Pedersoli locks

[yip]

 is there anyway to make the Pedersoli lock on a pennsylania long rifle any better and more reliable? the cock seems to strick the frizzen to hard that it breaks the flint. is there away to lighten the blow?

[Frank]

This is why I never liked commercial Flintlock rifles. Their locks leave a lot to be desired.

[yip]

 this rifle belongs to a friend and asking this question. is there a lock thats compatiable for this rifle?

[Eric Kettenburg]

I haven't looked at one but usually when this happens, it's not a function of the springs being too heavy but rather either/both the flint cock hitting the frizzen at too perpendicular and angle, and the frizzen foot being shaped in a manner that creates a dwell or 'sluggish' flip open.  The first problem can be corrected by heating and bending the neck/lower jaw of the cock so that you're basically pointing the jaws (and the flint in them) to more of a downward angle - you have to be careful though and mindful of the pan fence and pan, and where the flint will be throwing the sparks.  The second issue can be corrected by careful filing on the frizzen foot to reshape it to generally a finer 'point' or arc, but you have to make decisions as to where on the foot to remove material as removing it from the front or back will affect how soon the frizzen flips open.  Hope I've explained this in a way that makes sense.

[redheart]

Eric is correct in all of these points about fixing he lock.
I've made these locks function a lot better by simply grinding down the frizzen spring to lighten it. On the Pedersoli locks I've worked on this spring is way too heavy and turns these locks into a rock crusher. However unless you do what Eric says to change the geometry of the lock it will never be a great lock.
I've fitted the R.E. Davis Late English Flintlock to several Pedersoli's and it works well. You'll have to remove a little wood and a little metal to make them fit but it's not too difficult

[bob in the woods]

I believe that L&R makes a replacement lock .   I've worked on a few of these Pedersoli locks and although they can be fiddled with to make them work better, the fit re the internals isn't great. The last ones I saw had weak main springs and heavy frizzen springs. The geometry ref the toe of the hammer was off too, so some file work , polishing on that helped.
Some of the contact points showed a lot of wear, so that too is a consideration.

[redheart]

I believe that L&R makes a replacement lock .   I've worked on a few of these Pedersoli locks and although they can be fiddled with to make them work better, the fit re the internals isn't great. The last ones I saw had weak main springs and heavy frizzen springs. The geometry ref the toe of the hammer was off too, so some file work , polishing on that helped.
Some of the contact points showed a lot of wear, so that too is a consideration.
[/quote
Bob,
I checked and sadly L&R doesn't make a RPL Lock for the Pedersoli.
I guess that's why I used to go to the trouble of fitting the Davis lock.

[bob in the woods]

Thanks for that.  I wasn't sure if they did.  I have replaced a few CVA locks with the RPL 's and it wasn't too bad a job.
I guess the Davis is the best bet. 

[Bob Roller]

I made a number of kits for the Gibbs/Pedersoli long range rifles
The big problem was the fly that would not disengage until the hammer was
pulled back beyond normal cock position and there were several cases of the
shooter releasing the hammer after the 2nd click and when the hammer dropped it could
skip over the full cock in the tumbler and fire the gun.
This was corrected after a while and I stopped making kits.The guns were very accurate
but the locks were the bug in the beef stew.
Bob Roller

[yip]

if you was gonna replace the lock with a Davis what one would you guys suggest? we were gonna try a late Ketland but not sure, how about a small Siler?

[redheart]

The best all around lock I've found and managed to fit is the R.E Davis Late English also called Late Ketland. It's the one with the square tail. I remember making this lockplate as small as possible, taking off any metal that wasn't necessary from the top, front and back of the plate so I wouldn't have to take so much wood off the Pedersoli lock panel as to make it look funny. I drilled and tapped it for the Pedersoli lock screws also. The pan I believe didn't line up absolutely perfect, but plenty good enough,  and I deepened it and enlarged it a little on one side with a Dremel grinding bit. It definitely takes work, but it looks and functions great. Checked out the Small Siler but found that it would take more work to fit. By the way you could also install a bolster and nipple to make a great capper.

[redheart]

I made a number of kits for the Gibbs/Pedersoli long range rifles
The big problem was the fly that would not disengage until the hammer was
pulled back beyond normal cock position and there were several cases of the
shooter releasing the hammer after the 2nd click and when the hammer dropped it could
skip over the full cock in the tumbler and fire the gun.
This was corrected after a while and I stopped making kits.The guns were very accurate
but the locks were the bug in the beef stew.
Bob Roller

Bob,
I agree totally. It seems that Pedersoli always had the potential to make a really good copy, but there  is always something that would have been so easy for them to do correctly but they always seem to miss the boat on some critical detail that makes the gun a problem to be repaired from the moment you open the box. I guess the only good thing that's come of it is that a few intelligent and dedicated people, mostly NSSA folks have made a few extra bucks fixing these darned SNAFU's created by Uberti and Pedersoli.