Hawes 1851 kit- who made it?

[StewartLeach]

My first experience with black powder revolvers is not going so well. I was given a kit to build up an 1851 Colt repro, a kit marketed by Hawes. No instructions, and four screws are missing, as is the front sight. The kit was a gift from an elderly member of our club who had seen me shooting the lefty full stock Hawken flinter. The box was well worn.

Does anyone know who manufactured the kits for Hawes? Checking the web for 1851 parts, it appears to make a difference, at least for the screw sets.

Simple problems like loose fit of the loading lever catch in the barrel and extremely tight wedge fit I can deal with, but I'm having trouble with the relationship between the cam on the side of the hammer and the arm on the cylinder bolt. Is it correct that when cocking the cam must start below the arm to pull the bolt nose down, then the arm drops off the cam so spring pressure lifts the bolt back into engagement?

The cam does not get below the arm. Should I remove metal from the bottom of the arm? Or from the cam?

I'm not eager to buy a whole lot of parts for this pistol as it has a brass frame and is likely to shoot loose unless very light loads are used.

Thanks for any help you can give.

White Fox

 

[desi23]

At rest the cam will be below the arm of the locking bolt. As the hammer is cocked it will lift the arm lowering the bolt out of the cylinder notch. The arm will be beveled so that it will reach a release point allowing it to snap off the cam and re-engage the bolt and cylinder. When the hammer falls the cam should slide past the arm pushing it aside until it is again below the arm and ready to lift it again. Normally all adjustments are made by beveling the arm. Locking bolts are a lot easier to replace than the cam if you go to far.