I have a Flint Lock Fowler in the shop that the customer wants me to restore back to original. Somewhere down the line the lock was changed to a percussion and some wood is missing from the front of the stock. Now the neat part. This is a 1718 .......... one of the 1st guns to be made by the French commissioned by the commerce of the ..........town.
I'm starting to get back into my history of F&I witch is driving me a little deeper and earlier into the weapons of the period.
Anyway My question is; Do you know a lock maker?
BTW anyone ever use PBR and not the beer
Not sure where to start.
OK, I'll answer your question. There are several very good lock makers. I suggest you first contact L&R
http://www.lr-rpl.com/
A phone call is probably your best bet for a first contact, or an e-mail. Tell them you want a flintlock with a large plate for shaping to fit the existing inlet on the stock. You will have a lot of grinding or filing to duplicate the fit with exactly matching alignment of the original. I suggest you use their 'Classic' style flintlock. It is a great flintlock.
Also look up supplier Track of the Wolf
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/index.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1&as=1
They are excellent but not the only one, there are other highly reputable suppliers out there. If you want more, let me know.
Since you are going to be messing with a lock, do buy a mainspring vice from Track. If you try using pliers or Vice Grips you will be ordering a new mainspring.
Now, the barrel. That is an oldie. There are always natural concerns with strength and corrosion in the breach. Safety concerns loom large here. But, the trickiest part will be re-converting back to flint from a cap buster. There are several ways, all are time consuming and require an expert hand to accomplish.
My final suggestion is: Don't do the job. This, in my experienced and humble opinion, is, essentially a rebuild. Unless you are an experienced builder this is a job that will require many-many hours. Ask your client how many thousands of dollars he is willing to invest before starting.
Track has excellent books and DVDs on the subject(s) of building. They also sell kits to recreate the old guns, rifles, trade muskets, fowlers, etc.
I went longer than intended. E-mail me if you have more questions.