Matchlock/Percussion,repair completed.So made an original!!!

[Lindus]

You will see from the attached it is a fairly simple mechanism, it does cock but the long section at the base that connects with the trigger needs to be assisted down. Above it is a steel spring which seems to be the problem although not broken.

Always a good rule with guns ,if a problem ask Americans.....or Ian B

All seems to be in good order so hopefully you chaps can offer some advice.

Roy

[watsonmil]

Dear Roy,

Without the gun in hand, ... it is impossible to see exactly what the problem is. I suggest you get out your phone book and look up Gunsmith. Surely there is one left in the UK ?

... Ron Watson

[Lindus]

Dear Roy,

Without the gun in hand, ... it is impossible to see exactly what the problem is. I suggest you get out your phone book and look up Gunsmith. Surely there is one left in the UK ?

... Ron Watson

 

Very few Ron, due to our mad gun policy....None in my area.

Roy

[Bugyotsuji]

Ian Bottomley showed me a workshop at the Leeds Royal Armouries where: "they can make anything gun related, including Japanese gun parts"... Try asking him for a contact?

[IanB]

Roy, As Piers remarks, there is or rather was a gunmaker at the Royal Armouries. He is retired now but still works from home and would regard this as a simple task. I shall be seeing him next week and can put you in touch if need be. However. having done a fair bit of gun restoration work myself, let me offer a couple of suggestions:

I am assuming the hammer and the tumbler are rotating freely. I note there appears to be no second pivot on the tumbler passing through the bridle (the plate screwed to the lockplate in front of the tumbler) unless it is there and is running in a blind hole in the inner face of the bridle. The tail of the bridle also supports the pivot for the sear, the long bit that locks the hammer and tumbler in the cocked position and isn't moving properly.

There could be four reasons why the sear isn't working: 1. the sear spring is broken or is soft and isn't pressing down hard enough to move the sear. This is unlikely from what I can see. 2. The sear pivot screw has been overtightened causing the bridle to pinch the sear against the lockplate. 3. There is rust or dirt on the sear pivot screw or between the sear and bridle that is preventing free rotation. 4. The sear is being prevented from moving freely when assembled in the gun because its tail is not engaging with the trigger correctly.

If the problem occurs with the lock out of the gun we can eliminate 4. (When assembling, make sure the trigger is pushed forward so the sear tail sits on the step of the trigger and isn't trapped against it. Matchlock triggers are hung in the stock so that they push the sear backwards. With this lock the sear tail has to be pushed upwards so they have made a trigger with a step in it.) My guess is it is problem 2 or 3. Try slackening the sear pivot screw slightly and see if the latter moves any easier. If it doesn't, you will need to take the screw out and the sear off to give it all a good clean with fine wire wool (which won't scratch the metalwork) and reassemble with a touch of oil.

Ian Bottomley

[Lindus]

Thanks Ian {humbled re my comment "Ask an American}

Will check out all your suggestions and with a bit of luck ,solved. As you say it is a pretty simple set up and should not confound an old fiddler like me.

Many thanks

Roy

[Lindus]

Well done Ian,the problem is a small pin that runs through the plate and into a section that should push down the spring has sheared off.

Before I attempt to drill this out would the pin have been threaded thru both sections?.

Roy

[IanB]

Lindus, A European gunmaker would form the pin as part of the bar and drill the lockplate to take it. (in actual fact, a European would make the pin a part of the spring itself, obviating the need for the bar). You might try drilling out the bar and inserting a new pin but it may have been hardened. It wouldn't need to be screwed in if the hole you drill is reasonably deep, a tapered pin bashed in and filed to fit the lockplate hole would do the job. Less desirable would be to make a new bar out of a bit of mild steel. Is the stub of the old pin in a blind hole in the lockplate? If it is you will probably have to drill it out. If the hole goes straight through, just tap it out with a punch.

Ian

[Lindus]

A glass awaits you young man,Many thanks.

Roy

[Peter Bleed]

This has been a fascinating thread! The images have been very informative. Thank you all and please keep us informed

Peter

[Lindus]

Pin seems to be of a mild steel construction so should not be difficult to drill out.

 

Peter,

Will photograph and put on NMB as I go, embarrassed, as it seems now such a simple diagnostic process,it is the old scenario of not knowing the question to ask .....

Roy

[Lindus]

Well that was interesting, the broken pin came out easily followed by two tiny "Shims". It would seem when the gun was converted the man missdrilled the hole for the locating pin,by doing this he offset the position allowing more pressure to be applied to the spring.

As an attempt to follow with my limited kit would have been near impossible I decided to Tap the hole{put in a thread} and fit a removable screw, the end fitting over rather than in the plate. (See attached) Although not as the original is in some ways better should similar occur in the future,the whole thing works very well and at the cost of around two hours and a bolt...

 

Had forgotten what a sweet Teppo this is, the barrel round and tapering with ribs running the full length to a splendid muzzle which has a silver band inlaid. The stock is unlike any other I have had as it turns to the right much like European weapons.

 

Thanks for the advice folks.

Roy

[IanB]

Lindis, Nice job. I'm glad it all worked out well. Interesting that the tumbler didn't have a pivot through the bridle. The only other gun I have seen like that is a massive Dutch holster pistol c. 1680 - 1700 I have. Here the maker just put a plain bridle flat against the tumbler to stop it tipping under the pressure of the mainspring. Must be horrendous friction between the two but the lock works so - Hey why worry.

Ian

[bluelake]

(American here :D ) The attached percussion lock is one I have that is similar in some respects to the one you have. Supposedly, it was Russian-made, although it's hard to say. Ironically, I was going to make a reproduction matchlock-to-percussion with it, but have not had the time.

 

[IanB]

Thomas, I see no reason why you think your lock is Russian. It is a standard right hand, back action lock from a percussion shotgun. Birmingham (the real one not Alabama ) turned them out in thousands. I've never liked them, particularly on a double gun, because so much wood needed to be cut out of the wrist they almost invariably cracked at that point. Despite this they were very popular in their day.

Ian Bottomley

[bluelake]

Ian,

 

The only reason I said that is because that is what I was told at the time by the person I got it from. I'm used to American percussion locks, so I have to take someone's word when it comes to the European ones... :D

 

However, looking around the web at some shotgun locks, I see what you mean.

 

 

T

[IanB]

Thomas, We see hundreds of these locks in the UK. They were invariably fitted to guns with twist barrels that wore badly, or as I said the stock split in the wrist so they were scrapped. People kept the locks because many were superbly made. I have a pair somewhere with the interiors beautifully finished and polished. I just can't bring myself to chuck them because they were so well done.

Good luck with re-using yours. You might consider a large bore pistol - quite a few were made using back action locks by people like Boss or Lang.

Ian

[bluelake]

I appreciate the info, Ian. Someday I may use the lock, but I'll have to have a lot more time than I have right now. As it is, I use it, along with a modern-made percussion pistol lock, to show Koreans how they work. For a country that had a long muzzleloading history, Koreans know very little about it. Aside from some pretty crude perc rifles that were either smuggled into the country or homemade, which were used by the Righteous Army (의병) against Japanese colonial forces, Korea did not have them. They went from matchlocks directly to metallic cartridge arms, skipping over flintlock and percussion lock firearms.

 

 

T

[Lindus]

""""IT WORKS"""

 

Got hold of a couple of percussion caps, the simple repair works well so the moral of this is " if you have a gun problem ask the members before going to a gunsmith {sorry gunsmiths}. Perhaps more for these simple jobs but a push in the right direction from Ian made the whole thing both enjoyable and damned cheap.

 

Thanks for you input folks.

Roy

[Lindus]

The converted repair Tanagashima for sale now see sale section.

Roy

[Lindus]

But forgot to upload pics

 

These are the most simple of things once down to it,one thing to remember is that working copper hardens it which is ideal for the spring. To soften just aneal {heat and quench}, the original was missing most of the parts so thought I would have a go at fabricating the whole thing from scratch.

Roy

[Bugyotsuji]

That looks very good.