Need help with the ID on a very old dug flintlock side plate

[smokeythecat]

This is under the other thread from yesterday, but I was wondering if anyone out there could help me with an ID on it. The site was occupied (generally) last quarter 17th century to first quarter 18th century.

The lock was down quite a bit. The main lock plate is the flat kind, no curve or beveling to it at all. The frizzen is squared at the top, unlike the first model Brown Bess, whose frizzen is sloped to the top center, this one is dead flat across the top, and it is thicker than a Bess frizzen. There is the trifoil decoration where the frizzen screw attaches the frizzen spring to the lock.

It is 6.5" or 166 mm long. Any ideas what it went to?

 

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[smokeythecat]

And it could be local made or a pirate gun. Pirates visited around here once upon a time ago.

 

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[ARC]

No matter what... always a super cool find... and a great addition to any MD collection regardless.

 

[smokeythecat]

It was my first one ever! Two years ago I got a piece to a lock to a CW gun, just 2" of it. Back in the 80's I dug a forward ramrod holder to a 2nd model Brown Bess. This is a first! Thank you all.

 

[Red James Cash]

Look around where you found it,could be more pieces.

 

[ARC]

Look around where you found it,could be more pieces.

Agreed.

 

[ARC]

Btw... I forgot to post this last night...

This is as close as I got...

 

[smokeythecat]

AARC, due to the extra screw hole, that's what I'm thinking also.

 

[Gare]

Just saying some times people would drill more holes to secure the plate better. Just keep this in the back of your mind sometimes people made modifications to things that might be different then ther original makers

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Most of the holes will be for attaching the inner workings. In this image the furthest hole to the left of the lockplate ("1") is for the forward lockplate bolt and the uppermost to the right of the pan is for the rear lockplate bolt (bolts are item 11). Two was typical and hood sized (3/16" to 1/4" dia) bolts. You can see they "beef up" the lockplate for those bolts. Lots of parts to the mechanism mean lots of holes



The sideplate is on the other side of the stock to reinforce the wood when it's all bolted together.

 

[A2coins]

That's some cool diggings there wowza

 

[BAW]

This is not a sideplate. It is a gun lock. A sideplate is the metal piece on the left side of the gunstock that serves as a washer for the screws that hold the lock in place.