[Jeff Higgins]

Thanks, John, for the helpful advice. And yes, you did outline your method for locating the slots for the barrel keys in an earlier post. I more or less followed your method, sans the drill press. In the absence of that, (and being an old tooling dood), I fashioned some tooling from a piece of aluminum angle. I transferred the locations of the barrel keys, measuring down from the top barrel flat, to the angle. I then mounted the barrel in the stock, placed my tooling on the top flat, lined it up fore and aft (you can still see my pencil marks I used for reference) and drilled. Worked great.

I've worked both the lock and the triggers and have them functioning quite well together. The only hitch in that department is that the hammer does not rest flat on the top of the nipple. It makes contact on the rear of the nipple, with the front of the hammer about .010" high, so it's not at the same angle. It looks like it would be if the hammer fell a bit further, onto a lower nipple. I might try that first. If I don't get anywhere, what would you suggest? I've actually read on the muzzle loader forums that some guys take an end mill to the face on the hammer to change its angle. Doing so would, of course, require a vertical mill, which I do not own. I've also seen where guys heat and bend the hammer, but I think that is more for left to right adjustment (which is centered on my rifle). Bending it fore and aft, along its "thick" axis, looks pretty much impossible. Any ideas?