Somebody splain spark colors to me

[IronDawg]

Saw where Cap was askin a  fella if his sparks from his lock were red, yellow or orange.

Why and what difference doe sit make?? one hotter than the other??

My Manton throws orange sparks. this OK??

AND if ya got the wrong color sparks. whatcha do?? swap flints?? or change yer frizzen??

[mark davidson]

I think mine look orange and white??? What does that mean?

[biliff]

This chart should give you a rough idea of how color changes with temperature.

http://www.uddeholm.com/files/Temperature_guide.pdf

If you want to get "hotter" sparks coming off your frizzen you have to put more energy into producing them. Some will swear by a lead vice leather wrap for the frizzen to accomplish it. Others will simply swear at it.

[mark davidson]

Newbie question....so what is a "lead vice leather wrap for the frizzen"? Never heard of such?? What does it do...add weight to the frizzen to cause it to absorb more flint force and sheer off more metal or increase the intensity of the spark?

[biliff]

Sorry, meant to say flint not frizzen. Not enough coffee this morning.

Yeah, you pretty much got it. Lead increases weight/striking energy and is suppossed to get you hotter sparks. Some theorize the lead doesn't cushion the blow like leather so you don't lose energy that way either.

Negative side is lead might damage the lock. Believe Chambers specifically says not to use lead wraps in his locks for that reason.

Personnally, a good sharp flint and a leather wrap has worked fine in all my flintlocks so I've never seen the need to go that route, but others swear by it.  

Is a 900F spark going to be all that much better than a 800F spark?

On the other hand, the debate can be entertaining.

[mark davidson]

Thanks for the clarity. I do in fact use a lead wrap for my flints. I used leather a couple of years ago(about three actually) when I started. Soon as I heard about flattening a ball and using lead, it sounded like a good idea with no real down side so I began using lead. For me, lead works great....not sure if it works any better than the leather did but I like it. Lead forms nicely around the rock with no slack. I hunt in the rain sometimes and leather gets wet, sopping wet and holds moisture there. Lead does not get wet and hold moisture. It likely does not matter either way. I just like the lead.

[jim m]

ok call me a dummy, but if the spark is hitting the pan and the powder ignites, what difference does the color of the spark make. the only thing I can think of is it might be an indication of the hardness of the hammer[frizzen]. coarse if it is to hard you won't get many sparks and if it's to soft the flint will just dig in. whew all this technical stuff make my head hurt

[flintlock62]

Iron dawg
Orange color is fine and dandy.  If one is throwing red sparks, the temprature of the metal chips are not as hot, larger in size, and there will be fewer of them.  Orange is getting up there in terms of frizzen hardness, so one is throwing hotter, smaller sparks, and thet are more numerous, making the likelyhood of sparks finding the prime and setting it off much more probable.

[mark davidson]

"Technical stuff" is what makes the difference between folk's guns that go BOOM instead of "clatch." :-) Flinters are temperamental enough as it is.....proper tuning and spring tension and spark volume and intensity all go together to ensure that a gun goes BOOM in the woods every time...every single time without fail!

[Captchee]

flintlock62 has it .
 you also can read the temper of a frizzen by its spark
 red is cool and soft . orange  is about right and whiet is  getting on the to hard side .

 now why would this be you think ?

 many many moons back  bud siler did a  really great write up on this  for muzzle blast

[IronDawg]

Too hard or too hot could lead to lock damage?? Or burn out too fast?

 I notcied one day when I spark tested mine with a new flint that the entire leading thin edge of my flint turned orange and glowed for a fraction of a second.

Getting the right flint and getting it set perfectly in this little manton lock on my po boy is my only issue. It's like really picky on flints and how they positioned. wants little tiny flints, has to have em perfectly aligned with the frizzen.  And a fraction too far forward doesn't throw the pan open (seems the flint catches on it) and a fraction too far back doesn't provide consitant sparks.

I know it's because I'm sittin here scratching my head and learning as I go. But 'm sure when I build or get my big flintlock?? it's not gonna have no "small" lock on it.

[LRB]

Captchee is dead on. To add to that, red sparks burn longer. White sparks are small and burn out quick, some before reaching the prime, but there are usually many more of them. Orange/red-orange is the best compromise.

[nobber]

How hard it hits the frizzen will also figure in to temp. of sparks. The smaller the amount of metal shaved off the hotter the spark will be as it is the amount of energy / amount of material that gives ya heat also. ie the spark will be hotter if the cock shaves less off as it is tranfering the same amount of energy into a smaller amount of metal. When your lock hits the frizzen hard it tries to shave a bunch off and if it slows down the cock it reduces energy.


Eric Davis
Nobber