Older Flintlock Pistol from kit?

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hawg said:
This is a modern target gun with the lock mounted backwards but it's still a flintlock and shows how fast one should be.

Click to expand...

hawg said:
This is a modern target gun with the lock mounted backwards but it's still a flintlock and shows how fast one should be.

Click to expand...

I don't have a timer, or video, but I believe mine was faster by a few split seconds :neener: anyway, awesome video, awesome gun...
 
After working on this for a couple weeks, multiple tear downs, grinding, filing, ( lock, springs, front sight and new trigger) sanding ( hammer and frizzen were rubbing stock, trigger inlet was way to tight). Frizzen and Hammer geometry were off and destroying flints after 10 shots. I believe I now have even better sparks and after test firing 25 times my flint still looks great :thumbup:

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My next step is refinishing the wood, it's been very educational and fun... Have all kinds of spare parts too ( didn't start grinding or heating till I had replacments) Just need to order more flints :D
Paul
 
I bought a CVA mountain pistol kit from Deer Creek. It was semi-inexpensive but the barrel and most other steel was rusted fairly bad. After much inletting (sometimes too much) and hours with a file, I assembled it. to see if it would fire. It was real iffy. I opened up the touch hole to 1/16" and played with flint positioning. That helped as did 4F in the pan. I had never put a kit together before much less a flintlock. Now it is somewhat reliable but still has hang fires occasionally.

I like the shaping of the grip on Paul's gun a lot better than mine. Bluing was something I had never done before either. That bromine gas is a killer.

MountainPistol1web_zps5cae4dd3.jpg AssembledCVA-web_zpsf6af05c0.jpg

FirstBluingCVARweb_zpsfb48a658.jpg
 
Patocazador said:
I bought a CVA mountain pistol kit from Deer Creek. It was semi-inexpensive but the barrel and most other steel was rusted fairly bad. After much inletting (sometimes too much) and hours with a file, I assembled it. to see if it would fire. It was real iffy. I opened up the touch hole to 1/16" and played with flint positioning. That helped as did 4F in the pan. I had never put a kit together before much less a flintlock. Now it is somewhat reliable but still has hang fires occasionally.

I like the shaping of the grip on Paul's gun a lot better than mine. Bluing was something I had never done before either. That bromine gas is a killer.

View attachment 1083705 View attachment 1083707

View attachment 1083708
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I like your kit gun, but the grip does look a little hard to be comfy with, it is a real experience to get these working reliable, but worth it once a flint will last more than 10 shots and sparks good. You need a brace of those for here in Florida, (or double brace) Pirates and all ya know...
Paul
 
Patocazador said:
I've lived here for 51 years and never attended Gasparilla. Beads don't turn me on. The wenches, however, probably would. ;)
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:rofl: I only been here 30, but the wenches are unbelievable...especially my wench, or as she puts it..."Captain Wench"
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We have never been to the Gasparilla either, don't like crowds:scrutiny: but working on my brace of flintlocks...:D
Paul
 
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I have gotten my hammer spring pressure down to around 5.5 lbs (fish scale) and also worked more on my frizzen spring to lighten it up tremendously, it holds shut and open good and flips easily as compared to beginning this project, funny thing with all of this is, I just got done test firing at least 40 + times checking tension and sparks and my flint still looks really really nice....that in itself is the biggest bonus from all this work :D:D:D
 
Appalachiannative said:
I took this man's advice and straightend out the drooping half cock on my flint lock and it works beautifully now. Made it stop beating the flints to death.
Click to expand...
Make a heck of a difference, my cva lock also was drooping but also not perpendicular to the frizzen or barrel when you looked down the barrel, with the high main spring pressure and sloppy factory specs, it was way off, probably the bridle would cure most of that with newer pistols, but I didn't have one.
I found a small hardened washer and resized it to fit between my hammer and lock, which was not easy, but it worked...
I now have a straight non-drooping cock hitting my frizzen...:confused: ponder that a bit... Should last a while before a have to buy a professional lock.
Happy enough now I'm starting to work on my wood...:thumbup:
 
Yes, another "thing" about flintlocks is having the springs "in balance". They can be heavy or light, but must be balanced. My Jeager has a heavy mainspring and frizzen spring, but the flints last forever. A lock that eats flints is not good, as it's more likely to break or shatter one, which is not good in the field when hunting.

My Bess has a light mainspring, and a more normal frizzen spring, and although it's not hard on flints, they don't last as long as they do in the Jeager.
 
Ugly Sauce said:
Yes, another "thing" about flintlocks is having the springs "in balance". They can be heavy or light, but must be balanced. My Jeager has a heavy mainspring and frizzen spring, but the flints last forever. A lock that eats flints is not good, as it's more likely to break or shatter one, which is not good in the field when hunting.

My Bess has a light mainspring, and a more normal frizzen spring, and although it's not hard on flints, they don't last as long as they do in the Jeager.
Click to expand...

It's been more fun than I thought it would be working on this old flintlock pistol "kit gun"
I had a modern type muzzleloader rifle a while back and traded it off because it just didn't suit me, after working on this little flintlock, I will be all in for finding me a project flintlock rifle to start working on ( hint to everyone on this forum) not sure what design muzzleloader yet but I like the older flintlock look and I like projects, keeps me out of the "Captain Wench's" hair... So to speak...
Paul
 
Right, the poly-finishes don't require much. I got a really nice finish on my Rossi with Minwax "Tung Oil Finish" which is not tung oil at all. But that was good stuff.

Straight oil finishes, man those take many coats. Probably takes six months of drying and coating, with weeks between coats. The good thing is that after the initial few coats, one can assemble the gun, and even use it while adding more coats as time goes by. I got a beautiful finish on my JM Marlin that has to be seen and handled to be appreciated. !

Also, natural oils, with a miniscule amount of poly, such as just a tiny dash of "Tru-Oil", or something like that, work well. I'll sometime add just a bit of Poly with the final coats to enhance the sealing a bit.

What...wait...!!! You have a FERGUSON?????? Did you say FERGUSON?? Dang it Jack! NO FAIR! Too cool. I wish.
 
Yup, built it from Rifle Shoppe parts, bucket list gun. It's a really cool system and very fast to reload compared to your Bess.
 
Oh yeah, I've studied everything Ferguson. The bucket list gun that I did achieve is my custom made Jeager, and I think my bucket is full.
 
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