LOCK QUESTIONS NEW PHOTOS

[WESTbury]

I was asked by the owner to remove the photos.

The owner provided additional photos.

[rich pierce]

If that’s a weld job I want to know that welder.

[jerrywh]

 What is the question??? what did I miss?

[rich pierce]

What is the question??? what did I miss?

Is it all original?

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

One way I have used to determine the age of a gun part is to check the screw size.  If the screws are modern form (as with an 8-32 or 6-32 or modern ISO9000 metric forms) them the gun part is most probably modern.

Jim

[Eric Kettenburg]

I feel pretty certain that's a reconversion.  And in regard to the welding:  when I was a LOT younger in NJ, just outside of Hopewell there was a retired guy who had been a welder for RCA doing all kinds of atmospheric and aerospace stuff and then ran his own home welding business in retirement.  One of the crankiest guys I've ever met but that dude could run welds that you would absolutely, positively NEVER find.  I had him do some work for me fairly regularly, especially on lock plates, and once filed-up, it was impossible to find the welds. 

Every antique dealer for 100 miles around was bringing stuff in there, no kidding.

[WESTbury]

Thanks to all for your responses.

For background see my earlier post" "OPINIONS NEEDED ON LOCK" from earlier today.

I believe that, at the very least, the lock has a replaced frizzen. As far as the pan being welded, it's hard to say without actually having the lock in hand. Photographs can be deceiving, but I'm confident that none of those I posted have been manipulated.

The area of the barrel around the touchhole, and the hole itself, "looks" okay.

The front and rear lockbolts are definitely not newly manufactured, photo attached.

Appreciate all the input on this lock.

[Clint]

Reconversion is a clear possibility, the surface of the frizzen and the pan are not in tune with the rest of the lock. When rusted iron/steel are heated red hot the surface color changes to an obnoxious brick red, you can see this on the inside under the frizzen screw. This is a strong suggestion that the pan was welded. Things inside the lock mortice don't seem to indicate that there was a different occupant at any time, so I would lean towards a pretty nice reconversion.
Clint

[WESTbury]

I call all that obnoxious red rust, "live rust" as it spreads from its initial location to other areas and components like the lock bolt. Amazingly, I've seen many rifles having the "live rust" on their locks, including locks of many of the rifles in the Miller Library on this forum. As we all know, the majority of Kentucky Rifles are recons, but that does not reduce their desirability to collectors, as many are works of art as well as historical pieces.

Thanks again for the great replies.