Building another flintlock

[Eric Krewson]

My trip back to the same place yesterday was uneventful, the wind shifted direction to be blowing the wrong way, it was cloudy, cold and I ran a deer off walking in which is always bad.

I met my buddy at the "Coon Dog Cemetery" (google it, it really does exist) after dark. He had been snookered by a big buck that slipped in on him while he was grunt calling and got away before he could get on him with his gun.

[Pappy]

Good story Eric, season is over here so I enjoy reading stories from those that can still get out after um.
 Pappy

[Eric Krewson]

A little update;

I needed to reduce the side panel to match the lock panel.

One needs to keep everything square with the barrel. I started with a rasp and fine tuned the surface with a sanding block.





I wanted everything even side to side so I could locate a center line on the belly to position my trigger plate.

I did a fine tuning fit on my lock inlet and internals and have it just the way I like it. But, I had it too tight to start with and cracked my lock panned while tapping in the plate. I have some thin, wicking Zap-A-Gap glue headed my way. Most of the wood you see in the picture will be gone when I do the final shaping of my lock panels.

[IdahoMatt]

Good lord Eric.  Great build. I think I this should be archived.

[Eric Krewson]

A rainy day here, good time to work on the gun.

The stock is fat and will look real clunky if I don't take off some wood.



First I draw in the future lock panels, some people make them way too thick, I like them thin. You can see a lot of extra wood under the lock panel.



The trigger area should be rounded a little as you shape and get rid of the extra wood.



Checking for an even wood removal, I like to keep a centerline for perspective.



Locate where you want the triggers to hit the sear bar, I marked it with a dot. The adjusting screw in the plate is mid position on both trigger arms. I try to have both arms hit the sear equally. Not because I know what I am doing (first double set trigger installation).  A distance of 5/6" from the front trigger pivot pin give one about a 3# trigger if you choose to fire the gun with the front trigger without setting the back trigger. I found this set of triggers to have this distance at the mid trigger strike point.



Here the sear location is marked on the lock plate, stock and trigger plate so I can line everything up. I disassemble the trigger and inlet the trigger plate first.



And down we go.

[chamookman]

Thanks again Eric - Really enjoying this. Bob

[RyanR]

Nice looking build so far. You have shown lots of useful techniques.

[Eric Krewson]

Just like the lock, inlet the plate first, then the internal parts.

Got the triggers in and working just fine.



Here is the inside of the  completed trigger inlet, the lighting makes it look really sloppy but it is much neater. You can see the lock sear in the picture.

[DC]

Why do these old guns have the double trigger? Was it an early attempt at a safety catch or just a(sort of safe) way of having a hair trigger?

[JW_Halverson]

In my experience, it's for the hair trigger.  In a rushed hunting situation, the front trigger works fine, albeit a longer and heavier pull than when it is set. But when you have the time to "set" the rear trigger, it leaves you with a great set up for extremely light pull. 

I have gotten myself into trouble enough times with the set trigger such that I now exclusively choose to go with single triggers.  If well placed, they are amazingly light.  My swamped barrel Early Lancaster has a 1 7/8 lb pull.

I will shut up and wait to hear Eric's take on this.  Every buyer and every builder has a different set of reasons.  Take mine for what they are worth...simply my opinion.

[DC]

Oh, so you can shoot with just the heavy trigger. I was thinking you had to use both. I know nothing about these old guns(rifles? Don't want to offend anyone cause of a few grooves)

[Eric Krewson]

Here is the thing about building guns; If you are building a certain style of rifle it just won't look right if you mix the parts. Most of the original southern rifles have double set triggers so If I am building one it has to have double set triggers to be "right".

My cold fingers and a light set trigger has let more than one whitetail escape it's demise through the years. 

I set my trigger pull to where I actually have to pull the trigger slightly.The front trigger on this gun unset is about 6#.

I built my other two guns with single triggers. I am building a rifle with the attributes of a "Bogle" rifle with a similar buttplate, lock, trigger guard, ramrod thimbles and of course, double set triggers.

Here is my friend Joe Bogle holding a rifle the original Joseph Bogle built in around 1810.

[JW_Halverson]

Historical accuracy, forgot that point!

That Bogle rifle really hits on all eight cylinders for me.  Plain wood, very little ornamentation, iron furniture, and really solid architecture. That bad boy is right in my wheelhouse!

Was just showing this thread to a customer in the store and he mentioned his father has a flintlock rifle he is interested in selling.  Right off, I figgered a CVA caplock two piece stock junker.  Then he said it was kinda fancy and had two barrels.  So I asked if it was a "smoothbore" or shotgun.  He said no.  He said it had one barrel on top of the other and that shot "bullets".  I said, "You have my undivided attention!" I gave him my phone number and email address.  Tonite I am going home to squeeze the most out of my possible tax return and see what I got around the house that I can sell/pawn/trade!!!  Dreams of swivel breeches dance in my head....

[Eric Krewson]

Swivel breech, wow! I have to see a picture, of course it could turn out to be a drilling, some folk don't know one gun type from the other.

Joe has made 6 or 7 Bogle rifles, he forged all his mounts on the first one, made a the patch box and lock plate with modern internals so it would match the original rifle.



Joe's first recreation of the Bogle rifle is a .54, here he is making smoke with his new creation.



When his friends saw what he made they all wanted one but in percussion, there are not too many  flint guys around. Most of the guns he made are .40cal.

[JW_Halverson]

"Forties" are pretty economical to shoot, seem to be inherently accurate, and aren't so small that cleaning is a pain in the kiester.

Tell Joe I deeply admire his work and his dedication to going at it the "hard way" (instead of like me, buying a pile of pre-made parts).