A Waters 54 Flintlock Pistol; 1860 Colt Army

T

Tripacer

New member
I recently acquired two pistols that belonged to Lt. Col William M. Pratt of the 8th Connecticut Volunteers.

The A. Waters .54 Cal Flintlock smoothbore is missing the upper jaw that holds the flint. Does anyone know where I might find a replacement?

The 1860 Colt Army .44 seems mechanically fine except that despite generous applications of Kano Kroil over a period of weeks, I still cant make the wedge budge using a nylon punch and hammer. Does anyone know of a procedure that can loosen the wedge without causing damage to this piece of history?
 
Dixie (www.dixiegunworks.com) has repro top jaws for the M1836, but based on my experience it will take a lot of fitting to make it look right and work. Definitely a "long winter" type of chore.

On the M1860 wedge, I can only suggest more of the same. They usually aren't stuck that bad, but when they are...

If desperate, try this. Set up a vise with one jaw covered with a wood block having a hole into which the left end of the wedge fits. Then use a hardwood block or even a brass one on the other end. You clamp the gun in the vise, protected by the wood and/or brass and try to force the wedge out by closing the vise jaws. That puts force on without the battering that can result from pounding.

Jim
 
Jim Keenan:
Thanks for the suggestion. I will keep up the oil procedure for some time in hopes that it will eventually work. I think your suggestion concerning the wood blocks would probably work but I'd have to think long and hard about taking every precaution to prevent damage to the gun from slipping or some other unforeseen mishap.

Tripacer (Bob Daoust)
 
BTW, the Contemporary Long Rifle Association meets somewhere near your area in Pennsylvania. You might want to take the gun to one show and show some of the makers. Jim Chambers (Siler Locks) may be able to fit you with a part. There's a whole host of other gunmakers who can too.
 
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