the barrel and I had the lock so I made a gun.  That's sort of what I think the original old timers did back in the day?

Certainly some may have, just as you did.

[RockLock92]

Hello Itdann, take a look in the book Rifles of Colonial America volume 1 page 312 there is a very nice Lancaster with a round face lock made by Valentine Fondersmith.
The Flintlock below was built by Allen Martin about after the original  not exactly but in the style of Valentine Fondersmith and he use a Chambers lock the gun is one
of my favorites

Regards Monty

You don’t happen to have more pictures of this rifle or know where I might find any? I looked on Allen Martin’s website, but couldn’t find any of this particular rifle. If not I’ll find the original when I get back home.
Thanks

[Monty59]

here I hve a few more for you RockLock92. I bought the rifle I think 2012 from Allen on the CLA show and as I mentioned is is not a exactly copy but in the style of Fondersmith.

Regards Monty