Proper Flint Setup

[jgh4445]

Also not a good idea to run your finger along the leading edge of the flint to see if the knapping job was a good one..

 

[fdf]

A person only needs to do it once to know why.

 

[Mike OTDP]

fdf, there's a Mouzon percussion pistol on GB. Not mine, I own a Ten-Ring. http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=387727987

 

[[email protected]]

Mike, I had a like new 10 Ring Flint in my hand a couple months ago.. If you
want it , I can check on it. The price is cheap. Under 450.00. The Mouzan on
GB is being sold by the maker John. John made the wife one that she shoots
now. The old Lightning she won so much with just got too heavy for her to hold
out. The top one here is her's and the bottom one is the 15 years old's daughters. Both are 32. We shoot the same load in both 14 grs Swiss. The top
one has a Rayle barrel and the bottom is a GM . The bottom , John made about
17 years ago. Of all the target pistols that I have had in my hand, and I have
had them all, nothing, but nothing has a good of a trigger as John's. The Lewis
that I shoot is close, but no cigar. You just can't beat his triggers. They, for a
better word, have been discribed as a soft trigger. We paid 300 for the
daughter's pistol and the wife got her's as a gift from John.






The two ladies cleaned up at the Nationals in 2011 with their Mouzan's

 

[Mike OTDP]

Phil, I'd appreciate it if you would check on that flinter. Thanks.

 

[xXxplosive]

Drill your touch hole to 3/32"...........all mine work like a watch....beautiful.

 

[[email protected]]

NO thanks. I will keep it at 1/16 I know all about the size of toucholes and accuracy.

 

[fdf]

Thanks.

 

[xXxplosive]

I've been hunting and targets shooting with Filnter's now for over 25 yrs.....have seen many guns with their touch holes drilled out to 1/16 to start....and if not kept absolutely clear they mis-fire...IMO..the extra 1/32" allows the hole to breath just a bit more flash from the pan, especially if your hunting and priming with the same powder....2f.

But, it's your choice......naturally....most builders I know drill'em 3/32.

 

[fdf]

I find it interesting that most poster's who post about drilling out vent liners are not barrel makers, gun builders, lock makers or High Master and Master shooters.

Might send a note to some noted persons and see what their response is.

I have a substantial library on pistol shooting and the drilling of vent liners is not addressed in any of the articles, only on the internet.

I have quite a few flintlock pistols of various manufacturers and have never had a need to drill out a vent liner.

Any ideas why?

 

[[email protected]]

You can drill them out to .078 dia. Much past that the accuracy really goes.
I perfer the .062. Never hangs, fires everytime. Very very fast . What more
could you want? I've never know anybody at Friendship who drills their liners
Out???. I'm afraid if I ask, I would get some funny looks. Some of the things
I have read on forums if you bring up at at Friendship, your going to get some
funny looks.

 

[BCRider]

What if the touch hole were a tapered hole that is 3/32 on the outside and something like .055 on the inside? The resulting funnel shape should aid in directing the flash flame into the charge?

My Lyman GPR has a flash hole that is quite a bit less than 1/16 and it's just a straight hole. I've currently got issues but they are more to do with what is quickly looking like a soft frizzen than any issue with the touch hole.

 

[[email protected]]

I don't stray from what's been true and tried. You can usually tell if your Frizzen
is on the soft side by the color of the sparks . If they are orange, your Frizzen is
soft, white sparks, hard. My Frizzen has been hardned in water which makes it
very hard. The flints I use are the Missouri White Lightning which is a white chert
Very hard, harder than the black English .

 

[BCRider]

Yep, we touched on that in my thread about the frizzen. What are your thoughts on the funnel shaped touch hole as I described?

 

[[email protected]]

This is the design of the best vent I know of, It is well known and tested for the
fastest ignition possible. It is what the heavy bench shooters at Friendship use.
Other vents will work of course but nothing had been found better than this. I
make mine from 1/4 inch stainless rod. Thread 1/4 X 28. This is not to scale .

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

Actually the color and shape of the sparks is determined by the chemical makeup of the steel as well as the hardness. Google "Spark test" and you should be able to find a chart giving those indications. We had that as a test when I was in Tool and Die school.

 

[NEW222]

Great post. I am very new to flintlocks and this will go a long way for me. Thanks.

 

[BowerR64]

Actually the color and shape of the sparks is determined by the chemical makeup of the steel as well as the hardness. Google "Spark test" and you should be able to find a chart giving those indications. We had that as a test when I was in Tool and Die school.

The sparks are the steel burning after its been chipped away from the rock or is it the other way around?

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

The carbon and some other minor ingredients are determining the spark shape and color. If there is carbon in the rock it will also create a spark. The problem with soft steel is that instead of being broken off by the abrasive impact it will just move in the direction of the force. The hard end of a chisel will cut softer metals but the end you strike with the hammer just mushrooms as the steel moves due to the applied force.

 

[BCRider]

Yep, a common metal file touched to a grinding stone throws highly different sparks than the modern chrome vanadium wood chisel metal. And the sparks from HSS being ground are a lot different again. So there's no doubt that the nature of the steel plays a part in the spark formation.

The common ground for the more common water and oil hardening alloys is that the harder they are the more and brighter the sparks from a grinding wheel or a flint.