Ya'll got me to get a .50 flinter pistol. Man-o-man is that fun! I believe that I'm supposed to wrap the flint in something with some amount of pressure and not just unmercifully crank down on the poor flint. I could use a bit of help there. Like a bunch of my other "modern" shoot'n irons I don't put them away with much other than the thought that I outta clean up some day soon. This repo .50 does not seem to like that idea much and has a white with rust spot looking residue in the barrel. How bad is this and what should I do now? Last, what do you do when ya are finished for the day? PS, one of the guys in my gun smith class found out about my propensity for cannon making and gave me about 400#. I noticed a few long bars, the others were the classic one# ingots, these were considerably shinier. They were about 15# each. He said these were line-o-type. and the others wheel weights. How much rarer is line-o-type and how does it measure up? I was thinking of casting for a 9mm or .45 or... Thanks and happy fall. We only have cottonwood here so all we get is gold. Pretty though, especially with a breeze.
Flinter question
- Thread starter CANNONMAN
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RonC
Member
Mr. Cannonman,
Most people use a piece of thin leather around the flint. You can crank that screw down on the leather and it will hold firmly without breaking the flint. There are some folks who use a thin sheet of lead around the flint. Either way, the flint needs to be covered by a material with some give.
Black powder is hygroscopic - it attracts and holds water. After firing, you should do an initial cleaning immediately if there is going to be some time before you can get home and do it thoroughly. Some people do the entire cleaning right after shooting. Some do a decent cleaning and finish it up when they get home.
What should be used for cleaning? There is many a lengthy thread about that. Probably the prevailing opinion is to use water with a bit of dishwashing (in the sink) soap, like Dawn. Water will get your gun clean!! There are commercial products, witch's brews with Murphy Oil Soap and water soluble lubricant, and arguments about hot versus cold water. Fact is, WATER will get your gun cleaned of black powder residue.
Some people put a snug fitting cotton patch on a proper sized jag, fill the barrel with the water-Dawn (put a tooth pick in the flash hole near the flint) and scrub up and down, changing dirty patches until the patch comes out clean. Some shooters use a brush on the end of the cleaning rod (usually nylon, because if you have ever had a bronze brush stuck down the barrel of a muzzleloader, you will never use bronze again), then patches.
The most important takeaway is that you have to get that black powder residue out of there right away. If not, rust appears. And, water can do all the cleaning you need, maybe with some dish soap.
Enjoy those smoke-makers!
Ron
Most people use a piece of thin leather around the flint. You can crank that screw down on the leather and it will hold firmly without breaking the flint. There are some folks who use a thin sheet of lead around the flint. Either way, the flint needs to be covered by a material with some give.
Black powder is hygroscopic - it attracts and holds water. After firing, you should do an initial cleaning immediately if there is going to be some time before you can get home and do it thoroughly. Some people do the entire cleaning right after shooting. Some do a decent cleaning and finish it up when they get home.
What should be used for cleaning? There is many a lengthy thread about that. Probably the prevailing opinion is to use water with a bit of dishwashing (in the sink) soap, like Dawn. Water will get your gun clean!! There are commercial products, witch's brews with Murphy Oil Soap and water soluble lubricant, and arguments about hot versus cold water. Fact is, WATER will get your gun cleaned of black powder residue.
Some people put a snug fitting cotton patch on a proper sized jag, fill the barrel with the water-Dawn (put a tooth pick in the flash hole near the flint) and scrub up and down, changing dirty patches until the patch comes out clean. Some shooters use a brush on the end of the cleaning rod (usually nylon, because if you have ever had a bronze brush stuck down the barrel of a muzzleloader, you will never use bronze again), then patches.
The most important takeaway is that you have to get that black powder residue out of there right away. If not, rust appears. And, water can do all the cleaning you need, maybe with some dish soap.
Enjoy those smoke-makers!
Ron
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Ephraim Kibbey
Member
Fold a small piece of scrap leather (old belt?) around the flint where it contacts the jaws of the hammer and then tighten the screw to hold it firmly so that it does not move when the sharp end hits the frizzen.
Watch the sparks fly!!!
Watch the sparks fly!!!
Patocazador
Member
"He said these were line-o-type. and the others wheel weights."
You want to use the purest lead you can get for that flintlock. If the wheel weights are the 'stick-on' kind, they are fine. If they are the 'beat-on' kind, they are too hard unless used with a patch.
Don't use the line-o-type except for centerfire bullets, it's too hard. It is used for casting high velocity 'lead' bullets for modern centerfires.
You want to use the purest lead you can get for that flintlock. If the wheel weights are the 'stick-on' kind, they are fine. If they are the 'beat-on' kind, they are too hard unless used with a patch.
Don't use the line-o-type except for centerfire bullets, it's too hard. It is used for casting high velocity 'lead' bullets for modern centerfires.
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entropy
Member
Leather or sheet lead would be authentic flint wraps. lMHO, leather looks better, and doesn't have the attendant potential health issues.
Noz
Member
My best results (authentic, too) came from flattening a lead round ball with a vise, then a hammer to a thin sheet to hold the flint.
Love black powder and the gun that use itEXCEPT for the flintlocks. There is a reason percussion caps were invented.
Love black powder and the gun that use itEXCEPT for the flintlocks. There is a reason percussion caps were invented.
Caliper_Mi
Member
I'll agree that leather looks better, but don't forget that you're handling a lead ball every time you load so the occasional times you handle the flint isn't much concern. Just wash hands before eating whenever you have been shooting!
RonC
Member
"Love black powder and the gun that use itEXCEPT for the flintlocks. There is a reason percussion caps were invented."
Caps will lead to cartridges and both are just a passing fad. They'll never catch on.
Ron
Caps will lead to cartridges and both are just a passing fad. They'll never catch on.
Ron
Yeah I'd have to agree on the passing fad thing. I heard sumti'n about a inner net and i'll be glad when that's done with! Anyway, seems the leather idea would last longer and maintain it's grip more so than lead. Course thar I go assuming again.
ofitg
Member
- Joined
- May 17, 2010
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- 445
CANNONMAN, check out the Midway ad for Linotype - roughly $4.50 per pound, plus shipping -
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/99...84-pct-lead-approximately-6-lb-average-weight
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/99...84-pct-lead-approximately-6-lb-average-weight
I used to stop in the middle of the freeway to pick up a wheel weight. 10K rds of all sorts of calibers. I still have coffee cans full of my castings. But I never had this fancy hard stuff. I want to get back to that but then I meet you folks and start building all these cannons. The 30 or so lbs of the hard stuff will make me a considerable supply of bullets. The couple of hundred pounds of the wheel weights will make a fair quantity of cannon balls. I cast four sizes at a time. this because I have not made handles for the cannon ball molds and it takes a while to un-clamp and clamp and burn your hands and complain to the Wife about it. They have a hardness scale device in my gun smith class and that should be interesting. Another cannon almost done. If your around... come on over and shoot some real lead. cuz life is always better with a cannon!
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2002
- Messages
- 22,516
Lead holds a flint well, but I was cautioned by Siler Lock's Jim Chambers to stay with leather. Here's why. Modern hammers are investment casted and are more porous than their original forged counterparts. Because they're casted, when they are released and rotated forward, they can actually bow downward from the added mass/weight of the lead. Given time, the hammer will be misshaped.
Use wet leather and clamp it over the flint. Let it dry overnight.
Use wet leather and clamp it over the flint. Let it dry overnight.
robhof
Member
robhof
Linotype is the hardest alloy you can find already made, I use it in my 3030 and my 357 max castings, Wheelwts is med hardness, I use it for 38, 357mag and 45, stick on wheel wts are the softest and are ideal for b/p also the lead cores of jacketed bullets is very soft nearly pure lead.
Linotype is the hardest alloy you can find already made, I use it in my 3030 and my 357 max castings, Wheelwts is med hardness, I use it for 38, 357mag and 45, stick on wheel wts are the softest and are ideal for b/p also the lead cores of jacketed bullets is very soft nearly pure lead.
Mike OTDP
Member
Back in the old days, they would use lead wrappings, but only on military musket flints. I agree with Jim Chambers, use leather. Most craft stores sell bags of scrap leather, you can buy a lifetime supply of leather for flintlocks for about $5.
Ephraim Kibbey
Member
People at MY RANGE chuckle at me scooting around the floor of my station (and sometimes next door) picking up my BRASS!!!
I guess we do not have many reloaders as members.
I guess we do not have many reloaders as members.
Wrap the flint in leather and get someone to help you learn to mount it correctly for reliable ignition. Always, ALWAYS clean any black powder gun the same day as it is fired. Failure to do so will leave you with an expensive rusty sewer pipe. If you can't clean it when you should stay away from muzzleloaders. :banghead:
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