Armi-Sport 1842 hammer and tumbler are frozen

[Petersburg Grey-back 12]

Hey guys!
I have a slight problem, first: i was checking my 1842 smoothbore musket a couple weeks ago, and the tumbler broke at full-cock slamming into half-cock, when i finally got to disassemble the thing today, i got the lock plate taken to pieces and the tumbler is now frozen on the hammer! i tried using the punch as far as i'm going to to not destroy it or the tumbler. I don't want to destroy anything in trying to separate them, but i don't know what to do here. Has this happened to anyone before with AS's? This is the first time I've attempted to disassemble a lock, i normally just wipe and oil/grease it. I did some homework so i made certain of what i'm doing wasn't going to be some newbie mistake. Thanks for any help guys!

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[Craig L Barry]

Re: Armi-Sport 1842 hammer and tumbler are frozen

To answer your question, if there is one....no, breaking the tumbler is not a common problem. The problem resulting in the need for a new tumbler is usually the gradual wearing down of the notches which hold the sear in place at half cock. This is because reproduction parts are investment cast from softer machine grade steel. If the tumbler "broke" as you say going to half cock, you can hardly damage the part further removing the hammer. The arbor shaft which is holding the hammer is part of the tumbler. A good snug fit is desirable and expected.

So...to remove and replace the tumbler presuming you have taken the springs and other parts off, remove the hammer screw, put the lock plate (hammer side up) between two piece of wood. Spray the area around the arbor shaft with penetrating oil and using a punch, lightly tap repeatedly with a tack hammer until the arbor shaft backs out. There is a chapter in "The Civil War Musket: A Handbook for Historical Accuracy" on lock maintenance. I mention this because when you removed the mainspring, I hope you used a mainspring vice. I would be more concerned with damaging the springs while taking the lock apart than damaging the tumbler while removing the hammer.