Trigger job with set screw

[ian45662]

Anyone here using a 6-32 set screw to do a trigger job? Do you have to soften the tumbler to drill or remove any material to get the set screw low enough. Could you guys and gals walk me through the process of putting a set screw above the full cock notch

[Ron/The Old Reb]

ian45662
A number of years ago I tried to do the same thing but could not drill the sear notch. I ask a fellow team mate who had done it to his musket, how to do it. This is what he told me. You have to file the sear notch to get below the case harding to the soft metal so you can drill it and then tap it. He said that he used 2X56 set screws. I got the screws and the taps but I never tried it. Some thing to go on.

[Michael Bodner]

Temper the metal in the area you wish to drill (Temper means to heat until glowing red, then let it air cool naturally). This will remove the hardening.

Drill and tap it.

Then re-harden the metal by heating until it glows, then plunging it into cold water or oil. I recommend using Casenit (sp?) to increase the temperature.

BTW: I HIGHLY recommend doing some research on tempering and hardening BEFORE you hit the tumbler with the torch....

But basically, its a simply process.

-Mike

[Maillemaker]

That's the gist of it, but let me clarify some metallurgical terms.

Quenching (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quenching) is where you heat steel to its critical temperature and then rapidly cool it. This results in a very hard but brittle object. In the case of a case-hardened object, the inner material, if low-carbon, will not be affected by quenching. Only the carbon-laded layer will be.

Tempering (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempering_%28metallurgy%29) is re-heating hardened steel to a temperature well below the critical temperature, to relieve stresses in the steel caused during quenching. This reduces the hardness somewhat but increases toughness.

Annealing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annealing_%28metallurgy%29) is heating steel to its critical temperature and then allowing it to cool very slowly and in a controlled manner. This softens steel.

Normalizing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempering_%28metallurgy%29#Normalized_steel) is heating the steel to its critical temperature and then allowing it to cool off slowly, usually just in air. This usually results in softer steel but not as soft as obtained through controlled annealing.

Case hardening (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_hardening) is where you take a low-carbon steel object, which itself will not respond to heat treatment, and place it in a high-carbon environment with high temperatures, which allows carbon to migrate into the outer layer of the object, typically a few thousandths of an inch thick. That layer, now being carbon steel, will respond to heat treatment and can be made hard through quenching. This has the benefit of allowing a hard outer surface for wear characteristics while keeping a soft but tough inner core that is less prone to cracking. It can also be more cost effective than making the entire object out of high carbon steel and heat treating the entire object.

Steve

[Ron/The Old Reb]

"I recommend using Casenit (sp?) to increase the temperature."

The problem is where do you get casenite. I have not be able to fine it any place. I think that they stopped making it.

[Dennis Rich]

BROWNELLS (http://www.brownells.com/manufacturers/BROWNELLS/index.htm) - SURFACE HARDENING COMPOUND is a good substitute

[SHARPS4953]

I did it to my Mississippi (Euroarms) about 5 year ago. I put the tumbler in a drill press/ vice and used a (new) sharp drill bit. I was able to drill without annealing. Tapped it, then polished the screw head. Its maintained a 4lb trigger pull for 5 years without and problems at all. I use a little axel grease in my locks which cuts down on the wear. Some people frown on using grease buts its worked for me...

[R. McAuley 3014V]

If you are planning to alter any original parts, keep in mind that the only parts that were made of steel in the lock of the Model 1822 musket was the face of the battery and the springs. Though there were unsuccessful experiments with steel tumblers in 1832, a lock filer broke two steel tumblers in assembling four locks, and three of the tumblers cracked in hardening. The armories were a little more successful by the time production began on the Model 1842 musket, as the tumbler, sear, and springs in the lock were made of steel, and in 1850 the Armory bought 2,500 pounds of cast steel for tumblers. Steel lock parts in the M1855 rifle-musket included the tumbler, lock swivel, feeding finger, cover catch, sear, and all springs. One recent examination of two broken tumblers for a M1855 rifle-musket showed them to be made of cast-steel, but improperly heat treated, leaving them "too hard". Until it was learned to use a magnetized tool (1930) to detect the point when steel loses its magnetic attraction, the proper heat treating and tempering of steel remained a continuing source of difficulty.

http://www.n-ssa.org/vbforum/showthread.php/8346-How-to-temper-a-mainspring?highlight=magnetic