Making a wedge for the 1860

[Bad Karma]

Making a Wedge for the 1860​

These are the steps that were used to make a wedge for the Uberti 1860 Army Colt. Used O-1 tool steel, other tool steels would work just fine also. Starting with a rectangular piece of the dimensions 1.100" long by .562" wide by .200 thick. The center of the wedge screw measures .250 from the back edge of left hand slot. So that is where the 5/32 slot for the spring will be machined. And that will be machined on a 2 degree angle, so the spring will tend to angle upwards. Left side showing.

Next use a drill a Number 45 (.082) and about .080 from the left edge, drill thru hole.
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Use a 1/4 ball end mill and open slot up for head of screw clearance. But stop just short on the left side, leaving channel for snug fit on spring.

Till it looks like this.

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Now this side is done and we need to flip it over and machine the thickness. The slots in my frame are .140" thick, so around .136 thick will be fine. This does not need to fit snug as the slot in the arbor is a good .020 more in thickness. The wedge is not stopping the barrel from a spin motion. That is the job of the twin alignment pins. The wedge should not interfere with the pin alignment in any way.

After this flip the wedge front edge up and on a 2 degree angle. Why 2 degrees? Well my frame has slots .550 long on the left side and .525 0n the right side and being .755 thick this is 2 degrees. I take this as an indication that 2 degrees would be correct. Any less would be too difficult to fetch up correctly, any more takes away from the strength friction factor of the wedge staying put. My wedge ended up a width of .550 on the left side and .510 on the right side. Go slowly and checking to get proper fit, can be taken undersized very easily. Then debur and round edges.

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Heat up to orange red (Allis-Chalmers) and dip in oil for hardening.

Draw back to a gun metal blue color for about 54 rc

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So this is what we wind up with.

The spring has that upward angle that was wanted.

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New wedge stops just clearing right side.

And give plenty of room for wear if needed deeper.

And hooks on the screw on left side, but also allowing wedge to be pulled out to clear arbor for barrel removal. And stays hooked under screw. So the chance of losing the wedge is kept to a minimum. Well there are probably many other ways a wedge can be made, but this is showing one way. Measurements were proper for my handgun, others might be very different.

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This is very nice! Missed the whole dang thread and it’s a good one. (Note to self, check the forum DAILY!)

 

[shorthair]

Well I'll take a try in answering your question.

"Why not just buy one?"

I definitely understand what you're saying, time wise verses dollar cost would make a good reason to buy. But since nearly my entire life has been spent making products mainly out of metal for my employers, home maintenance use, and for friends. It has provided the income to buy my home, provide for my wife, put food on the table, and raise my children. Being able to make different projects has always been rewarding. By doing even these small jobs helps keep me sharp in the skills that were a gift. At my age I feel great to "roll my own". So why should I buy it when I can make just what I want. By no means was this post meant to be harmful to people that may not have the tools or the desire to do the same. I see skills all the time being displayed on this forum that are way above my skill level. And that mere fact makes fully realize that everybody has gifts and skills to match their own selves.

Not harmful or showing off but I am envious of your skill set.