1851 field strip problem...

[bdhutier]

So I've taken the lovely Navy out several times, and had no problem with her... until now.

Here's my cleaning/maintenance regimen first: warm water/soap wash, hand dry, thorough soak with Rem-oil for water I missed, wipedown w/oil cloth to remove excess oil. I apply a small amount of Lubriplate to the grooves on the centerpiece the cylinder rotates on (don't know the name) as well as the hammer base and hand, or whatever it's called. Then I store until next time. She's fully oiled, but nothing in excess, just surface.

So this last time, we fired around 5-6 cylinders with no problem. When I tried to strip it for cleaning, the barrel just would not come off!! The wedge pin pushed out nicely as usual. I even took it all the way off, thinking it was binding the barrel somehow. I finally got the barrel off by leveraging a brass rod back and forth between the breech and the cylinder for about 3-5 mins. I inspected the end of the center piece to see if there was any deformation or mushrooming that was grabbing the barrel, but found none. All appears flush and true. I double-checked the female portion of the barrel for oil, thinking it may have been a vacuum, but there was only surface oil.

Just to be sure, after she was clean and reassembled, I went to strip her down again. Same issue. I left her complete, and wanted to check with you guys before I man-handle her too much and screw something up. Any advice?

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

After you push the wedge clear, set the cylinder so that the web between the chambers is under the rammer. Then ease the rammer down until the rammer head is on the web. Apply pressure on the lever until the barrel and frame separate. :thumbsup:

 

[crockett]

You are assuming the cleaning process and the barrel binding are inter-related. That might not be true, it could be something else. Maybe things have gotten out of line and the recoil is jamming up the barrel. Is the cylinder indexing properly?

I have a Navy 51 that I bought as a kid and have shot it a bit over 40 years. After a heavy shooting at the range I'll take down the gun and give everything a hot water/soap scrub/bath and then I put the parts on a pizza pan and stick it in the oven set on warm- about 140 degrees for a few minutes (5-7) to dry everything. I then rub down all the parts with an oily rag but I don't really soak the parts in oil. Maybe you have too much oil and the oil is picking up and holding grit and causing a problem.
Assuming you get the gun apart look for any burrs, etc that might be causing a sticking problem. Next time you shoot, take a dry rag and remove the oil from the metal parts and shoot a couple of rounds and see if the gun still jams. If so then at least the problem isn't the cleaning or oil.

 

[crockett]

Some more thoughts. The wedge screw, it's hole often goes through the frame and a bur could have been created in drilling the hole. Check out that area.

A slight tap on the ramrod to free the barrel from the cylinder pin is okay.

The wedge might not fit correctly and be contacting and raising a bur on the slot of the pin. This bur could be causing the sticking.

Some cylinder pins may have a stamp mark, the metal surrounding the stamp mark could be raised.

The two small alignment pins at the bottom of the frame- and their matching holes in the barrel- could be clogged with gunk.

Before the barrel seats into these two small pins, try rotating the barrel on the cylinder pin, the pin might be bent or have a bump from improper machining.

Check the edges around the slot in the cylinder pin, if there are any raised areas- maybe that's the problem.

I haven't heard about fouling getting inside the hole in the barrel, into which the cylinder pin fits but use a flashlight and examine that area as well.

 

[Zonie]

bdhutier

Do as Russ suggested.
By using the ram to "Jack off the barrel" its removal will be very simple and straight forward.

After you have the barrel removed look at the thru slot in the cylinder arbor.
The Italians don't seem to recognize the importance of deburring and removing sharp edges so the edges of this slot are almost always left razor sharp. Razor sharp edges are very easy to "ding" making tiny burrs that can keep close fitting parts from coming apart easily.

Use either a small file or a piece of 280 grit black wet/dry sandpaper and sand off all of the sharp edges so they are nice and dull.
Be sure to clean off all of the grit that comes off of the sandpaper, then lightly oil and reassemble your pistol.

I think that after doing this your problems will all disappear.

 

[bdhutier]

Ok, I just tried it out about 10 mins ago, and using the ram worked great. The barrel slid off until the last 1/4" or so, then just stopped. I rotated it around, and once upside down, the barrel popped off with just a little force. Not sure what that was all about. Looks like I'm narrowed down to the end of the pin.

 

[crockett]

Just a guess but the last 1/4" is near the end of the slot in the cylinder pin. Could have a bur, etc from the machining of the area.

 

[brubincam]

-----not supposed to come out the whole way-----

 

[bdhutier]

-----not supposed to come out the whole way-----

The barrel's not supposed to come off the whole way??? Then how would one swap cylinders, or accomplish a full after-action cleaning?

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

I think he means the wedge. You shouldn't have to completely remove the wedge each time you clean the revolver.

 

[bdhutier]

Oh, I normally don't remove it. I did that time, hoping it was binding the barrel on the C-Pin.

Sorry, rubincam... misunderstood you!

 

[brubincam]

-----I'm sorry wasn't very clear in my answer-----