Traditions flintlock build questions

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Fyn

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Decided to try my hand at building from a kit, its a Traditions Blunderbuss in flint, just received it last night. I'd love to do a trade gun someday, but thought I'd try my hand at a cheaper and easier build first.

Started doing some initial fitting today, took very minor fitting on the lock inlet. First thing I noticed when installing the trigger assembly is the lock will not latch in half or full ####, as there isn't clearance between the trigger bar (not sure if that's the correct term) and the sear.
The stock is already pre-inletted here, so it appears to be a little too deep.

Wondering what the "correct" way to remedy this would be. Should I remove some material from the trigger until enough clearance is had? Or would i be better off trying to build up the inlet area for the trigger?

Other questions have to do with finishing.

I'd like to brown the barrel if I can find some chemicals. I'm wondering about the muzzle (as its flared), should I brown/blue the inside of the flare (stopping at the actual bore) or leave it in the white? I know with browning you need to keep it from getting into any threaded areas, as the breech plug is already installed, is there any concern with applying the browning chemicals over the breech/plug area (ie: seeping into the threads).
 
I would remove material from the trigger in the first question. Go slow but it should be pretty forgiving if it's a simple trigger like I think.

For the second half I'd plug the bore down a bit from the muzzle and let it wear off naturally.
Not sure what the "Correct" answer is for the breach plug would be.
 
for the trigger / sear, it depends on how deeply the trigger plate is inletted. If you have room, then I would shim the trigger plate out. On the breach plug, if everything but the tang is inside the barrel, put a bit of oil or grease on the exposed seam, although personally I would not worry about rust getting into the threads. For that matter, if the threads are loose enough that you can remove the plug, just put lots of grease on them before re installing. If the breach plug forms the last inch or so of the barrel, then I would not worry about anything penetrating

cheers mooncoon
 
Definitely remove a bit of metal from the top of the trigger bar. Tighten it all the way into place, then test it. Remove the trigger assembly and file the trigger bar a bit, then replace it and test again. Repeat until perfect. Make sure before you do this that the lock works perfectly outside the stock, and that wood isn't interfering with the sear arm on the lock.
 
I forgot to mention; make sure the sear arm is not rubbing on the inside of the stock, as per flintyboom. The arm can be too long for the recess or it can rub on the hole that it goes into to access the trigger

cheers mooncoon
 
There are a bunch of things that could be keeping the lock from setting.

If the lock and trigger plate both fit in the inlets leave off filing or grinding for now, they can move around a fair amount depending on how tight or loose you have torqued the lock bolt(s) and tang bolt... there might also be a screw for the trigger plate?
These can all move things around depending as well with normal expansion and contraction of the wood.

SO ... :)

First off make sure nothing is overly tight and blacken up that lock making sure (as mentioned) that the trigger bar is free to move and that none of the other parts are binding inside the lock mortise (main spring, tumbler, sear bar spring is a big culprit etc)

You should be able to set the lock in either full or half #### without the trigger/trigger plate installed.

Do the same thing with the trigger assembly, blacken it - make sure it is not binding on anything (though it is highly unlikely this is causing the problem)

Once you are satisfied nothing on the lock itself is binding or trigger assembly, finish the gun. get the wood stained, sanded, oiled whatever you decide so it's nice and stable.

Blacken and check your lock again.

If you still have an issue now you can turn attention towards the trigger:

Play around a bit with the tension of the lock and stock bolts, really sometimes only 1/2 a turn can make the difference between set and no-set, even if that does fix the issue, you will probably want to relieve the trigger a little.

- if the trigger plate lies a little below the stock, you can start with a shim - you can also file the face of the trigger plate then shim it.
- you can also file the top of the trigger itself... whichever thing makes the most sense to you or a combination of both.

as noted, the sear bar should not touch the trigger - this is important (!!VERY!!) for set trigger types - no touch.
For single triggers, the trigger bar can touch the top of the trigger so long as it's not tight - you want enough free play in there for the sear bar to be able to move as you set the lock. (frankly you might even want to add a spring to a single trigger to keep it from flopping around) You can check by setting the lock, the trigger should move forwards as the sear rides over the half and full #### notches on the tumbler. (the sear bar actually moves down towards the trigger slightly when you set it, then back to it's rest pos.) once set you should be able to push the trigger forward probably at least a couple of mm.

Of course, before you go through all that make sure you can set the lock by hand out of the stock ... hhaha ! :)


Browning... I would not worry about browning the threads. inside the bell though?? mmmm dunno - it's gonna wear away anyway, probably(?) I would go with the other suggestions and brown it as far down as is convenient....
Don't worry about seeping, you are going to be wiping on a very thin film of pretty mild solution, no worries.
You can get browning solutions from Muzzle Loader Builders Supply still, some places won't ship.. they still do.

have fun! :)
 
Thanks for the responses guys. Played with it some more last night. Clearance around the lock is good, lock functions perfectly on the bench, no contact with the hammer, sear etc. on the stock. Also works perfectly with the lock installed in the stock with the trigger removed and pushing the sear arm from below.

Looking at the trigger installed with the lock removed its definitely sitting quite high compared to the hole in the stock that the sear bar fits through. Shimming the trigger down seemed a bit tricky as the trigger assembly is quite small and doesn't have a lot of contact area in the stock inletting. Decided to remove some material from the top of the trigger bar in small amounts, its now latching in both positions but still doesn't have enough clearance for safety purposes. I'll remove a bit more tonight and it should be perfect. Atleast it gives me the opportunity to polish up the contact point on the trigger bar.

All my inletting is done now, I'll work on getting the stock sanded and stained/oiled and see if I need to make any further adjustments once the wood is stabilized as recommended.

Thanks again guys, really appreciate the insight. I'll try to post pictures along the way of my progress in this thread.
 
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