doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com A Snider inspired Trapdoor sporter

Steven, although 577/450 would certainly be appropriate this one will be 45-70.
Ryan, you are correct making a lock from scratch is a bunch of work. I think there was more time in making the lock than stocking the rifle.....go figure......why do we do this?
Below are a couple of pictures of the lock with bridal removed. I think you may have been confused by the polished end of the fly in the first picture above.





Actually this rifle evolved from a couple of previous rifles built after a friend sent me some good photos of a Carlos Gove sporter a few years ago. Perhaps something like this could have been made by an immigrant gunsmith with a British trade background?????
Jim

OK, now I'm with you. Finally, a fly you won't lose if you drop it on the ground. If I could have back all the hours I spent looking for the flies I accidentally dropped while polishing flintlocks..

Thanks for the photos!

I've always had the upmost respect for you fellows willing to build locks. Very refined and "English". It'll be a dandy when polished case hardened and blued. I've never seen a fly quite like that before. The geometry should smooth out the interruption. When I was building single-trigger guns the trick was to eliminate the fly.

When I worked at Green River Forge (in a previous lifetime) we had occasion to move a workbench that hadn't budged for a very longtime. I think we found 5 Siler Lock flys underneath and behind.

Jim,
Very nice as usual.
Question: Is the lock plate keyed or attached to the receiver in anyway other then the lock screws thru the stock?

Steven, The fly is a bit unconventional. These are normally seen on locks in Alex Henry percussion match rifles. As you say, I think the 'width' is intended to ease the transition over half cock. The filed away center resulting in a sort of pendulum may be intended to speed up the movement.

Lynn, No the lock just sits in the mortise and is retained by the screw.
Jim

It's definitely "outside the box" thinking. Very elegant. It makes for a big tumbler and bridle, necessarily, but it's obvious once you see it. I've also had sears chipped by hitting the small fly on traditional 18th century locks. This would allow the sear to just glide over, like over a gentle speed bump.

Steve - I'm sure at least one of those flies was mine - LOL. I got to where I was ordering them from Jim Chambers 3 at a time in little ziplock bags. You think "this time I won't lose the fly...I won't lose the fly..."

Not having a front lock screw is really nice - no interference with the mainspring which can now be a little longer for smoother action. And not necessary, either. That rifle is beautiful as it is, but a variation to play with that could also be really nice is one with a ramrod/cleaning rod. With no front lock "nail" it could still be quite slim and elegant.

Beautiful work Jim, have a better picture of the front of the triggerguard that's inlaid into the wood? Looks like an interesting finial...

Steve, going into the S&W stock making business?

Ryan, By the mid 1860's it seems that the Brits had figured out about everything one could do to a lock. Actually the tumbler and other parts are quite normal in size, however the cut for the fly and the fly itself are oversize. A relative lot of material/mass removed from the tumbler in this method but their locks seemed to withstand OK.
Rob, the trigger plate extension is the conventional pineapple and fan. A little engraving is planned to bring up the details here and just border engraving on the lock.

The best thing about sophisticated M/L guns is all the details that can be worked in; mechanical and esthetic. The fly looks faceted like a gem stone, even if you can't see it behind the bridle.
The transition guns add simple yet complicated mechanisms. Pineapple and fan, bar in wood lock, C scroll look of the trigger, guard and guard return. You could have worked in a hooked breech and wiping rod??
Is this personal armament?

Rob, It's called spending a whole day making something to speed up a process that isn't going to make any money anyway. Or, loosing money by volume. A part of gunsmith's regular business practices.

John Bivins said "You just keep working until the money runs out."