doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com W. & C Scott, P. Webley, Webley & Scott locks?

I've been wondering, whether Webley & Scott (W. & C Scott, P. Webley) made their own locks for their sidelocks, or got them from the trade like all decent people?

They were the major supplier to the trade.

Here is an article on the locks of W & C Scott.

http://www.dogsanddoubles.com/2010/08/locks-on-w-c-scott-best-and-medium-grades/

Seems that Stanton made at least some of the locks on their best grade guns.

The locks on my great-great-grandfather's ca. 1872 P. Webley are stamped either "Stanton" or "Pat. 367" (Stanton's rebounding lock patent) on the inside - something like that. My presumption has been that they were made by Webley on license from Stanton, but I suppose they could have been outsourced.

I rather doubt any of the gun makers produced their own locks. At times I have suspected otherwise but it just doesn't make sense. The lock making trade was so highly specialized and there were a number of companies producing for the trade. However, I could never figure out how a lockmaker in Wolverhampton could fill and order for a shop in another town and have the hammers (strikers) fit perfectly, etc. there were just too many variations and each gun was basically a "one off piece". Well, I think I've found a hint that seems logical. James Dougall, in his 1865 book, "Shooting Simplified", indicates locks were supplied without hammers (strikers) and the lockplates were probably larger than finished blanks. The gunmaker would then file the plate to the desired shape and also workers would make the hammers (strikers). Here is an excerpt from his book that contains the hint:

Thank you very much.

Yes, Joe Wood, that really makes sence. Another hint proving that this is how trade worked can be found in Peter Hawker's books. One of the tricks of the trade he learned at Joe Manton's shop was that the gunmakers, in the flintlock times, never hardened hammers and frizzens. That caused the gun to start having dry fires after two or three seasons, neccessitating a visit to the gunmaker for repairs. This seems to indicate that it was the gunmakers who fitted and 'regulated' the strikers.

Lock makers made locks . Percussioner's fitted the hammers after the locks were fitted up into the stock and later into actions they also drilled and fitted strikers or fitted the hammers so they connected to the pre drilled striker holes . From what I was told many years ago Webley and Scott produced practically all of their guns components and had their own spring making shop so it is a reasonable assumption that they produced their own locks .

The older the Scott the better chance of it having marked locks made by a lock maker the later Scotts (1880's and up) I've owned and examined are unmarked and probably made in house.