I had a couple English percussion shotgun locks to repair. They are nice locks but I think the maker was a little over zealous with making them as delicate as possible. The darn sear is thin as a stick of linguine. Anyway the bridles were so fine that the two top screws were into separated posts barely connected to the rest of the bridle. The sear pivots on a post threaded into the lockplate and held by a hole in the bridle. There’s another leg for the bridle down below the sear.
Both bridles were broken. One had one screw post broken off and the other had both broken off. Then one lock was missing a stirrup and a mainspring. A lot of work. I considered scratch making replacement bridles. Not an easy undertaking. I showed the situation to Bob Favier who has been making and restoring guns since the 1950s I guess. “Braze them up” he grunted. “Let me do that one.”
I sent the lock home with him and the next week it came back with the “leg” brazed on perfectly in place.
Im wondering what jig he used. Can you guess?
Yes, he used the lockplate as the jig. Took the tumbler out, screwed the bridle parts in place, and brazed it together right there. So for the other lock with both posts broken off and badly pitted I recreated the posts as one unit then got brave and brazed the parts together. No acetylene available. No brazing rod. Wrapped some thin sheet brass strip around the joint, put it up against some fire bricks and hit it with the propane torch till orange. Borax it and more heat and it flowed. Better yet I did not braze the bridle to the plate or trap the screw heads. I’m sure that with fluxed braze rod and acetylene it would be a fast and easier fix.
Thought it is a tip worth sharing. No better jig than the original.
