Never pry under the hammer. Instead, remove all internal parts and the hammer screw. Next, insert a pin punch into the tumbler screw hole and drive the tumbler’s shank out of the hammer.

When inletting barrel keys or a simple trigger, here is a tip for getting that last 10% of the wood out of the way. Heat the part with a propane torch, push the heated part into the inlet and burn the wood away. This technique takes a little practice. Don't overheat the part and don't push too hard, but when you get the hang of it, you will save time and get a very good fit.

Tip provided by master gunbuilder, Jack Brooks

When inletting inlays, patchboxes, or side plates; position the piece on the gunstock and use a sharp scribe draw around the metal part rather than a pencil. The pencil mark is often too wide and will rub away as you work. The sharp scribe will be precise and you can put your chisel right in the scratch mark. A sewing needle mounted in a piece of cut off ramrod dowel will make a good scribe.

Tip provided by master gunbuilder, Jack Brooks

When installing the lock bolts on your rifle, a drill press can be used to good advantage. It is desirable for the heads of the bolts to lie flat on the side plate. So prepare the wood panel opposite the lock so it is square with the top flat of the barrel and parallel to the side of the barrel. Place the side panel on the drill press table and drill through the stock. Remove the stock from the drill press, place the lock plate in the inlet, and drill back through the hole and lock plate with the tap size drill bit using a hand drill. Then remove the lock plate and with the hand drill run the clearance drill through the hole to open it up (no.19 for 8-32 and 3/16” for 10-32). Using the clearance hole as a guide, run the through the stock and tap the lock plate. The result is that when the lock bolts are installed, they are aligned and the heads will lie flat on the side panel and later on the side plate after it is installed.

Tip provided by master gunbuilder, Jack Brooks

Resist the temptation to remove a frizzen spring or main spring with a pair of pliers as it will almost always result in breakage. Springs must be compressed over a long span to avoid over stressing. Always use a spring vice made for this purpose.

Never snap a flintlock without a flint in place and the frizzen closed as it may break the cock and bend the top jaw screw. The action of the flint scraping the frizzen protects the cock from this damage in normal use.

Many frizzens are ruined when they are browned with a hot application. We recommend using a cold browning to avoid accidentally destroying the temper with a torch.

Never use locking pliers or any other smililar device to remove a mainspring or frizzen spring. The use of any tool except a specifically designed mainspring vice is highly likely to mar or break the spring. We highly recommend the use of the Davis Ultimate Mainspring Vice. To take a lock apart without damage, use the following procedure:

Pull the hammer to either half cock or full cock and snugly fit mainspring vise to the mainspring. Let the hammer down and remove the spring. Next remove the sear spring and then the rest of the internal parts. Take out the hammer screw and then use a small punch inside the screw hole in the tumbler to gently punch the tumbler out of the hammer. To remove a frizzen from a flintlock, close the frizzen on the pan, and then apply enough tension on the frizzen spring with a mainspring vise to allow the frizzen screw to be easily removed. The frizzen spring can then be removed. Reverse the order to reassemble.