My LeMat finally bit the dust ! !

[LeMat1856]

.
. sep 11 / 00:11am


wednesday marked the end of year 1 and only 2 months into year two of its "life".. offically, i took ownership july 3, 2008, but didn't actually have all the fixin's for a day at the range until august 22, 2008 (i kept my first target as a momento)..

since then i've fired about 500-600 rounds through the .44 cylinder and maybe 50-60 through the smoothbore all well within the mfg's powder recommendations using FFF and FF respectivly.. always cleaned after every use with bp solvents, soap and water, and lubed with synthetic oils afterwards.

while getting ready for my monthly shoot i did the usual checklist of preparation: powder, lead, caps, etc., and gave the lemat a thorough inspection.. while rotating the cylinder i noticed the "click" that comes from the hand as it moves along the notches wasn't there.. worse still was the fact that the cylinder would rotate 360 degrees left *and* right.... somethin' ain't right with this picture.. so, out comes the mini flashlight...

sure enough i could see the hand but no hand spring. then using tweezers i started fishing around in the action area and pulled out a thin flat piece of metal - the spring itself. woe is me, the scourge of pietta's cheapness strikes again ! will cabela save me or am i cursed to "go fish" in the parts department of VTI...?

i took a deep breath and dialed their 1-800 number and asked to speak to a product specialist.. keep in mind, there is *no offical* warranty for these, just their good will on a case by case basis..

trust me, i laid it on thick - "...i love cabela, this was my first purchase from them because they are soooo great, i always recommend their stuff, i still even have the original receipt, etc., etc." it worked.

christi then said the three most beautiful words i've ever heard - "send it back." then warned me that they were a little behind in stocking these so i might have to wait a week or two.. and even offered to send some other item (ummm, now's my chance to get a pedersoli howdah....), but once you've had a lemat, there's nothing else like it.. i'll take my chances and wait.

so, i'm starting the countdown - 7 days for u.p.s. ground, then 1-2 weeks for restocking, then another 7 days return shipping.. just in time for xmas, if i'm lucky..

the moral of the story is listen to the nssa guys when they tell you "... lemats don't last; you should kasenit the internal parts; keep some spare parts on hand, etc., etc." some people just don't heed good advice and need to learn things the hard way.. well, i'm all the wiser now.

...to be continued.

~d~

ps. did i ever mention how great cabela's is ?

 

[jordanka16]

Good story, this has convinced me to order a few extra hands and springs for my remmie, because when it's not working is when i'll want to shoot it most.

I'm also a little curious as to how the spring broke, because it sounds like it was put away working, and then didn't work when you wanted to shoot.

 

[LeMat1856]

.
. sep 11 / 03:10am


sorry, i didn't want to bog this down with all the details, but basically, while doing the inspection i always turn the cylinder several times and check the hammer at position 1 and 2 (fully cocked)..

wednesday i did the same and noticed that the sound seemed to change while going through the first few revolutions.. at first i just thought it was my imagination but went back and did several more revolutions and the sound kept getting fainter and fainter.. i then changed the angle of the muzzle from straight up to sideways to downwards and again it was noticably faint then there was a "ping" sound - not a click.. after that, neither ping nor click just a silent revolution without any resistance.. that's when my heart sank and i knew something wasn't right..

from there i started taking the barrel and cylinder off completely for a visual to see if there was anything obvious, reassembled everything without any improvement and finally did the last disassembly finding the spring..

you can't actually see the hand or spring without taking the barrel and cylinder off.

does that make more sense ?

~d~

 

[jordanka16]

does that make more sense?

Yes, thank you! :thumbsup:

I was only curious as to how the spring would go about breaking, if it was just worn, maybe too much recoil and bumping against things, your post really helped clarify things.

The only LeMats i've seen have been pictures, and I hadn't even heard of them until I joined this forum, so I was just trying to learn more about them. I just find the mechanisms of revolvers fascinating, they've barely changed in more than 150 years.

 

[Mike Brooks]

Broken hand springs are common on all C&B revolvers, certainly nothing to be returning a gun over. I have had more broken hand springs on Uberti guns than I have Pieta.

 

[LeMat1856]

.
. sep 11 / 06:30am

I just find the mechanisms of revolvers fascinating, they've barely changed in more than 150 years.

jordanka16 - have i got the book for you ! ! !

i too have a fascination for the workings of revolvers and one day found a mint used copy of "antique firearms: assembly and disassembly" by david chicoine.. in it he has compiled a chronological collection of 46 revolvers (plus over a dozen rifles and shotguns) each accompanied with real life pictures of their parts and an easy to follow narrative of how to take them apart.. there's also a chapter about tools, techniques and tips.

the collection begins with colt paterson and replicas, goes on to walker, more colts (1848-62), then single action, derringers, lemats, then remingtons, rugers, sharps, s&w's, and stuff i've never even heard of.. the list runs from 1847 to 1917 pistols, 1891 to 1894 rifles, and 1883 to 1897 shotguns.. the only negative about the book is that all the photography is in black and white.. i suppose it would cost too much otherwise, but i still think it was worth the $10 or $15 it cost on www. alibris. com - check it out.

~d~

 

[blafen]

Flat springs can be made easily from old hacksaw blades, do a quick google search on spring making and you should find all the info you need.

 

[the Black Spot]

we made hand springs out of flat bobby pins for our 1860's, 61's, and 51's.
also the metal black strapping that goes around large pallets and crates works well also.
(they make great trap tags as well).

 

[wulf]

I agree. I have made many many springs from that
black strapping.But,,it is a good idea to test it
first as some is not "springable". What do I know?

 

[DanChamberlain]

I wouldn't automatically blame Pietta. I mean, there has to be a reason the LeMat is a footnote in arms making history, and I've had to replace 2 trigger return springs on Ubertis and a main spring on an ASM.

Dan

 

[talon]

The springs on most replica revolvers no matter what make are cast steel. I have made many hand, & trigger return springs from recoil starter springs from lawn mowers, weed eaters, & boat motors. Each one is a different thickness, & have different widths.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

The springs on every replica revolver that I have seen are stamped from flat spring stock. The delicate hand spring is usually the weakest of all.

 

[Leatherbark]

Made several hand springs from bobbie pins... Tally revolvers are actually discounted in the fact that if they made it as reliable as a Ruger it would probably cost three times as much.

 

[brubincam]

-----made springs from the spring that returns the pull cord on lawn mowers-----

 

[madcratebuilder]

The springs on every replica revolver that I have seen are stamped from flat spring stock. The delicate hand spring is usually the weakest of all.

+1
I make flat springs from feeler gauge sets. I must have a dozen or so sets I have picked up at garage sales for $1 each. You get a great selection in thickness.

If you have a open top that has a hand spring problem convert it to the Ruger plunger and coil spring, problem solved.

 

[Maverick3855]

Broken hand springs are common on all C&B revolvers, certainly nothing to be returning a gun over. I have had more broken hand springs on Uberti guns than I have Pieta.

I'm with ya man! My Uberti springs break as often as Pietta or Colt. If I break a hand spring I usually buy the whole hand assembly and usually a half a dozen at a time as it's just a matter of time. I can't count how many trigger, hand and hammer springs I have replaced over the years.
Surprisingly I have actually broken 2 springs in my Ruger old Army.
It's not a matter of "if" but "when".

 

[whitedog333]

I was talking to a fellow antique arms collector years ago at a gun show while I was cycling the cylinder of an original 1851 navy by slowly pulling the hammer back and listening to it's definitive 4 clicks. I remarked how clear and crisp it was after over 140 years. He told me "you know, they'll only do that just so many times". right after that, the cylinder stop spring broke. Yep, they'll only do that just so many times. My good friend died of a heart attack four days later, but I've never forgotten his sage words of wisdom.

 

[LeMat1856]

.
. nov 16 / 10:50pm

"after over 140 years" - wow.

they really don't make 'em like they used to..

sadly, my story gets even better: i'm still waiting for the replacement...... any day now.

nonetheless, you must have some very generous friends to actually let you just touch one of that age much less cycle it.. you don't suppose the spring had anything to do with.... nah, that's just a coincidence.

if my lemat was 140 years old i'd keep it no matter which spring broke, but you see, i actually used it less than once per month over a 12 month period.. that's not age, that's cheap.. though if i'd known it was going to take over two months for a replacement, i'd have kept it and just bought several more springs and done the job myself.. live and learn.

~d~

 

[whitedog333]

It was my 1851 Colt Navy, so he wasn't upset, just amused. Interesting thing though, you could see where the cylinder had been replaced after blowing up with another long ago by the serial number. The barrel lug where it meets the frame had been punched with a tool five times on the face to make five dots in a row and a new guide pin had been slipped into the face of the frame where it meets the barrel lug and the loose pin tightened into the redrilled hole that'd been oversized after drilling the old broken one out, by another tool being applied all around the pin on the frame face to pinch the metal back into place and hold the pin tight. There was a little damage to the barrel lug there that'd been reformed carefully by someone who knew what they were doing. after selling it, I remember where I'd seen that marking before with the firve punches in a row. It was on an 1842 musket that I owned years ago that had the same set of five punches under the barrel forward of the bolster and an identical set of punches in the stock next to the marks on the barrel. I was told later that the Confederates had armories that used these markings on the weapons that they repaired and put back into the field. The punches were for tracking the work that went on there. They only used the several series of punches 3, 4, 5, etc.so that the Yankees, upon capturing the firearms wouldn't know where these armories were and send an army in to destroy or capture them. I've seen as many as seven punches used. Whoever bought the pistol from the guy I sold it to hasn't a clue that it was a confederate navy. I'm sick about it myself!

 

[David Teague]

I just order in a new hand & spring and fit it to match the broken one.

Oh, and I'm taking a 61 Uberti Navy with a few thousand rounds though it.

DT