Re: (Found one) Wanted: nice drilling jig for assembling locks

[Bob Roller]

With the small drills used in lock making I never thought clamps and elaborate set ups were needed and still don't.
Bob Roller

[rich pierce]

With the small drills used in lock making I never thought clamps and elaborate set ups were needed and still don't.
Bob Roller

I don’t care what others need. Not every lock maker is a Bob Roller. Not every basketball player makes the pros. Even those who do, play their own styles.  Not every guitar player plays the same way.

[Bob Roller]

There are a good number of drill patterns I use(d) for the bridles in all the locks I made and they had holes in them either from a #44 or a 3/32 drill bit and are made from oil hardening 0-1 and I drilled and reamed a hole in the lock plate where the tumbler main shank passes thru to hold the cock.I made inserts to go in the reamed hole with a small shank of either .086 which is the #44 drill or .093 which is 3/32.I used these to spot drill the holes for the threads which in my locks were mostly the #4 or .110 diameter seen in most high end English locks and either 40 or 48 threads per inch.Countersink about the depth of one thread on both sides before tapping and use a threading fluid that has a viscosity and will stay on the taps.Buy industrial supply house taps as well.Lock making is skill set that most shop machinists want nothing to do with and the springs usually stop them cold.I taught one many years ago and he did well including the springs after he understood the idea of preloading them to supply tension/energy to fire the gun.His name is Sid Estep* and he sold some locks but never got the name recognition that was needed and quit making both locks and triggers.I tried to help promote his work but it didn't help.I am now done with lock making and am happy with the sales of double set triggers which are not as labor intensive as locks.
Bob Roller
* Sid was active in the mid 1970's and sold some locks and triggers thru the Hawken Shop when it was in St.Louis.

[Bob Roller]

Using parallels in a quality machinist vise will get you there and still be closer than .005" especially if drilling on a mill or true high quality drill press.  .005 off center can cause binding of the tumbler.
kw

I was looking last evening at a number of drill presses and consider all of them as inferior to the old 1964 Delta made in,Pittsburgh USA floor model I have used since 1964.NONE of these "Made in China" imports have a provision for a chuck with a threaded collar to assure the chuck can not come off the taper at the end of the spindle.I paid $164 for it then and another $100 at the Sears&Roebuck store on the same street for a rotary table with x and Y axis.Another time,another USA . This is the only drill press I have ever used in all lock and trigger making and plan to use it in the morning on Hawken triggers.
Bob Roller

[Long Ears]

Bob, they all have that capability, you just need to buy a chuck and MT taper spindle that fits. I have 3 "CHINA" made drill pressed I did it too. I put keyless "GERMAN" chucks on them.... Bob

[Rolf]

Bob, I'm trying to learn lock making and have a few questions.
1) What  was the function of the insert in the tumbler hole?
2) What was it made of?
3) How was it attached to the hole?

Best regards
Rolf

[Bob Roller]

Bob, they all have that capability, you just need to buy a chuck and MT taper spindle that fits. I have 3 "CHINA" made drill pressed I did it too. I put keyless "GERMAN" chucks on them.... Bob

That threaded collars add a safety to a system that has a built in flaw and I am not ever going to be completely at ease with only a taper between me and a spinning chuck with a sharp drill or end mill in it.I like the Jacobs system,AMERICAN style like I  have.Break a taper .001 and it's ready to take off across the floor.The Chinese drill presses are designed to satisfy a price range and NOT the well being of the buyer/user.I have NEVER seen an imported drill press with the 1and1/6thx20TPI threaded spindle for these fancy chucks and won't have one in my shop.I used this heavy old American drill press for a high speed milling machine at maximum RPM to mill the shallow "V" slot in a tumbler to install the "fly" and at that speed a chuck coming loose would be a real threat and I don't need it.
Bob  Roller

[Bob Roller]

Bob, I'm trying to learn lock making and have a few questions.
1) What  was the function of the insert in the tumbler hole?
2) What was it made of?
3) How was it attached to the hole?

Best regards
Rolf

Rolf,
These pins locate the precise position of the  screw holes in the lock plate and are held by a vise to the plate and the holes are located by touching the running drill to the plate thru the holes.The actual drilling is done thru the plate by a drill press.
The plate has the hole drilled and reamed for the tumbler shank that hold the hammer and the  "pins" are locators with the precise diameter of the hole on one end and a stem the precise diameter of the hole where the tumbler's small bearing will go.This hole pattern is also the one for the bridle. I have a number of these "Locators" for a wide group of locks including the fancy English Stanton fish tail bridle for both the long range target rifles and the smaller version for the rook rifles,pistols or boys rifles and ALL are taken from original locks I borrowed from Lynton MCKenzie in 1987.
There are many others for locks I made years ago like the Maslin flintlock and the Chet Shoults Ketland and another fine Ketland that I made a number of for the so called "Flint Hawken" craze of the 1980's.None of my locks were popular becuase I didn't think that good quality parts even for muzzle loaders should be priced with the inferior ones.I sent a lot of them to Europe,mostly Germany.Sverre Kavaloe in Norway has or had one of my 4 screw Stanton locks for a long raange rifle and he lived/lives in Nordland,Lodigen I think.
I hope this helps with your lock making.It is labor intensive and dedication IS required and at 83 mine ran out in 2019.

Bob Roller