Cascabel

Well said, Shipmate !! Such eloquence amazes me....

There is actually a cooperatve rather than an adversarial relationship going on. They work very well together. The Ft, Zach event is a spin-off from the original PiP, which is still very much alive. Sort of a symbiotic and mutually supportive relationship. >>>> Cascabel

Bravo, Suh !!! A most interesting article... >>>> Cascabel

I checked this site out today, as I'm looking for Royal Navy stuff. Apparently, Michael the Tailor has passed away. So sad. His work looks to be of a very high quality. Indeed, Michael has passed away, and a great loss to us all !! He produced an excellent quality product, and had the most reasonable prices on the web. >>>> Cascabel

To be honest, the locking case was to protect my stuff from the baggage handlers! Protection is needed from the baggage handlers for certain, but I was speaking of LEGALITIES..... >>>> Cascabel

Some great traveling stories !! I hate to throw a wet blanket on the situation, but the very real facts are that the rules are interpreted differently at different airports, and by different gate agents and TSA officers. What you might get away with in Chicago, for instance, you may not get away with on your return trip through Miami, or Atlanta. You need to understand that swords are not much of a problem, and do not need to be declared, as long as they are in your checked baggage. Hard cases and locking are not required, (at this time). Firearms are another story entirely !! You could run up on an agent that decides to get real "anal", and pull out the rule book. So then you ask to speak to his supervisor, and try to explain that you got away with whatever non-compliant container hundreds of times at such and such airport. The supervisor will look in the rule book, and no doubt back up his underling, unless he is blatantly wrong. So then....... You miss your flight, and then have to find another way to get your weapons shipped. Hmmmmmm..... "Aha !!! I can take a cab across town to a UPS store, and ship from there !!", but it's 9pm... I guess I will have to spend the night, and ship my stuff in the morning..... Refer to my pinned posting above to avoid problems. "Properly warned sez I" >>>> Cascabel

Indeed, Shipmates.... This is an important enough subject that we need to stay on topic !!! A lot of folks need this info.... >>>> Cascabel

At the top of the Lock, Stock, and Barrel forum, I pinned a post that pretty well covers all contingencies. (as of the time of posting). I fly with weapons fairly regularly. >>>> Cascabel

(Duplicate of my posting in the Crow's Nest) I have always wondered just exactly WHO made the decision on when the GAOP was, and by what authority did they make that decision ??? Seems kinda odd to me that there are sometimes EXACT cut-off dates that people abide by. And when somebody actually asks, it is always a rather a vague answer. (well, sorta kinda, thereabouts..... etc.) Foxe ?..... Blackjohn ?.... Any genuine or self-appointed historians care to enlighten us ? ...... Anybody ?? >>>> Cascabel

I have always wondered just exactly WHO made the decision on when the GAOP was, and by what authority did they make that decision ??? Seems kinda odd to me that there are sometimes EXACT cut-off dates that people abide by. And when somebody actually asks, it is always a rather a vague answer. (well, sorta kinda, thereabouts..... etc.) Foxe ?..... Blackjohn ?.... Any genuine or self-appointed historians care to enlighten us ? ...... Anybody ?? >>>> Cascabel

Ya know..... The whole problem with using these old woodcuts and period illustrations for reference is that they are generally terrible for judging size and proportion. I think we can be reasonably sure that the chest depicted in the picture was not really waist high, with drawers big enough to put an entire man's leg into, as the picture would suggest judging by the character resting his hand on the open lid. I also strongly suspect it was not actually built in the cock-eyed fashion shown in the woodcut. You then have to fall back on using the old illustrations as a vague guide to general appearance. It becomes a judgement call on what would actually work and be practical. I think we can reasonably surmise that these surgeon's chests were custom built to the individual surgeon's needs, rather than to an "official" pattern. >>>>> Cascabel

In His Majesty's Regulations of 1768, they are referred to as "firelocks". They are definitely true flintlocks by that time. I suspect the term was in use for quite some time..... >>>> Cascabel

Whoa Nelly! 80 grains in a pistol! What sort of barrels are you packing? What do you do without wadding? Do you pack the powder or just pour it in? Do you have to keep your weapon vertical and shoot into the sky? If not, doesn't the powder lay out along the barrel? Hmmm...maybe I'll have to try this now. On another note, I've heard using steel wool for wadding makes quite a sight when shooting at night!* *DISCLAIMER: I assume this is done over water, or another fire safe environment. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! For firing without a wad, you simply pour the powder down the barrel. It is entirely un-necessary to "pack" it. You simply remember not to point it below the horizontal, and the powder remains nicely back against the breech. (unless, of course if you quickly "flick" it down to the horizontal position, and I don't know why you would do that ! ) You don't need to point it up into the sky, just don't point it below horizontal. Fine steel wool fired at night is fun, but use CAUTION !! It burns brightly, and can ignite whatever it falls on or into. Do it over water only !! If any remains in the bore, it is certain to ignite the next powder charge to be poured in, so give PLENTY of time between shots. Be ABSOLUTELY certain it is all the way down on top of the powder, or you risk a burst barrel, just like with a ball not properly rammed. This is NOT for amateurs, and is not to be taken lightly !!! >>>> Cascabel

I use considerably less powder for a live load than I do for blanks. Without a ball to cause a buildup of pressure, a blank load can sound rather weak, so more powder is necessary. For blank loads, the correct amount is a function of both bore diameter and barrel length. As a starting point, I usually reccommend one grain per caliber, for instance, .50 caliber=50 grains. (For those reading this that are unfamiliar with black powder weapons, a "grain" is a unit of weight, which is usually measured out as a unit of volume in powder measures, rather than weighed with a scale.) From this starting point, the load can be increased gradually until it "sounds right", which is purely a judgement call on the part of the shooter. You need to stop short of a noise loud enough to cause ringing of people's ears, which will make you very un-welcome in most venues, and is wasteful of powder. I also am a very outspoken advocate of NOT using wadding of any kind, for various reasons. >>>>> Cascabel

Quite true !!! A lot of the "generally accepted wisdom" about black powder shooting is geared toward the firing of live loads with ball, and competition shooting, rather than firing blank loads. I use 3f in ALL calibers for blank loads, except for cannons. Works just fine, and is fairly clean burning. In the larger calibers, (above .50), tests have shown 3f generates higher pressures than coarser powders when using ball, but for our purposes with blank loads, it's not an issue. For priming, use of 4f is entirely unnecessary. 3f works just fine, so you only need to carry one grade of powder. For competition shooting, where milliseconds in ignition time count, 4f is a good idea. It has a marginally faster burn time than 3f, and ignites slightly easier. For shooting blanks, it won't hurt anything to use it, but it's really not needed. >>>> Cascabel

For our purposes (blank loads), the smaller grains and dust created by powder moving around in a container are rather irrelevant. If being used for competition shooting, variations in grain sizes can create differences in velocity, leading to changes in point of impact. >>>> Cascabel

Other than accidental ignition, the only enemy to powder is moisture. If your horn has a well fitting plug, the powder will keep pretty much forever. >>>> Cascabel

Reminds me of when one of my kids brought the class rat home at the end of the school year. He lived a nice long life (for a rat), and was a lot of fun. Rats are cool !!! >>>> Cascabel

One of my favorites !! Great characters, great costumes. Far better than the current offerings..... >>>> Cascabel

If you have black powder available, why bother with fooling around with Pyrodex ? Real black powder is also considerably cheaper !! >>>> Cascabel

Prying is never a good idea !! You may scar up the edge of it, and also the face of the lockplate. The correct method of removal is to completely dis-assemble the lock, and then support the lockplate across the jaws of your vise so that the tumbler is loose between the jaws, and using a BRASS punch, tap the square shaft down and out of the hammer. Removing the cock (hammer) is unfortunately the last step to taking apart a lock. Sometimes they are not really tight, and can be gently wiggled a bit and will come off without complete dis-assembly, or they can be taken off with VERY careful prying, if they are not too tight. The tumbler shaft usually has a very slight taper to it so that the cock stays tight. If you try removal without complete dis-assembly, keep in mind that when in the fired position, the shoulder of the cock rests on the top edge of the lockplate, and in some locks, this is all that keeps the mainspring from falling off the toe of the tumbler. For that reason, if you remove the cock without dis-assembling the lock, you need to do it at half-cock. >>>>> Cascabel

I'd classify it as Dieselpunk, which is outside of Steampunk's timeline(?) but still considered a sub-genre of Steampunk. So, yeah it counts. I hardly think we need to be concerned about timeline here !! I sorta consider it what Jules Verne would have come up with had he lived in the 20th century, instead of the 19th. I also think it counts..... >>>> Cascabel

Hmmmm..... It DOES have all the right elements, doesn't it ? Sort of "Steampunk of the Future" !! >>>> Cascabel

Out of period, but it seems to me that back when I was doing Rev War, that I read in the orders from General Howe, that the British troops sent out from Boston to take charge of any war material stored at Concord were instructed to "knock the trunnions from any cannons found", presumably using a large hammer. Seems reasonable to me. I would suspect that the technique had been fairly standard for quite some time. I really don't know how they could be blown off easily, but some well-place blows from a sledgehammer would do nicely, at least on the average field gun. >>>> Cascabel

If you are getting a lot of wear to your frizzen, and no spark, then there is a better than even chance that the frizzen needs hardening. The quality is inconsistent with these India made guns. Sometimes they have more than one issue preventing proper function. The very first thing I would do in your case is re-harden the frizzen. That may solve the problem without further work. Don't bother buying a new frizzen. The one you have can be re-hardened as often as needed. A new one would need to be hand fitted, and could also have hardness problems. >>>> Cascabel