I'm cleaning up an 1816 Springfield that was converted from Flintlock to Percussion with a 69 cal bolster barrel that was shortened to a 2 bander.
The lock plate is marked with Spring Field 1823 behind the hammer and the Eagle and US to the front of it.
The marks I'm curious about are on the inside of the lock plate.
About 1 inch to the right of the front mounting screw hole is the letter A and to the right of it is what appears an R or an F or a G, it's hard to make out.
The irregular spacing shows them to be stamped with hand held letter punches .
Next, about 3/4 ths of an inch to the left of the rear mounting screw are the letters H C .
They are in a rectangular box that has tiny scalloping/half circles facing inwards.
It looks like they were stamped in with a custom made punch, or cast in when the lock plate was made.
The last marking is a side ways letter "N" about 3/8th of an inch to the left of the rear screw hole and about 1/4 inch below it.
My world will not come crashing down all around me if I never find out what these marking are , I'm just curious about them.
Bill Cheek
The trigger pull on this old lock almost needed two hands to pull even after using a good lube.
A few careful strokes with a diamond file and then using polishing/valve grinding compound it is much better now
Bookmarks