Shooting in with JB paste

[Marvin S]

Got my new Issac Haines 50cal flint gun ready for its first firing and got to thinking about patching a few balls with JB bore paste. Anyone done this? Seems like a good idea. Its a Colerain swamped barrel with radius grooves.

[DIRT Farmer]

With a Colerain barrel I think I would fire a few first and check the patches. I know that JB should just polish some sharp edges but___

[Doc Highwall]

I would shoot it first and see how it loads and shoots and see if the patches are cut by the rifling (Assuming the patches are thick enough). If the patches are cut you will need a courser lapping compound then JB, try to get some Clover non-embedding about 400 to 600 grit at the courses and 800 to 1000 at the finest.

[mooman76]

I would also shoot it first and then I would hand lap it before fire lapping. Breaking it in is half the fun.

[waksupi]

I agree with shooting it first. Colerain's tend to be pretty well finished in the bore.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
I assume you have a cleaning jag of the proper diameter. Put a tight fitting patch on it and run it down the barrel. You will be able to FEEL if there are any tight places and have the patch back in your hand without any burn marks to see if it is cutting.

[JeffinNZ]

Both my Colerains shoot mint right from the first shot. Shoot it first.

[Dean D.]

I agree, shoot it first. I built an Isaac Haines Lancaster with a 44" Colerain barrel also. It shot well from the start.

[Marvin S]

It feels smooth and even but there are always some tool marks and such. It just struck me as something to consider. The lock is irritating me now as I cant remove the fly without it hanging up on the half cock notch. It's a single trigger tripping a chambers siler, so much for a constant position sear.

[waksupi]

It feels smooth and even but there are always some tool marks and such. It just struck me as something to consider. The lock is irritating me now as I cant remove the fly without it hanging up on the half cock notch. It's a single trigger tripping a chambers siler, so much for a constant position sear.

Please explain that a bit more. What is the problem? Bet we can cure it pretty easy.
Is there sufficient clearance for the trigger to raise the sear bar all the way? This is the usual problem, too much wood, but most people start filing on the lock. Another thing that happens is the trigger has too much material left on the top edge.
Why are you trying to remove the fly?

[Marvin S]

The way I see it is the sear bar should be at the same posistion weather it is at full cock or half cock. This meas that the tumbler and notches should be even from the radius of the bearing axle. The fly is only needed for set trigger guns to clear the half cock notch since the sear bar is not actually depressed, but is tripped. If the sear was at a constant posistion there would be the same amount of clearence between the trigger and sear weather it was at full or half cock. Mine has zero clearance at half cock and maybe .020 at full cock. This does not allow enough sear clearance to fully clear the half cock, so the fly needs to be there for now. I know it sounds picky, but I dont like to have to feel that when decocking the lock. Also it's just another part that has no purpose.

[waksupi]

Is there any trigger slack at all, with the hammer at rest?

[Marvin S]

No, it is right at the sear bar at rest. Also no slack at half cock and some at full cock.

[waksupi]

I've had problems in the past, if I couldn't feel just a couple thousandths play in the trigger with the lock uncocked. It may not seem like much, but can sometimes cause the sear to not return to the fully relaxed position. This is especially noticeable in damper weather it seems, as the wood will swell just enough to cause problems.
I agree with you, theoretically, there should be no difference in the sear position at the various positions. You might want to call Jim and ask for his input on it.

[Marvin S]

I may give him an email as it's kind of a complicated problem. I know what needs to be done but its kind of late now that the parts are hardend.

[frontier gander]

that'd be a mess.

Just to 100-200 strokes with a tight fitting patch & the bore paste. Great stuff!

[northmn]

A little trick I learned a few years ago that was commonly done on shotguns. I file the trigger knife as some call it down such that it has a lot of slack. I then install a light spring that holds it against the sear. Not much of a job really, I just drill a hole lower in the trigger knife and drill and tap a hole in the back to attach the spring to. I used to use ball point pen springs straightened out but now use music wire. If you do not want to drill and tap find a drill bit and brad (broad headed not finishing) and counter sink the bottom slightly and rivit it in.
Don Getz made many barrels and recommends at most, that you just polish the barrel with the green abrasives like used for scouring dishes. Mostly the guns will shoot in after a few shots, and the shooting in process is a good way to get to know the gun.

Northmn