-
Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.
We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.
Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103
Search results
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
-
B
Dragoon cylinder gap
>> "....but is excessive ( .027 in a 60 recently) ...). One of my cylinders was this bad. I made a 0.020" spacer ring to go behind the cylinder. No timing issues. Everything still spins and locks when it should. Barrel and the active cylinder aligned coaxially so there's no up or down tipping... -
B
Dragoon cylinder gap
>> "This is why I like Uberti open-top revolvers and fitting Pietta length cylinders (unmentionables) to them ...." Ok, I was wondering if you could swap parts between Uberti and Pietta. Even if a little machine work was involved. Thanks! -Don -
B
Dragoon cylinder gap
I'm a bit reluctant to do that, at least not yet, because it would seem to require that I "shorten the gun" from where it is now. Either by shaving the barrel or frame where they meet at the bottom. I'm assuming that needs to be done with great precision. And this is one of those 1980's... -
B
Dragoon cylinder gap
Good question. Mine has a steel frame, not brass. If I made brass shims instead, it might be possible to measure the "flattening out" of the shim after a few heavy loads, as an experiment. I would rather see the shim wear out instead of the frame, and just periodically drop in a new shim. I had... -
B
Cylinder Indexing
Good info! I enjoy learning these sorts of nitty-gritty details. So you're cutting a slight dovetail into the high side of the bolt? Do you need to cut a matching dove into the cylinder or just leave it straight? It sounds a bit like the mild dovetails cut into synchros and dogs to keep... -
B
Cylinder Indexing
In all my revolvers there is a small amount of rotational "wiggle" that is considered normal. This has been explained as a consequence of some necessary clearance between the bolt and the corresponding notches in the cylinder. Makes sense if the sides of the bolt and notches are all parallel... -
B
Dragoon cylinder gap
The motivation for all this was to be able to swap cylinders, where each cylinder's length can vary slightly. So I decided to leave the frame/barrel as-is, since it already seems to have enough space to accommodate the longest cylinder I have, and make up any differences using shims that partner... -
B
Dragoon cylinder gap
Shim is 303 SS. Drops onto the rear of the cylinder with 2-3 thou clearance, and does not interfere with the hand. OD was a bit of a compromise ... I wanted the outer diameter to be at least as large as the ring on the frame, but this would have caught the hammer when it closed. So had to reduce... -
B
Dragoon cylinder gap
I haven’t fired it since the rework, but the shim is just a thin steel washer. I imagine it should be fine. My gap wasn’t as large as yours so I didn’t do anything that cut into the frame or barrel other than to lightly surface the cone face. With a gap of .027 I’d probably use a .022 shim... -
B
Dragoon cylinder gap
Update ... spare cylinder arrived. Uberti. Plugged right into this 1980's Colt. Everything spins and locks as it should. Cylinder gap was different as expected ... I made a new shim to go behind the cylinder and now it's spot on. So I'm getting the impression that certain parts CAN interchange... -
B
Dragoon cylinder gap
Mike, Pretty slick job on that skeletonized frame. I like it! BTW, I took your advice on the arbor and made up a plug to drop into the arbor hole. I must admit, it's a lot more convenient than fiddling with the feeler gage. -Don -
B
Dry firing
So what does one do with a chunk of scrap aluminum? Well, make a dummy cylinder for dry firing of course! Actually, just an excuse to fiddle with some new tooling. "Fred in the shed", as they say ... far more dangerous with a lathe than with any gun :) -
B
Tap and Die Set
“When tapping, keep it SQUARE - no wobble! …”. Absolutely. I’ve messed up lots of threads by getting in a hurry and not keeping things lined up straight. Nowadays I keep the workpiece clamped in the same jig for both the drilling and tapping operations- borne2fly
- Post #40
- Forum: The Gun Builder's Bench
-
B
Dragoon cylinder gap
I have a spare cylinder on the way and I’m told it probably won’t fit anything this old. Has anyone here tried swapping newer cylinders into pre-2000 guns? -
B
Dragoon cylinder gap
I see. Got it. Looks like a good solid fix. Thanks! -
B
Dragoon cylinder gap
I thought about doing that too, but this was a good excuse to dig out the tool post grinder. That thing’s been collecting dust for too many years. -
B
Dragoon cylinder gap
So something like a 1/2” washer set into the arbor hole? -
B
Dragoon cylinder gap
How is the nipple height set? Should the hammer close on the nipple with maybe 1 or 2 thou clearance? Or should it actually hit it? And how does this work with a little bit of endshake? I originally had to put shims under the nipples to get the hammer to fire the caps at all, and that doesn't... -
B
Dragoon cylinder gap
Mike, I'll do that eventually. Either a spacer or set screw tapped into the end of the arbor. So far the feeler seems to set the gap pretty consistently and the wedge appears to hold it all together quite well. I'm guessing the arbor will lose it's light press fit over time, and that's when I'll...