1842 musket cone size? Curt, Craig..help!

[Pvt Peck]

Tried the search function but did not come up with anything, so here goes! What size cone is on the Armi Sport 1842? I have an original combo tool and a repop Enfield combo tool and neither one is big enough to fit the cone on the 1842. I have never had a problem with my original combo tool fitting any repop Enfiled, or 1855/61 style musket, and it fit my original 1842's when I had them. Just wondering if I need another combo tool, or should I just replace the cone on the musket. We tried 3-4 1842's at our last event and they all had the same large cone on them. Every Enfield/Springfield we tried the wrenches fit fine.

Ted Parrott "cone-fused"

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: 1842 musket cone size? Curt, Craig..help!

Hallo!

Hey... don't ask me all that "metric" stuff. ;) :)

Cones are a complicated area as the vary not only by Italian maker, but they also vary over time.

The Armi Sport M1842 takes an 8mm X 1 cone ("nipple"). Which should be the same as for the Euro Arms Springfield.

However.., these Springfield and Enfield cone sizes vary over time and are not all the same.

Tools made for the smaller cones like say, EuroArms 5/16 X 20 Enfield size will be too small as well.

IMHO, you need a M1842 wrench... ;)

Curt

[Pvt Peck]

Re: 1842 musket cone size? Curt, Craig..help!

Curt:

So do you think an original 1842 combo tool will do the trick?

Ted Parrott

[Spewy]

Re: 1842 musket cone size? Curt, Craig..help!

I have an original '42 combo tool (box end wrench type) and it works just fine on my Armi Sport "42. It won't work on my '55 Springfield though that damned hump in the Lock Plate gets in the way. Which is why I guess they went with an open end type wrench for the later models.

[Craig L Barry]

Re: 1842 musket cone size? Curt, Craig..help!

The US 1842 cone wrench was a four sided affair, as opposed to an open ended wrench type used for the US rifle-muskets. I like that tool because it grabs the shoulder of the cone on all sides. Yes, the flash guard on the bolster of the US 1861s does get in the way with the 1842 tool. 1855s did not have the flash guard, so the Maynard tape primer "got in the way" on those.

As far as the 1842 reproduction, the Armi Sport cones are all 8 x 1 mm thread size, and I was not aware that the 1842 had any different shoulder dimensions than the cones used on the rest of their muskets. I have not encountered this problem, but then I swap out the factory cone for a stainless steel unit before I ever fire it. I use the 8 x 1 mm stainless cone from Regt QM, drill out the vent at the base to 1/16" (a very small increase usually), and the shoulders are standard sized.

I use an original US musket tool, and never have any problem easily removing the cone. While on the subject, could I recommend replacing the cone at the start of each campaign season? Retain last year's cone as a back-up, kept in the implements pouch of your cartridge box.

[Pvt Peck]

Re: 1842 musket cone size? Curt, Craig..help!

Thanks for the replies gents!

Ted Parrott