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Originally Posted by fernando
As i said, the toe has to be that long in order to catch the spring tension; if i file it, it looses all the needed effect.
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Fernando, the addition to the frizzen toe is too sharp to provide a proper bearing surface for smooth action.
I would weld on a piece of metal way oversize, or even build up enough weld bead to make the oversize chunk.
File it to the shape of a traditional toe with a well rounded wide and deep surface area. Polish the contact surface and age. Do as much trial fitting and filing as you need to do to make it perfect.
You can do the household bleach trick I mentioned in an earlier post. Get it good and rusted. I just did this on another non-gun related bit of work I did for a piece of furniture in two days. It had a buildup of crusty, nasty rust. Awful looking, but just what one wants for this purpose. Only treat the affected area. Immerse it in boiling water for about twenty minutes or so, remove it and check. If there's still fresh rust, continue boiling until it is all gone and a nice, heavy black is seen. Neutralize it with baking soda and water if you want, but not necessary if you want a few spots of fresh rust over what will appear as some old black iron oxide. Lightly heat it to dry completely and immediately, while it's still hot, apply some wax. Let it cool several hours allowing the wax to harden and brush excess off.
A bit of extra work, but if it's done right it will go a long way to making the gun look right.
This blunderbuss is worth every bit of extra effort you need to take to make it perfect. It deserves no less!
If for some reason you can't (or won't!) go the extra mile, I know a collector/restorer whose collection could benefit by the addition of this gem!