question...
 

What's the best way to remove a stubborn hammer??? I need to replace a broken firing pin.

Hammer gun or hammerless? On a hammmerless the firing pin is the nose of the hammer. Is your hammerless hammer broken. On a hammergun, the hammer is part of the side plate. I don't think you need to take off the hammer just to get to the firing pin.

somebody who knows something about hammer guns can probably tell, not me.

Its' a hammer gun Chuck with the cone holding the firing pin and spring. I guess I can remove the side plate assembly.

Removing the lock will allow access to the firing pin, but......just in case you need to remove the hammer, here is what worked for me: disassemble the entire lock, leaving only the hammer and tumbler. Remove the hammer screw, also. Find a suitable pin punch that fits into the hammer screw hole and reaches the bottom. Support the lockplate as close as possible to the tumbler. Insert the punch into the hammer screw hole and apply appropriate force to drive the tumbler downward, using the lockplate as a support for the hammer. I have never had any damage as a result of this process, but, shimstock can be placed under the hammer to prevent scratching. Good Luck!

I think it's covered in Brian Dudley's disassembly tutorial. It's a fairly easy process. I've replaced a couple. If I remember correctly you might not have to remove the lock. Just cock back the hammer and unscrew part holding the firing pin.

Thanks Mark. Removing the lock will give me access to the cone and the firing pin.

if you ever do need to remove a hammer - the disassembly of a breechloader lock is not much different than a flintlock,

http://www.muzzleloaderbuilderssuppl...kassembly.html

"Place the lock on a partially opened vice, inside face down, so that the jaws of the vice are open slightly wider than the tumbler, and the lock plate is sitting flat on the top of the jaws. Using a pin punch that is smaller than the hammer screw (allowing the punch to reach the bottom of the threaded hole in the tumbler), lightly tap on the punch to drive the tumbler out of the hammer and out of the lock plate."