hammer doesn't align with nipple

[AussieInUtah]

I just put a Green Mountain replacement barrel on my TC Hawken. The hammer aligns imperfectly with the nipple supplied with the barrel, and fails to properly align with the shorter nipple that came with the original barrel. Looks like the positioning of the nipple on the breach is slightly off. I managed to fire a cap with the Green Mountain nipple, but I'm worried that if I ever have to replace it the new one might not work. Short of bending the hammer, is there anything I can do about this? Should I be sending the barrel back to Green Mountain?

 

[Acorn Mush]

I'm thinking that bending the hammer is your simplest option. It is not hard to do. The T/C hammers can probably be bent cold. Give T/C a call and they can tell you for sure, or just wait for some of the more experienced posters to give you the benefit of their knowledge.

 

[arcticap]

I researched threads on the Muzzle Loading Forum about this topic. It's not an uncommon problem which some guns with GM replacement barrels have while other's do not.
There's quite a few options and some are more complicated than others. It all depends on the severity and how you want to proceed. Without photos we can't see the extent of the problem.
A hammer face can be filled in and shaped. For example a small washer can be epoxied to expand the flat of the hammer to increase it's strike area, and/or then the face can be ground down to contact the nipple square.
The lock can be shimmed or just the hammer can be shimmed.
Some folks have had to resort to moving the tang.
The most common fix is to bend the hammer using heat. A cold bend is riskier since that may break the hard steel easier. Depending on the amount of bend needed that could work, but it's probably not the best method.
There's successful methods for bending it using heat that you should read about. Some recommend it as a first resort and others say to do it only as a last resort.
However folks seem to agree that having a replacement hammer on hand is a good idea before attempting to bend it.
You should read the threads that are listed below, but access to most of the Muzzle Loading Forum is limited to registered members. So please follow my referral link and register for free, and then come back and click on the reference links for more detailed information about how to bend the hammer or what other methods can be tried first.

My personal referral link:

http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/index.php?referral/4225/


Links to reference threads:


1. How do you bend a TC Hammer?

http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/f...st/1035750/hl/alignment/fromsearch/1/#1035750

2. Correcting the hammer strike on GM

http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/f...st/1047066/hl/alignment/fromsearch/1/#1047066

3. Off-center hammer?

http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/f...st/1011304/hl/alignment/fromsearch/1/#1011304

4. Hammer face repair

http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/f...st/1095141/hl/alignment/fromsearch/1/#1095141

 

[timber crasher]

Changing an '80s Lyman rifle over to musket cap,my hammer shroud contacted the forward edge of the nipple.With a dremel I ground off the front 1/4 of the shroud.Of course, I wouldn't do that to the back or sides of the shroud for safety reasons.