Posted by David Williamson on February 10, 2014, 5:43 pm, in reply to "Re: Snap Caps"
Alexander's patent for the side lock was in November 27 1883 for hammer guns. Starting in 1884 was the first year of production for the bar action lock, and this system was later used in the hammerless guns starting in August of 1886.
I have a hammer gun that has the patent date stamped on the inside of the lock.
I've seen broken stirrups, broken tumblers, but haven't seen a broken mainspring yet. I did break one on a Field Grade assembling it. I believe I over tensioned it with a pair of pliers and now I use a jig using a c clamp.