KFW wrote on Oct 14^th, 2025 at 6:28am:


KFW. It is apparent you have not read all the posts in this thread. What have you contributed? 

Pat started it and I was just piling on. Blame Pat not me. 

Thank you Pat for bringing back fond memories and thank you Art for not being a snob and backing me up. 

Gnoahhh, I believe both Joe and I would be pleased to join in with you at that gabfest. I usually harken back to the repartee in a somewhat grimy garage with the owner sifting through the innards of a blown motor finding if any of his boxed rods or pistons were cracked. Sometimes beer was involved. Parts were  forgotten when the subject turned to women. Gregg, why don't you come along- just be sure to lean on the counter, not the stove.
JMH, almost forgot, how about you join us for a bit? I learned so much hanging around in garages as a kid while my older hotrodder neighbors hashed out the day with jargon and insults. Even learned about the cars. Oughta be the same with guns.

Bring it back

Yea y'all went off the deep end a little but I gleaned enough information to use so it's ok.



JMH

Ok no little tool then. I have done bowing and scraping I mean filing and scraping before so shouldn't be a problem. Since we are discussing what is the best firing pin for a 22 a round one or a flat one like the originals had? I can do either.


JMH

If there's too much space between breech face and barrel breech, and no other solution but setting back the barrel looks feasible, you can use the Frank de Haas technique of cutting a dovetailed slot across the block face and inletting  thick piece of flat stock into it.

I think de Haas made the flat piece a drive fit in one side of the block and a slip fit in the other so the block would still split into halves.  On the one I did, I soldered one side and left the other the slip fit.

The flat stock can be as thick as needed to jam against the barrel breech, and then can be dressed down to a very close fit as the block closes.  The firing pin hole can be spotted through the primer hole of a chambered empty cartridge case and the pin either soldered into the flat rim-or-center pin body or turned in one piece to fit the round hole.

One of the old gunsmith book writers (I forget who) opined that the split Ballard breech block contributed to the action's general weakness.  With the solid plate, this concern (whether real or not) is removed.

JMH,
As for the firing pin, my personal preference is a round pin.  Easy to make from round stock, easy to machine the block.  Rule of thumb for diameter that hits the rim - Heavier the hammer strike, larger the diameter of the pin, lighter the hammer strike, smaller the diameter of the pin.  If you use round and have a screw coming in from the side through a notch to position and retain the pin, on a Ballard, probably a smaller diameter pin or machine a chisel point with a .025 to .035 face width.  In my experiences, the Ballard has a lighter strike than a roller, Hepburn, Sharps, maybe just less than a 1885, so there's less effect on position and follow through from inertia also.  For your build you may have to experiment and see what works.  Whatever does work, make a couple, wrap the spares in cellophane and store them in the butt stock under the plate, in the 1/2" space to the stock bolt head.   
A nickel's worth of opinion.
Greg

Again, a personal preference, 6 oclock.  Where does the powder lie when you're shooting it?