1860 Army Lever Broke: Can It Be Fixed?

[Dave Rosenthal]

Greetings to all of you Pistoleros out there! My Son's 1860 Army ramming lever snapped a tooth or two Sunday at the range during a Match . I haven't had the time to strip it down to examine it to ascertain the exact damage yet, but my friends at the range tell me to just go ahead and order a replacement rammer assembly and that it should fit. They say that the female end on the barrel rarely needs work done on it because the teeth are softer metal and so forth.

What do I do if the underside looks O-K? And what do I do if the underside looks chewed-up as the result of the mishap? Do I just clean it up and use it as a "wall-hanger", and buy another revolver instead of replacing both the rammer and the barrel? :shake: Never been in this position before, so any and ALL help would be sincerely appreciated!! Thanks in advance!!

This is my Son's gun, bought it for him as a gift last year. :surrender:

 

[mykeal]

Very unlikely the barrel assembly is damaged.

Buying a new loading lever is the solution to that part; as for the barrel assembly, it's impossible to say whether it can be fixed without seeing the damage, if any. Buying a new barrel assembly is the solution to that problem in most cases, however.

 

[Robert an saa fan]

Suggest you check with the company you bought the gun from and/or manufacturer. They might fix it at no charge or lower price than buying part from another source and possibly having to fit the lever.

 

[rleete1948]

Hi there is a sight that can help you there old frinds :thumbsup:[url] www.vtigunparts.com[/url] :grin:

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

This is a post for all of the responders: Thank you all so much! As I bought the gun used from a good friend, there is no warranty, and our friendship is worth more to me than a few parts. I inspected the barrel and found no apparent damage. I then ordered from VTI the entire loading lever assembly, including screws, spring, etc. This should solve the problem. I finished cleaning the revolver just a few short hours ago. The loading lever (old one) still hangs-up some due to some of the teeth in the lever being out of round, so I think the new lever should do the trick! :thumbsup:

Thanks again!

Dave

 

[oldwolf]

So, this thread brings up a question I have had pondered lately. Is the toothed (the updated Colt design) loading arm better than the older design (non toothed)?

It seems the teeth might be a weak spot. Am I right, or wrong, any opinions anyone?

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

I think that they might be regarded as a weak spot, only time will tell after I get the parts in from VTI and install them. I'll let everyone know what I find.

My Walker never even blinked with a lot of force on the lever. Ditto with the 3rd Model Dragoon and the 1858 Remington New Model Army.

Dave

 

[mykeal]

Never had one fail, toothed or otherwise. I don't use a great deal of force, so I've never considered it happening.

The only reason the tooted design would be weaker is if there was a manufacturing flaw, a defect such as a crack in the corner at the base of one of the teeth.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

The new loading lever came today! Hopefully I'll get the time tomorrow to drop-in the new part(s) and see if that does the trick!

Dave

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Tried dropping-in the new loading lever...The rammer won't even firt into the slot near the barrel without some sort of sanding first. I put it together and the same thing happened again yesterday at the range during a BP Shoot. So I gave the revolver to the League Chairman who's really good with tools. He just called me back today to tell me that he noticed that the underside of the barrel where the teeth go has some wear and he's going to use some engine epozy to try to do a fix without the need of replacing the entire barrel. Seems I couldn't see this even with my cheaters on. He's a gun builder so he knows what's needed. If this doesn't work, he thinks that I'll need a new barrel. I'll keep everyone posted with the results.

If anyone has any different ideas, now is the time.

Thanks,

Dave

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

The friend dropped-in the the lever after machining some meat off of it to make it fit. He also epoxy'd the underside of the barrel where the teeth go. Seems that's it's fixed! Will know for sure when we range test it on Sunday at the next BP League match...Stay tuned for more info!

Dave