GLOSSARY OF ANTIQUE PISTOLS

To simplify the glossary question we made a drawing and labeled the 
parts of a flint lock.  It has the filename of GLOSSARY.PCX. This may
be all the glossary most people need.  In that drawing, we included 
the flint.  The flint is clamped between the top and lower jaws, with 
a bit of leather or sheet lead to cushion the flint from being 
crushed.  This is also seen in some of the other lock drawings.

Barrel - the tube in which the propellant (gunpowder) and the 
projectile (lead ball or a number of smaller balls) are loaded and
expelled when the gunpowder is ignited.

Belt Hook - a device attached to the side of the pistol opposite the
lock for the purpose of carrying the weapon.  These pistols were 
often rather thick and too cumbersome to carry stuck in the person's 
belt.  The belt hook had the thickness of a blade and it was stuck 
between the belt and the body, leaving the pistol hanging on the 
outside.  

Butt - the end of the handle or grip portion of the pistol, usually
protected by a butt cap of iron or brass on military pieces but 
often of silver on finer quality pieces.

Crane - the part of a wheel lock in which the flint (more properly
iron pyrite) is clamped.  In firing it sits in its lowered position
on the closed pan cover and, as the lock is fired, internal mechanism
pushes the pan cover open, the crane spring forces the stone into  
the pan against the turning wheel and ignites the priming powder.

Crankshaft - the part of a wheel lock that transfers the force of the
mainspring to cause rotation of the wheel.  See Sear, below.

Dog or Dog Latch - a safety device, a hook that engages the hammer at
approximately half cock to positively hold it from falling and firing
the piece.

Flint - the source of the spark that ignites the flint lock, shaped
from natural flint stone to fit between the jaws of the hammer.  In 
operation, the priming powder is placed in the pan, the frizzen is 
closed over the pan which keeps the powder from falling out.  The
hammer is at half cock which is more or less a safety position.  To 
fire, the hammer is raised to full cock and the trigger is pulled to 
release the hammer which is driven by a strong spring to strike the 
frizzen.  The striking and scraping force produces a shower of 
sparks falling into the pan, igniting the priming.  Note that early
locks, such as the Snaphaunce, operated in much the same manner 
except the frizzen was separate from the pan cover.  The pan cover
operated in a sliding fashion, pushed by a rod connected inside the
lock, as the hammer fell.

Lock - the firing mechanism of the pistol.  Most pistols and other 
firearms up to the advent of the revolver (around 1850) were fairly 
simple, consisting of only Lock, Stock and Barrel.  

Muzzle - the end of the barrel in which the powder and ball are loaded
and from which the projectile emerges.

Priming - a small charge of powder placed in the pan to receive the 
sparks from the flint or the glow of the match.  It burns almost with
explosive force, the flame is communicated to the charge in the 
barrel through a small hole, usually less than one eighth inch in 
diameter.

Proof Marks - are shown on some drawings close to where they appear 
on the pistol.  Proof marks were adopted to "prove" the part passed 
inspection and, if it is a barrel, that it survived a test firing with 
a heavy overload of powder and ball.  View Marks are often found next
to proof marks.  View marks indicate passing a visual inspection.

Ram Rod - a rod or dowel of wood used to load the pistol.  First a 
measured amount of powder is poured into the barrel, then some wadding, 
often of paper, is rammed down over the powder with the ram rod.  Then 
the ball or shot is put into the barrel and rammed down if necessary.  
Last more wadding is rammed down the bore to keep the ball or shot from 
falling out.  Later ram rods were made of iron.

Sear - a part in the lock that holds the mechanism in cock or ready 
position.  The force of the the finger pressing the trigger is 
transferred to the sear which releases the mechanism to cause the lock
to fire.  Both flint locks and wheel locks have sears, although of 
different design, to hold against the force of the mainspring.  See 
Tumbler below.

Serpentine - the part of a match lock that holds the match cord and is
caused to move the glowing match cord into the priming powder in the 
pan.  The typical match lock operates by a simple mechanical linkage
to move the serpentine from the ready to the firing position.  There
is such a thing as a snap match lock with a spring and sear mechanism
but these are very rare.

Stock - the member, usually of wood, which serves as a hand grip and as
a frame in which are mounted the lock and barrel.  Early firearms 
consist of Lock, Stock and Barrel.  Later construction has the stock 
meaning only the handle or hand grip portion, inasmuch as the lock 
and barrel are often integral with other functions such as multi shot 
capability.

Tumbler - the part in a flint lock and most other snapping type locks 
that transfers the force of the mainspring to the rotation of the 
hammer.  The movement of the tumbler is opposed by the sear.

Wheel lock vs. Wheellock - In our text we use wheel lock (two words) 
to indicate a lock only.  Wheellock (one word) is intended to indicate
a firearm using a wheel lock.