Colt C&B dissassembly question

[NRAhab]

Okay, I understand that I'm treading dangerously on the grounds of stupid n00b questions here, but this has been driving me nuts.

I've got a Colt Navy revolver, and I know I'm supposed to remove that flat "pin" that holds the barrel to the frame. Here's the thing, is I don't know which way to push it out. I know that I may need to whack it; but for fear of damaging my gun I haven't yet tried.

For the life of me, there's no actual picture showing which way to drive the sucker.

So my question is if I am holding the pistol with the muzzle pointed downrange (so that the pin sticks out to the left, do I push the pin to the right, or to the left?

I really, really like this gun, and would like to be able to disassemble it for cleaning.

 

[crockett]

I'm not sure what you are talking about??? There is a wedge, or bar shaped piece of metal that holds the barrel to the cylinder pin. There is also a retaining screw that keeps the wedge in place if it works loose. You back off the retaining screw a bit and then knock the wedge on the opposite side, so that the wedge comes out on the side with the screw.
I usually strip down the entire gun everytime I shoot but folks tell me I am overdoing it and will cause more harm that good. Well I strip and re-assemble real careful like, in any event my 1851 is now 37 years old and still looks new. Shoots great. Like it a lot.

 

[NRAhab]

The wedge is the piece that I'm talking about.

It sticks out the left side of my pistol.

So, I back out the screw and then "whack" the wedge from the right out the left?

 

[Rebel]

Hit the small side of the wedge and drive it towards the side that is flattened out.

 

[NRAhab]

So, hit it from the right to drive it out the left, so the narrow (wedge) end comes free from the pistol, eh?

It's no wonder I shoot my Remington's more.

 

[biliff]

As others have said push the wedge from right to left. One note: You do not have to completely remove the wedge. The retaining screw will stop the wedge from coming completely off by catching on the lip of the small wedge retaining spring.
One helpful hint for removing the barrel if its a little tight is to rotate the cylinder so the rammer can rest on the metal between two chambers. Then just lower the rammer and push the barrel off.

 

[Homesteader]

I have a small tool that I use to pull the wedge out to the left, a lot like the claw on a hammer. This tool has a small hammer head for the first tap or two on the right side of the wedge (after loosening the screw), and then I can lever it free with very little effort. Don't know what it's called, or if it's PC, but I like it and have been using it since I bought my Colt army back in about 1979. The tip about using the loading lever to remove the barrel is a time tested and honored one, btw.

 

[crockett]

NRAhab: This operation is a piece of cake, you can use a small piece of wood, etc. Some guys leave the retaining screw out and then do a cylinder change in about 20 seconds. I don't recommend it but it is doable.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Colt wedges have one end that turns down and is thicker than the other end. Sometimes the wedges are put in backwards, which matters little for the use of the gun. Just remember to push the small end in to assemble and tap out the opposite direction.

 

[peashooterJoe]

A note of warning if you whack too hard with the screw in, you could shear the screw head off. I always back the screw out almost out. I've replaced several screws from someone hitting the wedge too hard. When reinstalling check to make sure that the wedge is not to tight and binding up cylinder.Look for daylight between cylinder and barrel, everyone has a different spot. Always remember right to left on colt wedges, Ole Sam Colt was backwards as my teacher once said.Walker was the one expection, thanks for pointing,( I read my post was editing).Don't forget to pick up a good screwdriver set, a few spare parts,like nipples,nipple wrench, screws, spare wedge,springs etc. These will make your shooting time more enjoyable, if you have to make a repair. I always make sure they fit and match the original before I oil and store them. I hope you enjoy the new sport and Welcome to the Dark side. PeashooterJoe.

 

[Veno]

The Walker wedges enter from the right (I mention this because I still have to stop and think everytime I take the Walker apart. My eyes tell me one thing, my brain another).

Colt designed the wedge screws also to act as a depth set for the wedge.

 

[crockett]

Since we have some Colt fans on this thread I am going to sort of sidestep a bit here so indulge me. I have heard that the hand is supposed to fit tightly in its slot. The reason for this is that the top of the hand starts rotating the cylinder but as the cylinder rotates and the hand continues upwards, the top of the hand slips off the teeth and then the side of the hand bears against the teeth and finished the cylinder rotation. If there is a loose fit in the hand's slot then the timing on that gun will never be precise.
Has anyone else heard about this and is this true or false?

 

[Veno]

Crockett, that is a good question. In his Colt book, R.L. Wilson shows pictures of some demo guns Sam Colt made that are cut-away to show the innards and how they work. I have a few gunsmithing books that I'll look through.