Enfield lockplate question??

[militiaman1835]

I need to get a repro lockplate to fit an original enfield musket I am putting together. I odered an Euroarms one but it is a bit to small for lock opening. Does anyone know if am armi-sport is larger or possibly an old London Armoury one? JIM HENSLEY

[ewtaylor]

Re: Enfield lockplate question??

Contact Lodgewood Mfg: (262) 473-5444
or maybe College Hill Arsenal: http://www.collegehillarsenal.com/shop/home.php

good luck,
everett taylor

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Enfield lockplate question??

Hallo!

Fitting repro parts to original "Enfields" is a crap shoot in that the original 3rd Models did not have interchangeable parts and there are variances between makers.
IF the repro lockplate is a bit oversized (in brief and to over-generalize most repro parts are), you may have to "relieve" or slightly "reinlet the lockplate mortise on the original. OR, not wanting to bugger on the original, carefully file and reduce the repro lockplate to fit the original's mortise.

Curt

[rogue]

Re: Enfield lockplate question??

Hello Jim,
Another item to consider is that the Enfield, like the Austrian Lorenz, did not have the standardization of parts as did the US produced Springfield, and many Enfield originals had parts made up that do not interchange, so even fitting an original lockplate to an original Enfield is a task holding much frustration.
In short, your repro lockplate is better as far as standardization of size and fit go to any number of originals...the originals will vary greatly. I once found a 1853 Enfield that lacked a brass butt plate, an original Enfield, and took it up to Lodgewood in person to try to find one that fit. We tried near fifty (50) plates and only one was close.
Be aware of the problem!
Steve Sullivan

[tmdreb]

Re: Enfield lockplate question??

If you need some encouragement, I managed to win an online auction for an original Enfield lock (not just the lockplate) for $75, and it basically dropped right into my ArmiSport.