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The Tibbey Wetless Combuster
Copyright 2015 - Stephen Redgwell


Ben Tibbey (He looks like Johnny Depp!)

Flintlocks were marvelous inventions and very technologically advanced for their time. Every device had its flaws however, and the flintlock was no exception.

For those not familiar with how a flintlock operates, when the trigger is pulled, it allows the hammer to move forward. The hammer holds a piece of flint which strikes a metal plate – called a frizzen – and produces sparks. The sparks fall into a pan underneath that contains gunpowder. It ignites, and the burning powder goes through a hole at the rear of the barrel, igniting the powder inside. BANG!



There were two or three problems with this system. In no particular order, the powder in the pan could become wet, or at least get damp. The flint might not spark. Moving the rifle around might cause powder in the pan to fall out, and there wouldn’t be anything for the flint to ignite.

Freethinker and sometimes Kentucky inventor Benjamin K. Tibbey designed an enclosed system that sealed the chamber against inclement weather and rough handling. It first blush, people suggested that the Tibbey Wetless Combuster was a forerunner of the cartridge loading rifle.

Later BP cartridge guns shared some characteristics similar to Tibbey’s Wetless Combuster. The trouble was, while Ben Tibbey was known locally as a sometimes inventor, he was also known as a ‘really bad’ sometimes inventor.

The following is the most infamous example.

One of Ben’s bad inventions was the Tibbey Apple Corer. It was a simple machine - a spinning drill bit, mounted to a table. The operator’s foot spun a flat piece of wood to which the bit was attached and caused it to rotate. While boring out the core was smart, the execution was poor. The operator had to hold the apple in the palm of their hand and push the apple onto the rotating bit.

Needless to say, most of the corers had accidents. All were women, and became known as Tibbey’s maidens. No man wanted to marry a woman with only one good hand.

But what of Tibbey’s contribution to the firearms world?


Tibbey Wetless Combuster - Action

Method of operation: When the trigger was pulled, a hammer was released, impacting on the flint striker. The striker traveled forward, inside the threaded bolt body, on a spring. The tip of the striker came into contact with a metal perforated screen, producing sparks. The sparks traveled through the perforations and ignited black powder on the other side.

The strikers typically lasted for about five shots. As a result, the bolt would have to be replaced. This was done using a special wrench. The shooter unscrewed a hex nut, which held the bolt in the rear of the barrel.

There were other problems.

1. The holes in the perforated screen would become plugged with ash, or unburnt powder.
2. Strikers would break unexpectedly.
3. The hex nut wrenches were lost.

In all, it was a very inefficient system that went the way of the Dodo. Tibbey tried unsuccessfully to sue the manufacturers of several early bolt action rifles. He died at the age of 51, killed by a spinster who had worked for him some years earlier, coring apples. He was struck in the heart with a rusty bit from a Tibbey Apple Corer. The fatal blow was delivered using the woman’s good hand.

And now you know the best of the story!