Frizzen Frustration!!!!

[Razor62]

So here I am in the final stages of my canoe gun build. I was trying to brown my lock parts today at work in between non-stop phone calls, customers and questions of all sorts from my employees. I'm working with a left hand Queen Anne style lock from L&R. The process that I was using was to apply Brownels rust bluing solution to the parts and allow to rust in my makeshift damp box. Then dry the parts, card the loose rust away using an ultra fine wire wheel at roughly 900 RPM and repeat. I was on the last run with my frizzen when the wire wheel snatched it from my hand and sent it to the concrete floor at my feet. I was shocked and quite upset to realize that the frizzen had broken in two. The wheel may have added some force to the impact but it was by no means violent. The frizzen had hit the floor with only slightly more force than it would have had I merely dropped it. The fracture occurred at the right angle point where the striking surface meets the pan cover. My question for those who've been around these guns for awhile is this...
Is this what I should expect to have happened under the circumstances or is it more likely that my frizzen wasn't tempered properly in the first place and was simply too brittle? Honestly, I feel as though it would have broken under the force of the cock striking it based upon how little force was required to break it.
I've already ordered a replacement but from what I can tell it won't be ready to install but rather in the rough and untempered. I may even have to locate and drill the hole for the pivot screw. I was really hoping to have her finished this week and spend some time developing a load for the upcoming turkey season which starts in two weeks. 
Looks like those turkeys may have to wait.

[beowulf]

does seem a tad more brittle than it should be ! I`ve dropped frizzens , and even had rifles and fowlers fall over and wack the floor or a rock and never had one snap !

[flintboomer]

You might try to temporarily salvage the original one with JB weld, but if you do, consider it a temporary fix until you get the new one installed. If you choose to try it, add some extra at the back side for added strength. It will be ugly but it might be enough to get you through the next couple of weeks.

If the cock and rock are striking correctly a lot of the force is downward. I won't promise that it will work but is probably worth a try.

[William]

My thoughts are that the frizzen already had a microfracture in it and when it hit the floor you beat the odds by hitting it just right to propagate into a complete break all the way through.  You really can't tell if the metal had this already unless you use something like Magnaflux which will reveal cracks and such under fluorescent light.