Lock Repair

[SlowFuse]

I have an 1816 percussion conversion smoothbore with lock issues. When the trigger is pulled, it catches on the half cock notch.

Is there anyone or a company that works on these old guns? Replacement parts don't seem to be available that can just drop in because of the age and nature of manufacture on these. It looks like the previous owner did a little grinding on the bottom of the tumbler to try to increase clearance. I started to post this in the gunsmithing/repair area but it seems most of those topics are on modern repairs. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[hawg]

Try Lodgewood. https://www.lodgewood.com

 

[dave951]

Call Dave at Lodgewood

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

The tumbler profile may have been changed, I wouldn't know unless I looked at it up close. Normally the area behind the half cock notch is a continuation of a smooth radius that the sear will miss when the trigger is pulled. Another thing to check is how far is the sear moving when the trigger is pulled, if the movement is not long enough it can be part of the problem.

 

[44 Dave]

Like Jackrabbit said. the tumbler may have been altered or sear altered, (often the full cock notch starts to slip)
Then other clearances would alter, the question is does it catch in 1/2 cock when fired?

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

The old lock I repaired last week had a small pendulum device that dropped down when you pulled the hammer back to full cock to block the half cock notch from catching the sear. Yours appears to depend on the trigger being held fully retracted until the hammer falls past the half cock notch. try holding the exposed lock in a vice and pressing the trigger bar to observe what is actually happening.

 

[hawg]

The old lock I repaired last week had a small pendulum device that dropped down when you pulled the hammer back to full cock to block the half cock notch from catching the sear.

That's the fly. You usually only see them on rifles with a double set trigger.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

It was on a lock made around 1860 on a rifle without a set trigger. Maybe new technology for the time?

 

[hawg]

It was on a lock made around 1860 on a rifle without a set trigger. Maybe new technology for the time?

No, they have been around since the 1700's at least.

 

[SlowFuse]

Like Jackrabbit said. the tumbler may have been altered or sear altered, (often the full cock notch starts to slip)
Then other clearances would alter, the question is does it catch in 1/2 cock when fired?

It's catches on half cock when falling from full cock when the trigger is gently squeezed. If I yank it harder it falls completely without catching.

I may send this one to Lodgewood as suggested, but would be nice if I could figure it out without the shipping costs both ways + repair costs. May be in over my head.

 

[44 Dave]

I have had to put a little bend in the trigger arm to get it to lift a little higher.

 

[Ephraim Kibbey]

Have you tried disassembling, cleaning and lubricating it?

 

[AntiqueSledMan]

Hello SlowFuse,

I would not attempt to disassemble without a Main Spring Vise.
You can probably get it apart, but assembly will be almost impossible without a vise.

AntiqueSledMan.

 

[44 Dave]

Hello SlowFuse,

I would not attempt to disassemble without a Main Spring Vise.
You can probably get it apart, but assembly will be almost impossible without a vise.

AntiqueSledMan.

There are a lot of "one time" take apart spring options. Needle nose vice grips,small C clamp or beam clamp. Some padding and caution for slipping, but trying to get a spring clamp in your hands may take a while.

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

I am equipped to disassemble and reassemble your lock, I do lock work on occasion. I recently got bit on the backside by a lock made in India that was so badly fitted I couldn't do anything with it, so no real guarantees until I see it. My policy is if I can't fix it you don't get charged for it. PM me if you want to go further.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

An intelligent person with a good knowledge of locks and experience such as the Rabbit would be able to fix such a lock. They are not "rocket science", although an inexperienced person could make a mess out of one.

Something else, if the full cock is worn, resulting in a light trigger pull, that will add/contribute to the problem. I have a good, light and "educated" trigger squeeze. I have fired more than a few guns that worked perfectly fine for the owners, but would stop on half cock when I fired them. ("wow...it's never done that before") If the mainspring is weak, that can also contribute.

 

[SlowFuse]

Have you tried disassembling, cleaning and lubricating it?

I have, I use the "small c-clamp" as @44 Dave mentioned to disassemble locks without any accidents, yet. I looked at this one thinking there were burrs somewhere on the tumbler/sear nose. That's when I noticed it had been tinkered with. The lock was actually pretty clean, I think the parts have just been ground out of proper dimensions/angles.

 

[SlowFuse]

I sent my lock to @Jackrabbit1957 because he offered to fix this mess. I'm glad I did.

This fellow fixed my lock and with a quickness! I mailed just the lock to him, not the whole gun. With a few pics of the trigger mechanism he had the lock re-profiled and ready to be sent back. When I received the lock back, it worked very well. For a pre-42 lock this is pretty impressive seeing as they're hand built. When I put the lock back in this 1816 (I believe its actually pre-1816 more like an 1812) it worked as it should. Further yet, this thing has a nice and clean ~5lb trigger break! @Jackrabbit1957 definitely knows what he's doing! I'm not sure what his actual forte is, but I wouldn't hesitate sending anything else his way.

I'm glad I took a chance and am completely happy with the results after installing this lock back in my smoothbore. Ready to get this thing on the firing line!

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

Thanks for the mention Slowfuse, was a pleasure doing the job for you. Keep us posted on how it shoots.

 

[SlowFuse]

Will do!

I will be working a load up for it, hopefully soon. If it shoots as well as my repro 1842 i'll be busting targets with it at the next N-SSA event at the end of this month.