Keeping Walker cylinder turning freely

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Everybody WANTS to have "the" one but they are what they are!! The ONLY ones "correct" are the very first ones ( '62) reproduced but 99% of all reproductions aren't right!!
I guess mine made in 1962 must be correct, even if I can't find a manufactures mark and all the serial numbers match.
Edit: The only problem mine had was the loading lever would shoot loose, I corrected that by heating the spring, a little reshaping, quenching and tempering (heat treating) and it works the last time I shot it.
 
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If it's right, there's no problem. What's the "endshake" measurement? (wedge driven in all the way (till it stops moving)).
 
I wonder if the wedge is hitting the retainer screw? Maybe try taking out the retainer screw and tapping the wedge in and see if the barrel/cylinder gap changes.
 
I wonder if the wedge is hitting the retainer screw? Maybe try taking out the retainer screw and tapping the wedge in and see if the barrel/cylinder gap changes.
After having a conversation with @45D and reading about using a mallet to seat the wedge, I checked the retainer screw which had some clearance, I used a small brass hammer and tapped the wedge, which did move in and that reduced the endshake to 0.001 and the barrel to cylinder gap to zero. When I first seated the wedge I used a plastic handle of one of my screw drivers and didn't hit it very hard.
Makes me a happy camper. Now if the weather cooperates tomorrow, I will fire a couple of cylinders through it to see if I can still hit the side of a barn, as I haven't shot it in 10-15 years.
 
Endshake IS the barrel/cylinder gap. I think we're having a confusion of terms here. If the endshake is, in fact zero, the arbor needs shimming.

Barrel/cylinder GAP is the amount of space between the cylinder face and the forcing cone when the cylinder is manually pushed forward. It usually is achieved by use of a bushing.

Endshake is the measured space between the cylinder face and forcing cone with the cylinder pulled to the rear-minus the "GAP" measurement. It's the actual amount of fore and aft movement of the cylinder.

Since there IS no measurable "GAP" with the cylinder pushed forward on an open-top revolver that has NO bushing, the "GAP" measurement is zero.
Therefore, the ONLY measurement you can measure "technically" ( so there's no confusion) is with the cylinder pulled to the rear, which is Endshake.

The "forcing cone" end of the barrel offers a nice bearing surface with its thickness of material.

Mike
 
And on top of everything else the arbor is still short. With a properly fitted arbor that barrel/cylinder gap should not have changed.
 
Thanks, Mike. All I know is endshake, never paid attention to GAP since it's not something that needs adjusting on these pistols.

D Yager - If the wedge bottoms and endshake stays at .001", that tells me the arbor has bottomed in the well.
 
Once again if it moved or closed the gap it;s real good guess the arbor is still short. Try shimming the arbor and see if anything changes.
 
Once again if it moved or closed the gap it;s real good guess the arbor is still short. Try shimming the arbor and see if anything changes.
Easy enough to do - cut a little circle from a cereal box or yogurt container, drop it in the well and see what happens.
 
Barrel/cylinder GAP is the amount of space between the cylinder face and the forcing cone when the cylinder is manually pushed forward. It usually is achieved by use of a bushing.

Endshake is the measured space between the cylinder face and forcing cone with the cylinder pulled to the rear-minus the "GAP" measurement. It's the actual amount of fore and aft movement of the cylinder.

Since there IS no measurable "GAP" with the cylinder pushed forward on an open-top revolver that has NO bushing, the "GAP" measurement is zero.
Therefore, the ONLY measurement you can measure "technically" ( so there's no confusion) is with the cylinder pulled to the rear, which is Endshake.

The "forcing cone" end of the barrel offers a nice bearing surface with its thickness of material.

Mike
No it's not, end shake and barrel cylinder gap are two separate measurements and tolerance standards that are often confused and used interchangeably. End shake is the bushing tolerance ,if present, at the end of the cylinder against the frame. Barrel cylinder gap is between cylinder face and barrel breech face not the forcing cone which is the funnel cut in the barrels breech face. Typical factory established end shake when there is a bushing is .001 max and barrel cylinder gap is usually factory adjusted to .004 and above. Recent factory new percussion guns have been showing up with tighter barrel cylinder gaps I have noticed.
Since open frame guns don't use a bushing the term barrel cylinder gap is the correct term.
 
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No it's not, end shake and barrel cylinder gap are two separate measurements and tolerance standards that are often confused and used interchangeably.
Yes it is, and I gave how to measure BOTH measurements!! You can't read!!


End shake is the bushing tolerance ,if present, at the end of the cylinder against the frame.
No it's not! It's the amout of movement front to back of the cylinder MINUS the amount of GAP established by a bushing if there IS one!!
Since open frame guns don't use a bushing the term barrel cylinder gap is the correct term.
They aren't OPEN FRAME guns . . (that actually makes absolutely no sense!!)
Since open frame guns don't use a bushing the term barrel cylinder gap is the correct term.
Thus sayeth M DeLand.
(No, it really isn't).
 
I will take a shot at this and happy to have 45D or D Yager correct me (Mr De Land no)

In my world of machinery it would be called Endplay. Very critical on an engine for the crank for it to have some end play but not too much (its been so long since I did one but also believe the Cam).

Open top its going to move back and forth just like a crank does. Typical for a crank would be .005 (probably a bit more, some are fixed and some specs give a range, .007 would be the outer limit). But yea, you got to push the crank to the back, get your feeler gauge on it and then pry it to the front.

So, as long as you have a frame (aka Arbor is your friend here) then the End shake or end play is going to be related to the Arbor fit and the frame below it where the pins set in the rear frame which the two form the Open Top frame.

Pretty easy mental picture. The lower frame goes over the pins and comes up against the flat of the rear frame . Then if the Arbor is right, it all stops there. If the arbor is LONG then the barrel assembly will not butt up against the rear frame and you will have a gap.

If its short, as you drive the wedge in, you force the barrel frame back (rotates on the lower frame pin flat area) and the end play changes until the wedge is set.
 
You have it pretty well nailed. Arbor is corrected and the lower frame makes good solid contact at the lower pins then you have a good setup. You can set the barrel/cylinder gap after the arbor is corrected several ways just depends on preference. I've done it by removing material from the forcing cone area, and in some cases a light skim cut on the cylinder face especially when there was excessive runout between the cylinder and the breech area.
 
I will fire a couple of cylinders through it to see if I can still hit the side of a barn, as I haven't shot it in 10-15 years.
Well I spent most of the morning looking through 3 black powder range boxes looking for everything needed to load and fire the Walker. Not much actually a tin of RWS 1075+ caps, a caper, flask with fffg Goex (its set to 40gr powder and 450 or 454 round balls. That is where I ran into a problem (no balls) in the range boxes, although the flask has 7 400 balls in it, so if I can't find more I will have to cast some.
I did cap all chambers to see if they would fire and they did, slick as could be. Now there is a glacier between my stand and our deck which extends to the garage where my targets and casting equipment are located. I think I will wait till I can get there without breaking my neck.
32 yards to the target stand & the deck. Picture taken in better conditions.
100_2346.JPG
If everything goes well I'm allowed to have the Snickers bar.
Walker & flask capper.JPG
:)
 
Hey!! I like the Walker flask!!
You know how to adjust it im sure!! They're cool!!
 

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