Review of my Baker Rifle (indian repro)

[Heir Kommt Die Sonne]

He's the reason I got the Baker.
I feel confident in my wood trimming skills, i'm gonna have a go at it when I decide the stock is ready.

 

[Ephraim Kibbey]

Will need to find a tool to wittle away the wood inside the lock cavity.

https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-...hisels/woodcarving-chisel-set-5-pc-69553.html
It says online by March 26th but its available in store here so maybe its available in a store near you?

 

[ThomasT]

The crudest of the four is my tradegun. Seems to work well..., I painted my stock with oil paint in an 18th century pigment as a lot of tradeguns were done that way..., more durable too...

Dave I wish you could post some better pictures of that gun. I started a thread around here a while back about painted guns after I saw them on a website for Clay Smith guns. I thought they looked cool. Especially the Vine Guns that had a rust red base with black line vines painted on it. And also the Sky Blue or "Azure" as Articap called it.

Heir if I'm not to late and you are still removing finish I suggest you get some Citristrip paint remover. That stuff works great for melting off varnish and paint finishes. A little jug will do several guns. It works almost as well as the stripper I used to buy at the airport used for stripping the paint off airplanes. I would get it for my wife back when she liked to redo antique furniture. But the EPA put an end to that.

 

[Heir Kommt Die Sonne]

I got some news/update

The good news:
Using a small knife and a screwdriver that I sharpened on a knife stone, I am able to successfully wittle away the wood. It's been effective so far. The flashhole-pan gap is very small now, insomuch I have no worry about powder getting into the action anymore. It's so close now the frizzen is now leaving a contact mark on the barrel.

The bad news:
Still can't solve the hammer full cock problem. The lock works just fine outside of the stock, but when I put it in it just doesn't work. I can cock the lock outside of the stock, put it in easily and fire. But after that, it won't stay in full cock again as long as it's in the stock.

The ugly news:
while wittling away the wood inside the lock cavity, i decided to take off the trigger guard to look more closely in. I took the tang screw out, then the trigger guard screw. It wasn't budging so I tried extra hard and this bent the trigger guard. It bended quite easily. However, being in the position it's in, I couldn't bend it back. The front area of the trigger guard is now bulgding out and there is no way for me to bend it back into shape. I tried pounding it back in with my knife but this made the rear trigger guard screw come out.. so I was only able to fit one screw back into the trigger guard. It's messed up now. Lesson learned is that we're not supposed to take off the trigger guard.

 

[Ephraim Kibbey]

Something is keeping the sear from engaging the the full cock notch when the lock is installed in its cut out.
Either the wood is blocking the sear or its spring or the trigger is not resetting after being pulled back.
Try pushing the trigger forward and then cock the hammer and see if it catches.
Get some lock graphite and use a q-tip swab to smear it on the lock internal surfaces.
Install the lock and try to cock it.
Take the lock out and see where the graphite is on the wood inletting.
Whittle away a bit and repeat until the lock works when installed.

 

[GMRevolver]

From VeteranArms website:

Do purchasers get any warranties?

Yes. Veteran Arms, LLC extends a limited warranty to all purchases. All items come with a 10 day money-back guarantee. If you are not satisfied with your purchase, simply return it to us in Un-used, Un-modified, and Un-fired condition within 10 days. We will promptly refund your purchase price. All you pay is the shipping! Muskets come with a 3-month parts repair or replacement guarantee. Abuse, neglect, and misuse are not covered. Please see our Terms & Conditions section for further details.

Looks like there may be an easy way to resolve your issue.

 

[Heir Kommt Die Sonne]

Update:

Using the soot from one of the oil lamps, I blackened the inside of the lock, put it into the gun and cycled it a few times. Identified the problem as being on the trigger bar interfering with wood so I chisiled some of that wood away and now the gun actually went into full cock. Problem solved!
However, after pulling the trigger the gun would only fall to half cock. It would only fall all the way if you kept the trigger pulled back hard. When it did fall all the way, you'd hear a distinct two clicks as it fell.
So bascially the trigger bar kept falling back into the half cock notch. And by the time I identified the problem enough of the metal has been shaved off. The more you keep doing this, the more likely it'll keep falling back into the half cock notch.
I think the spring right above the trigger bar that's behind everything else is too strong. It's probably putting too much pressure on the trigger bar that it hits the half cock notch instead of skipping it. Also the sear cuts are also bad because when the trigger bar is pulled, it should be clear out of the way of the half cock notch. Instead, the half cock notch is right in front of the trigger bar.

It's so weird that this rifle has never had these problems before.

(I apologize for incorrect terminology)

 

[arcticap]

So bascially the trigger bar kept falling back into the half cock notch. And by the time I identified the problem enough of the metal has been shaved off. The more you keep doing this, the more likely it'll keep falling back into the half cock notch.

It's so weird that this rifle has never had these problems before.

Have you contacted Veterans Arms about any of this?
Their FAQ page states that their lock parts have a limited warranty.
Perhaps they'd be willing to help resolve the problem.


"Are locks tuned? Frizzens hardened?
We tune the locks on all of the muskets we sell.
We also harden the frizzens and make sure the piece is properly vented.
All of our muskets come with a limited warrantee on the lock parts and a lifetime frizzen rehardening guarantee."
http://www.veteranarms.com/ReproductionMuzzleloadersandFlintlocks/FAQs.html

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

Sounds like they missed one.