T.Fort , London Flintlock Pistol
I got this at a Gun Show about 15 years ago. I am attempting to put a flint in it to make it shower sparks.I tried a modern German made flint and also a modern English made flint with no sparks from either.? Did these old timer use flints that made sparks easier,but wore out easier? Is there less harder flints that can be gotten that would spark with less friction?. I would like to make it spark as to flash a little black powder in the flash pan and then possiblibly ignite a small amount of powder in the barrel with or without a ball.It seems to measure approx 60 caliber. Also any info on the maker would be appreciated. Thanks
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Is the frizzen worn and in need of re-facing?
I'm assuming (assume, the mother of all F-ups) that you have the frizzen in the correct location prior to dropping the cock.
Are you sure that you have the flint properly located in the jaws, and properly mounted in leather?0 -
Yes the frizzen is worn some but seems to have enough grooves and lands to cause the flint to minutely flake, the flint seems to strike hard enough and I have the flint mounted in leather and spent much time to assure that it is tight and adjusted. However the striking plate assembly is worn at the pivet and has some sideways slop and the vee shaped spring holding it in striking position with the flash pan cover closed does not quite keep the cover closed wiyh out the effect of gravity. It seems I should get some spark even if inadequate. I took the side play out of thr cock with a super thin brass washer but so far have on fear of breaking the screw to try to remove the longer screw on the striking plate assembly to take the side play;out of it. I tried various ways to put added pressure on the striking plate but have seen not even a minute spark. I may be able to find a way to keep the striking plate more firmly in place but I am proceeding with caution so as not to destroy the originally of the this nice old piece. I guees it could be a combination of a worn frizzen the side plate and not enought pressure resisting the the striking force and maybe the striking force is no longer hard enough but I have not seen even the hint of a spark in a dark area. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by rhmc24
Two thoughts: the frizzen may not be offering enough resistance if the frizzen spring is not strong enough & the frizzen may have lost its hardness or be a cosmetic replacement and never hardened.
The frizzen should snap smartly over the pan when you close it and should snap smartly open when pushed past its center point of travel. You can check the hardness of the frizzen with a file. If it is soft enough to file it is too soft to spark. It should be almost glass hard.
From your description it is necessary to make some assumptions such as the hammer is falling with enough force and the flint is addressing to frizzen with a downward scraping motion, hitting the frizzen about 3/4 way up its face and the frizzen is perfectly dry and oil free. Hope this helps.0 -
The flint is NOT what sparks but rather the flint scrapes of small bits of the frizzen . a soft frizzen will never spark. think of it as a grinder on a piece of metal sort of lie a bench grinder will grind soft hot rolled steel with very little sparks but harden lawn mower blade or tool steel will have a lot more hotter sparks . I suspect the lock on your gun never had the frizzen heat treated. [:(] 0 -
Thanks to all for for your expertise. There is no indication that all the parts are not original.I am aware that when I grind steel,the sparks are red hot bits of steel. I did not realize this was also true of sparks from a flinklock. I had the wrong idea that the flint,though hard was less hard then the steel and the mineral in the flint got red hot. I see now the that the frizzen is the fault,that although not visably worn out is worn past the depth of the original case harding or was ever the the hardingly was. Perhaps it was not up to original standards or just shot enough in olden times to wear out and it was never replaced. I was able make the sriking plate snap in firing position with the flash pan cover closed, with a rubber band which allowed the flint to strike and follow through and open the flashpan. Anyhow I have a London make gun with a English made flint which makes it look complete. I bought it as an antique for a wall hanger but I thought it might be fun to shoot it once. I am considering having the frizzen heat treated but probably most likely will just let it as is. Thanks again to all. 0
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