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Action cover installed on my 1851 Navy .36

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Ballshooter

Ballshooter

50 Cal.
Joined
Jan 20, 2021
Messages
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Location
Washougal, Wa.
My Son did this for me and even cleaned it up after yesterday's shoot. He did very well and it seems to work well too. No worries now about a cap falling down into the action 😁 can't wait to test it out. I showed him a few pictures I got off here of an action cover and he said that looks easy enough. Very happy with his handy work.
 

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Ballshooter said:
My Son did this for me and even cleaned it up after yesterday's shoot. He did very well and it seems to work well too. No worries now about a cap falling down into the action 😁 can't wait to test it out. I showed him a few pictures I got off here of an action cover and he said that looks easy enough. Very happy with his handy work.
Click to expand...
You've got a cottage industry there! If you offer them to the public, you'll make money; try to patent and sell to a mfgr.; there's pitfalls regarding being sued, etc. Not to be negative but maybe you can sell drawings or something, just cover your self. Brilliant! Good thinking!
 
My son used a 9mm case cut the rim off then cut it right down the length of the case. Annealed it, then flattened and curled the ends drilled and slotted the hammer with a 3/32 bit. The 9mm case was perfect just a little trimming and done.
 
Ballshooter said:
My son used a 9mm case cut the rim off then cut it right down the length of the case. Annealed it, then flattened and curled the ends drilled and slotted the hammer with a 3/32 bit. The 9mm case was perfect just a little trimming and done.
Click to expand...
That was a great idea! It is probably a bit stiffer than mine. I just had some .010 thick brass sheet I purchased on Amazon. Not sure what size drill I used. I drilled the hole then used some of my trusty Swiss files to make a slot into the hole. Then rolled one end like a roll pin and drove that into the hole. Then I took a pin punch and punched both sides of the brass in the hole to spread it so it’s tight on both ends. A little trial and error to figure where to curl the end and I’m good to go. Now I’m working on a cap post and fixing the cylinder gap(1862 pocket police) and hopefully I’ll be good to go. Your son did a great job! He should start a business!
 
1stnamebassist said:
I did mine too! Now I’ll just add grease when I finish everything else! View attachment 238142
Click to expand...
I like this mod and have been considering adding it to my revolvers but thinking back since my first percussion revolver over 5 decades ago I can't remember ever having a cap drop into the action and tie up a gun.
I've had them come loose and jamb against the recoil shield many times for a bit but that was easily cleared.
Fouling would be kept out better I would think but then again I've never had action fouling tie up a gun before and as I always break them down for a thorough cleaning after each use it seems a solution in search of an issue for me.
I'm still not comfortable about the hole and slot cut on the front of the hammer body though. Looks like a dandy spot for a stress crack to get started over time and usage .
A cap rake sounds like a reasonable idea but don't you loose the ability to use the safe pins on the cylinder? I have diamond file relieved the burrs on the safe pin notch in the hammer face and this pretty much eliminates cap sucking and safe pin use is still available..
Things to be considered before changes that cannot be easily reversed for the average shooter.
 
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M. De Land said:
I like this mod and have been considering adding it to my revolvers but thinking back since my first percussion revolver over 5 decades ago I can't remember ever having a cap drop into the action and tie up a gun.
I've had them come loose and jamb against the recoil shield many times for a bit but that was easily cleared.
I'm still not comfortable about the hole and slot cut on the front of the hammer body though. Looks like a dandy spot for a stress crack to get started over time and usage .
A cap rake sounds like a reasonable idea but don't you loose the ability to use the safe pins on the cylinder! I have diamond file relieved the burrs on the safe pin notch in the hammer face and this pretty much eliminates cap sucking and safe pin use is still available..
Click to expand...
I don’t think it will weaken the hammer and cause cracking. There is no pressure exerted on the action cover, it’s completely passive. The hammer steel is pretty rugged and not hardened at all that I could see, at least in that area. The hole is very small. And no the cap rake still keeps the ability to use the safety pins. You don’t fill the hammer slot at all, you actually deepen it and lengthen it and has no effect at all on the pins. The gun I did this on is the 1862 Colt pocket police. That one and the 1849 are notorious for pulling and dropping caps into the action. They can be so bad that one gentleman I read would take one shot, the gun would jam up, he would take it apart clean it out, reassemble, take another shot, jam up again, take it apart etc… I don’t have that kind of patience! I did those mods, plus slixshot nipples and haven’t even fired it yet. I have not found really anybody that has not has issues with those particular guns so I am kind of “nipping it in the bud”as folks used to say! If your gun is working don’t bother, although the action cover is still nice for keeping all kinds of debris out of your action.
 
M. De Land said:
I like this mod and have been considering adding it to my revolvers but thinking back since my first percussion revolver over 5 decades ago I can't remember ever having a cap drop into the action and tie up a gun.
I've had them come loose and jamb against the recoil shield many times for a bit but that was easily cleared.
Fouling would be kept out better I would think but then again I've never had action fouling tie up a gun before and as I always break them down for a thorough cleaning after each use it seems a solution in search of an issue for me.
I'm still not comfortable about the hole and slot cut on the front of the hammer body though. Looks like a dandy spot for a stress crack to get started over time and usage .
A cap rake sounds like a reasonable idea but don't you loose the ability to use the safe pins on the cylinder? I have diamond file relieved the burrs on the safe pin notch in the hammer face and this pretty much eliminates cap sucking and safe pin use is still available..
Things to be considered before changes that cannot be easily reversed for the average shooter.
Click to expand...
I have to wonder about the case depth on these hammers that can be drilled with a high speed bit. Good case hardening requires a carbide usually although the coated bits will do some times.
 
M. De Land said:
I have to wonder about the case depth on these hammers that can be drilled with a high speed bit. Good case hardening requires a carbide usually although the coated bits will do some times.
Click to expand...
Are they really casehardened? It drilled pretty easy although I may have used a titanium coated drill. Still a coated drill doesn’t like hardened steel. Considering that the screws on these guns are not hardened it wouldn’t surprise me if the hammer isn’t hardened at all, and just a fake case hardened finish.
 
The hammers aren't case hardened, they are somewhat through hardened ( easy to drill. I use cobalt in the shop). The hole in the hammer is for the "roll pin" end of the shield. The hole also would be what keeps a Crack from forming (it's what stops a Crack when one exists in metal).

The cap post is screwed in and then fitted to the existing slot in the hammer face so safety features are maintained.
The shield does an excellent job of keeping fouling, cap fragments, debris and such out of the action. Been using them for years! Cowboy shooters love um.

Mike
 
45D said:
The hammers aren't case hardened, they are somewhat through hardened ( easy to drill. I use cobalt in the shop). The hole in the hammer is for the "roll pin" end of the shield. The hole also would be what keeps a Crack from forming (it's what stops a Crack when one exists in metal).

The cap post is screwed in and then fitted to the existing slot in the hammer face so safety features are maintained.
The shield does an excellent job of keeping fouling, cap fragments, debris and such out of the action. Been using them for years! Cowboy shooters love um.

Mike
Click to expand...
So Mike let me ask you something! The screws in the percussion guns are obviously soft. But to your knowledge do they have enough carbon to be hardened with a propane torch, and if so is it to be oil or water quenched? And how you doing?!
 
45D said:
The hammers aren't case hardened, they are somewhat through hardened ( easy to drill. I use cobalt in the shop). The hole in the hammer is for the "roll pin" end of the shield. The hole also would be what keeps a Crack from forming (it's what stops a Crack when one exists in metal).

The cap post is screwed in and then fitted to the existing slot in the hammer face so safety features are maintained.
The shield does an excellent job of keeping fouling, cap fragments, debris and such out of the action. Been using them for years! Cowboy shooters love um.

Mike
Click to expand...
Well the hole stopping a crack is some what optimistic , especally when I've noted a string of them in metal, plastic and glass attempting to stop a crack. The hole by itself would never be an issue but the cut into the top of the hole for the shield purchase troubles me. A man made crack start !
Thanks for the knowledge of the rake not interfering with the safe pin use, I've not made that mod so am learning something new and useful. I think I'll stick to the deburred pin slot in the hammer face for now as it seems to have eliminated the cap sucking trouble.
 
1stnamebassist said:
So Mike let me ask you something! The screws in the percussion guns are obviously soft. But to your knowledge do they have enough carbon to be hardened with a propane torch, and if so is it to be oil or water quenched? And how you doing?!
Click to expand...

Hey buddy!! Meant to write you last night. The screws can be hardened slightly, wedges can be hardened pretty good if quenched in water (mine hold up well with what I put them through!!)
The screws in revolvers I receive are usually upset some to "Holy Cow" (except for new of course) so I heat treat them (quenched in oil, water would be better but know that they can crack. I can't/won't source screws I crack so oil it is!!) and then "clean them up" ( yes, new ones too), polish them and then fire blue them. The "fire blued screws" have become a sort of "trademark" thing so that's always done except for 2nd Gen Colt's and then it's an option ( since they're really collectibles). My personal revolvers have maintained their shape and color for the most part . . . ditto for any that have been back for upgrades.

I am great !!!! Thanks for asking!!!

Mike
 
1stnamebassist said:
Are they really casehardened? It drilled pretty easy although I may have used a titanium coated drill. Still a coated drill doesn’t like hardened steel. Considering that the screws on these guns are not hardened it wouldn’t surprise me if the hammer isn’t hardened at all, and just a fake case hardened finish.
Click to expand...
That very well could be just show case hardening but they would have to be some what hardened to hold any kind of a sear edge. All original hammers were case hardened in charcoal. Stevens used cyanide case hardening but that looks totally different than charcoal case.
I case harden various gun parts in charcoal and believe me they come out of the quench tank harder than Chinese arithmetic for depth of about not over .005 but the core remains soft.
The screws in these reproduction guns are at least as hard as the ones I buy and use from Brownells for scope blocks and receiver sights. Ill fitting driver bits is what chews them up and makes them seem overly soft.
What I've used many times to save original screws is to forge the head out and close the slot then use a slotting saw in the mill to recut the slot. I then spin the screw in a drill motor to clean up the dome and rust blue them.
 
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