Chassepot Refurbishing Request

Good Afternoon!! My son picked up a Chassepot that was not converted to cased ammunition. The rifle is in really decent shape with a strong rifling barrel. We'd really like to shoot the rifle, but it is missing the obturating washers, the nozzle, and pins (plus if there is a pin return spring under the nozzle). I figure I can fabricate the washers, but does anyone know of a source for the nozzle, firing pins, and spring or specs for machining them up? Any wisdom on making the washers? Many thanks!!

I am having difficulty with uploading photos. The photos may not show up correctly.
So please read the text as carefully as I am trying to compose it!

1) First off, you need to be able to be able to dismantle the Chassepot striker assembly. The spring loaded cocking piece is held in by a threaded bush that has two flats to apply a spanner. In the first photo - if it appears - this can just about be seen between the cocking piece and striker body. The cocking piece must be set to sit in the safety notch so that it is far enough back to be able to insert the spanner.
However, normal spanners are too stubby to be much use. You need to have a flat plate spanner (as shown on the photo) or grind down the jaws of a normal spanner to be both narrower and thinner. The size across flats is 9 mm - but measure it to be sure.

2) Just unscrew the bush about two turns. Do NOT unscrew it all the way, as the spring-loaded cocking piece will fly out and cause damage. Instead, after the first two turns, take the cocking piece out of the safety notch and let it come down onto the spanner. The pressure on the spanner will now be notifceably less, and you should be able to unscrew it fully, while holding the cocking piece and striker body in one hand so that they do not fly apart.

Now you know why you need a thin spanner!

3) The needle is held in position by the preload of the mainspring. You need to compress the spring safely and then the needle assembly will slide off sideways. Note that the needle has a small cylindrical head that sits in a recess on the fitting that looks very similar to a lantern chuck. Someone, somewhere in France (maybe elsewhere), makes these needles as spare parts.

Cartry-Arme : pies d'armes

is about the only site I know where you have a chance of finding Chassepot spares.

I found it possible to cobble one up with a bicyle spoke, which is hard enough for the job without being brittle.

4) What you describe as the nozzle (I don't know the proper term either) is free to slide along the bore axis, but is prevented from falling out by a screw set into the front of the striker body. The photo shows a rather beaten-up example with an original rubber obturator. In the complete assembly please note that the new obturator is a pair of.....

.... thick tap washers!

The original measures 0.725" diameter, .400" long, with a hole diameter of .330". And after 150 years it looks and feels like old bakelite. Far too brittle to be used. I simply took it to a supplier of plumbing/sanitary installation components, and persuaded them to fish around in the odds-and-ends draw until I found a washer that fitted well enough. As it was not a stock item I had to order a packet of 100, so my Chassepot now has spare obturator washers for the next century or so!

I hope this has helped. As the first version of this post went haywire when I attempted to insert the photos, I am going to leave version this as it is, and try to post a second copy WITH photos...Sichere Website
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Cartry-Arme : pies d'armes


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Second version, with photos

The photos may not show up correctly.
So please read the text as carefully as I am trying to compose it!

1) First off, you need to be able to be able to dismantle the Chassepot striker assembly. The spring loaded cocking piece is held in by a threaded bush that has two flats to apply a spanner. In the first photo - if it appears - this can just about be seen between the cocking piece and striker body. The cocking piece must be set to sit in the safety notch so that it is far enough back to be able to insert the spanner.
However, normal spanners are too stubby to be much use. You need to have a flat plate spanner (as shown on the photo) or grind down the jaws of a normal spanner to be both narrower and thinner. The size across flats is 9mm - but measure it to be sure.

2) Just unscrew the bush about two turns. Do NOT unscrew it all the way, as the spring-loaded cocking piece will fly out and cause damage. Instead, after the first two turns, take the cocking piece out of the safety notch and let it come down onto the spanner. The pressure on the spanner will now be noticeably less, and you should be able to unscrew it fully, while holding the cocking piece and striker body in one hand so that they do not fly apart.

Now you know why you need a thin spanner!

3) The needle is held in position by the preload of the mainspring. You need to compress the spring safely and then the needle assembly will slide off sideways. Note that the needle has a small cylindrical head that sits in a recess on the fitting that looks very similar to a lantern chuck. Someone, somewhere in France (maybe elsewhere), makes these needles as spare parts.

Cartry-Arme : pies d'armes

is about the only site I know where you have a chance of finding Chassepot spares.

I found it possible to cobble one up with a bicyle spoke, which is hard enough for the job without being brittle.

4) What you describe as the nozzle (I don't know the proper term either) is free to slide along the bore axis, but is prevented from falling out by a screw set into the front of the striker body. The photo shows a rather beaten-up example with an original rubber obturator. In the complete assembly please note that the new obturator is a pair of.....

.... thick tap washers!

The original measures 0.725" diameter, .400" long, with a hole diameter of .330". And after 150 years it looks and feels like old bakelite. Far too brittle to be used. I simply took it to a supplier of plumbing/sanitary installation components, and persuaded them to fish around in the odds-and-ends draw until I found a washer that fitted well enough. As it was not a stock item I had to order a packet of 100, so my Chassepot now has spare obturator washers for the next century or so!

I hope this has helped.

You used to be able to get needles and obturators from a company called RHCustom in Sweden.. however they decided to branch out into making some decidedly dodgy "kits" for making silencers and other items such as flat pack Uzis! They seemingly had a visitation from the Dark Lords courtesy of the ATF and have vanished..!

As listed above, you can make obturators from tap washers..

Needles are a bit harder.. they are very thin and have a drum head which is quite difficult to form.. I think our little Swedish friend made them using a welder to make a blob on a bit of wire and then grinding it to shape.. The proper way would be to forge the head by upsetting it into a mould. I did manage to find a supplier in France about ten years ago, but they vanished as well.

The bolt head is your biggest problem.. The proper bolt head has an internal cavity behind the tip of the head which I cannot work out how to machine.. Making a reproduction head is not that hard if you have a lathe, but it will not have the cavity, which I think is to stop gas travelling back into the bolt body..

Let me have a think about this... If RH has packed up, then I might have to go into production!