1860 colt army fowling bad then locking after 6 rounds

[huntman58]

Okay shot it to day and back out the wedge made it some better. I do believe the biggest part fowling up and jamming is the front of the base pin. When it fowled up I could hardly even get the cylinder off from it jamming on that area. now would it be okay to turn it down a bit by polishing it up more and also reliving the front a tinny bit what ya all think

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Before you might do something you can't undo, have you used wheelbearing grease on the grooves for the cylinder pin ? I grease mine up really well. The cylinder sort of 'floats' on the grease. The grooves on the cylinder pin should be loaded with grease.
Next I would check the frame itself. Take the revolver apart and check for clearence for the pawl hand inside the recoil shield. That is what rotates the cylinder. I grease that up pretty well also to keep fouling from binding it up. Then check the hammer at the point it rotates and make sure it is lubed also.
Check the cylinder lock and make sure fouling hasn't held that up or retarded it's function.
Last I would check the springs and make sure they are tight and perform the way they are supposed to. If the revolver is really old and has seen a lot of use, you might consider changing the trigger/cylinder lock spring. Good places to look again and don't cost a thing. The grease I use is Sta-lube just for your info.
After you clean the revolver up, use a feeler gauge to check the clearences for the cylinder and forcing cone for each chamber. If you have a high spot, mark it with chalk or something so you can go back to it. Take care of the high spot with a stone. Check the timing, rotation and lock-up of the cylinder. Look for excessive and abnormal drag marks on the cylinder. You might need to swap out the cylinder lock. If you did, I would still change springs to go with the new part.
When you go to the range, before you load check the clearence again at the cylinder face. When the weapon locks up again take note of the cylinder position and mark it with nail polish or something like that, Dye-chem, crayon, anything. Pull the weapon apart and give it a quick clean job on the cylinder face and forcing cone. Check the wedge and mark that as well so it get returned to the same position. Start over and see if it happens again at the same spot.
Check to see what is in the fouling also and try to eliminate that in your loading process if possible. It might be something so simple, but so frustrating. It might even be something as simple as changing the powder to a different granulation. :thumbsup:
Don't give up.

 

[huntman58]

Well most of what has been stated has been done. From wheel bearing grease to no grease. What I did find is normal black powder fowling and the only place it seams to jam things up is at the very front of the cylinder pin. It gets so bad it is very very hard to remove the cylinder to even clean the gun. Other then that every thing is free and in tip top shape. When the gun is clean every thing is right on spot. When shot every thing is moving and in time with good action. But when it starts with in to chambers its over. the gun runs really good to about chamber 8 then starts getting tight and by two more you have to really really help it to move by hand ( not fun knowing there are some live chamber yet :cursing: !) at that point I stopped shooting and tock it apart and that is when I could hardly get the cylinder off . Now once I broke the fowling free at the front of the pin I could work it off by rolling it back and forth as I pulled on it forward. Once off trying to put it back on I had to do almost the same as getting it off just not as bad. it really seams to me that the fowling is getting in the front of the cylinder and pin then jamming it and what I need to do is block the fowling from getting there or find away to make the fit a lot looser . Again I am almost to the point of saying good buy as it is becoming not so fun and all my old pistol smithing ideas and what I have so far gathered here are not doing it yet. A good single shot is sounding better and better!

 

[rebel727]

How much wedge have you got sticking out opposite the screw? Mine is just a tiny hair past flush.

 

[huntman58]

How much wedge have you got sticking out opposite the screw? Mine is just a tiny hair past flush.

it is flat with it or even maybe a hair into the fram

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Good afternoon. It was sort of baffling to read you are still having trouble with the revolver. I have forgotten what type you said you have, 1851 or 1860/61, brass or steel frame. What brand is the thing? You might see if you can find out if this was a common problem from the manufacturer or the vendor. Maybe they carry a lifetime warranty on that model, or can repair/replace it for you at little or no cost.
The absolute last few things I would do would be to look at the inside curve of the hammer where it comes down into the back of the frame's recoil shield. Look to see if it is beaten up to the point where it begins to push the cylinder farther forward than it should when it strikes the percussion cap. If the cylinder is sticking in the same spot as before, check the length of the nipple for that chamber. It might be a bit longer than the rest which might cause the cylinder to be pushed forward slightly, and binding in the fouling when struck by the hammer.
The most drastic thing would be to alter the slot in the cylinder pin by just half a hair. You would have to be careful in doing this because of the locating pins on the bottom of the barrel assembly where they fit into the frame. You could very slightly lengthen the slot in the cylinder pin...toward the front/forward end of the revolver. Then shim the slot in the rear. Finish it with some careful filing. That might give you enough clearence between the front of the cylinder and the forcing cone.
If all that fails my friend, then the single shot pistol would indeed be a good option.
Don't give up just yet. :thumbsup:

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

What an idiot I am... 1860 model. It says so in the headline for the tread. I need some coffee... :rotf:

 

[huntman58]

To funny. Yes it is an 1860 and the jamming is not chamber related at all as I have marked each time it did this the chamber just fired and it moves around all six of them. the area at the front of the cylinder pin behind the wedge slot is were the jam happens other then that this thing is a great gun so I think I will polish the areas behind the wedge pin slot to the grooving on the cylinder pin some more and give it a new run. I just do not know how to quite and that is why I got into pistol smithing years ago. The trouble shooting and then fixing but this has been the most frustrating gun for me to date. Maybe I am just looking for a reason to get a single shot but I will not give up yet!!!!!

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Good morning. If you can find one, the Thompson Center Patriot pistol is a fine piece of equipment. I like them so much I have two. :thumbsup:
I don't think you would quit on that revolver. Just knowing some simple machine got the best of me would nag at me for years.