Hey, thx!
Flintlocks. They DO present issues in their own.
Like for instance the fit of the barrel and its ignition/touch hole vs the pan of the lock and so on.
This turd in turn, a multi stage rocket.
Point of mine being i´m gonna toss after it what´s there, just finish will no doubt be round 2. First up is getting the various issue right and on the money, get to testfire and in turn alter as needed...
Right. I added a "pillar" a tad north of the base plug. Reason here is simple, albeit the barrel is old it´s still cast steel. Thus it "rings" like a tuning fork under load, just as a modern rifle does.
Granted, using black powder and this old a material it rings
different vs a modern rifle but.. it will still see nodes and antinodes. So.
I´ve now set the thing up so that the entire barrel rests on the rear tang screw (which is now of way more ample dimensions(1/4")) AND that pillar. Outer dimension of that pillar is a mere 10mm, but see...
As this is a true "bastard" anyways.. Acraglas time.
See. The recoil lug/shelf where the barrel shoves all that force when fired into the stock.. has seen better days. Traditionally this area sees all of the load on an old flint or cap n ball..why fit is imperative to both save on the stock as the gun per whole.
It´s not that nature´s had its way with that area, it´s just that i guess fit wasn´t all that for starters why it´s been hammered to dust partially.
Due this i´m going to "fold in" a piece of walnut alright but to believe that´ll come out 100 is pushing it.. Thus i´m going to acraglass the entire area and pillar bed the thing while at it.
The tang screw in turn comes in at an angle, as it does on many "newer" old cap n ball guns, thus dividing the stress on the stock even more - which is of course a good thing.
That pillar in turn secures that i can alter barrel "inclination" as i see fit, which i of course have done and this brings that the entire barrel from that pillar onwards floats as well as a barrel on a modern rifle.
This way of setting it up, what i hope for is the ability to a larger degree "tune" the barrel for a given load using a regular load ladder per normal.
Bullet for it is a version used widely over here for 50cal ML´s, which is a basic sort of Minie/Burton setup. I´ll snap a pic of that asap. It has turned out to be a pill that works very very well in these guns, and i of course hope for the best in this case too.
Then as you can see i came to "sweat" a piece of steel to the side of the barrel to make fit between the barrels touch hole and the lock as tight as can be. Worked out just fine..
..and in that i took to heart what Manton (the Brit) at the turn of 1700-1800 put forth. Atop that in turn in the form of a threaded plug..
So that threaded plug i made with a sorts of flange, and this to make sure i´ve got a given set depth to it at all times. In turn that M8 threaded plug/insert has been counterdrilled from within at 5mm, to a depth where there´s rather little "thickness" left for the actual touch hole.
All a´la Mantons ideas of getting fast and secure ignition of flintlocks at the time. For starters there... a 1mm through hole.
Knowing all to well that 1,0mm isn´t all that i´ve to this day, since my motorsport days, got a set of conical "jet reamers" around. Thus i´m able to step this 1/10 mm at a time until i see reliable ignition as they come.
As it´s in the form of a plug/insert in turn.. simple enough to replace. Either to try out different ideas or.. just replace due wear from use.
So.
Finish and what not.. hey! One thing at a time right! First up i wanna get this thing going. Ordered a bunch of flints for it through good friend Geoffrey Metz of "Sixgun.se"...
Right. So barrel is now per definition free floating. Next few days will be about barrel fit vs the recoil lug/area of the stock and that pillar. But that said the original nose cone.. made for an approx 23mm diameter which this barrel is certainly not.
So replaced that with a WAY more fitting ditto i had surplus for a Monkey tail. What i hope for is that this nose piece will protect the barrel from "abuse" as you run into door jams and whatever right..
In turn.
That piece of steel i brazed to the barrel side. "Sweating" it in place. Sorry to say almost a forgotten manner in which to handle this these days, and one PLENTY strong. One starts by adding brazing material to the piece of sheet metal and the cleaned out part of the barrel both.
Then place the steel piece upon the barrel in approx location and.. out the torch comes again. Holding the piece of steel in place with a piece of steel rod.
The slight pressure and that brazing material melting will make for that the brazing gets to ALL of the area involved, making for a very very strong bond.
Front sight are often installed this way btw. Works very very well..
Nah boys. We´re getting there i´d say. Step by step. Looking forward to trying the piece out like a kid on christmas eve..
