Replacing the wedge spring on a Colt

[BatBoy]

The Wedge Spring on my Replica Arms (Pietta) Griswold and and Gunnison is broken. While it doesn’t hurt the function of the gun, it still bothers me.

I tried one of my newer Pietta spare wedges and it’s way too narrow.

Has anyone replaced a spring on a Wedge before?

It looks like the spring is secured to the wedge with rivet. Surprisingly, I couldn’t find a single article or video on the topic.

 

[Stantheman86]

I'd fill it in with JB Weld and cold blue it, and make it a proper springless wedge like most Confederate revolvers actually had

 

[M. De Land]

The Wedge Spring on my Replica Arms (Pietta) Griswold and and Gunnison is broken. While it doesn’t hurt the function of the gun, it still bothers me.

I tried one of my newer Pietta spare wedges and it’s way too narrow.

Has anyone replaced a spring on a Wedge before?

It looks like the spring is secured to the wedge with rivet. Surprisingly, I couldn’t find a single article or video on the topic.

I make my own wedges of tool steel and never have replaced with a wedge spring. I don't really see any need for one if the wedge is fit correctly to arbor and barrel slots. The idea of it is to keep it in place (spring tension on the off side) and not work out while shooting and to keep the wedge from falling out when pulled to take the barrel off for cleaning. Mine have not worked out while shooting and I cut a blind end on the spring troth that the keep screw in the barrel engages to keep it from falling out while cleaning.
The original wedges with the spring are held in with a simple rivet as you have stated and would be a simple matter to drill out and replace.

 

[BatBoy]

I'd fill it in with JB Weld and cold blue it, and make it a proper springless wedge like most Confederate revolvers actually had

Very good point. I never thought to look at an original wedge.

After looking at a several original Griswold and Gunnison revolvers, they have no spring. I’m going to just remove what is left of the spring, weld up the rivet hole and file smooth. Then touch up with cold blue.

 

[M. De Land]

Very good point. I never thought to look at an original wedge.

After looking at a several original Griswold and Gunnison revolvers, they have no spring. I’m going to just remove what is left of the spring, weld up the rivet hole and file smooth. Then touch up with cold blue.

You'll need to reharden it if you weld on it.

 

[B P Arn]

I have replaced a wedge spring by making a new rivet out of a finishing nail. I chucked the nail in a drill press and held a file against it until it was a nice, tight fit. Then re-assembled and flattened the rivet.

 

[BatBoy]

You'll need to reharden it if you weld on it.

I was thinking or “typing” out loud. I’ll more than likely I’ll leave it alone after removing what is left of the spring.

 

[Stantheman86]

Very good point. I never thought to look at an original wedge.

After looking at a several original Griswold and Gunnison revolvers, they have no spring. I’m going to just remove what is left of the spring, weld up the rivet hole and file smooth. Then touch up with cold blue.

I just like that "spring less" look the Confederate gunmakers used

There has to be an easy way to fill in and blend it to look like a solid wedge

 

[Stantheman86]

I was thinking or “typing” out loud. I’ll more than likely I’ll leave it alone after removing what is left of the spring.

I'm actually going to remove the springs on two of the wedges for my .36 Brassers, to make the wedge easier to pop in and out because I use extra cylinders in them . It will look clean if I can get that rivet out or snap them off and file the rough part.

I'm sure the Colts and Confederate revolvers had a few wedge springs broken off in the field while guys were cleaning the guns, think of it as character from hard use

 

[Stantheman86]

I like the look, I wish I had the skills to make the wedges look like that

 

[rdavidson]

I just learned something new. Did not realize that Confederate revolvers were made without the wedge spring. The few originals that I have seen I just assumed that they had been broken off. Absolutely love all the tidbits of information that I pick up from this forum.

 

[Stantheman86]

I just learned something new. Did not realize that Confederate revolvers were made without the wedge spring. The few originals that I have seen I just assumed that they had been broken off. Absolutely love all the tidbits of information that I pick up from this forum.

I'm guessing it was because they are not really needed, and the gunmakers needed every available opportunity to save time and materials.

They could just make and fit a simple wedge rather than riveting a spring into it

 

[BatBoy]

I like the look, I wish I had the skills to make the wedges look like

A friend of mine is buying a mini mill. This would be a great first project. If the wedge needs to be hardened, that’s easy enough.

I’ve considered antiquing my Griswold, but I’m on the fence. This would be one of the things I would do; along with removing the roll marks on the barrel and changing the grip angle.

I need to find a cheap 1851 brasser to experiment on. I have been on the look out, I also want to practice installing a cap rake.

 

[Stantheman86]

A friend of mine is buying a mini mill. This would be a great first project. If the wedge needs to be hardened, that’s easy enough.

I’ve considered antiquing my Griswold, but I’m on the fence. This would be one of the things I would do; along with removing the roll marks on the barrel and changing the grip angle.

I need to find a cheap 1851 brasser to experiment on. I have been on the look out, I also want to practice installing a cap rake.

I love to play around with the cheap Piettas , to the limit of my skills and do "defarbs" and make them look field worn. My pair of Schneider & Glassicks are neat, I'm not brave enough to try to remove the Pietta billboard yet on the barrel because I'm afraid I'll screw it up and have a big dished out area on the sides of the barrel or it will look uneven on the flats.

I did buy a set of stamping dies and I might put the 4 numbers on the side of the frame or a state property mark like some had. Putting CS on them , over the proof stamps would look cool but isn't really HC. I may still do it, this is why I love $200 brassers.

 

[M. De Land]

A friend of mine is buying a mini mill. This would be a great first project. If the wedge needs to be hardened, that’s easy enough.

I’ve considered antiquing my Griswold, but I’m on the fence. This would be one of the things I would do; along with removing the roll marks on the barrel and changing the grip angle.

I need to find a cheap 1851 brasser to experiment on. I have been on the look out, I also want to practice installing a cap rake.

Hardening and drawing the temper depends on the steel alloy used. If plain carbon steel or O-1 it is pretty simple if A-2 or other exotics it is fairly complicated an tough to judge the heat by color and will require a pyrometer-ed oven to do correctly .

 

[BatBoy]

Hardening and drawing the temper depends on the steel alloy used. If plain carbon steel or O-1 it is pretty simple if A-2 or other exotics it is fairly complicated an tough to judge the heat by color and will require a pyrometer-ed oven to do correctly .

I’ve made and heat treated my own receivers for AKs. I really doubt I’ll use anything exotic.

 

[M. De Land]

I’ve made and heat treated my own receivers for AKs. I really doubt I’ll use anything exotic.

I should mention the radial troth cut in the no spring wedge is the same shape as the keep screw head for clearance when withdrawn. The blind end keeps it from falling out. One could not fill the troth with epoxy and withdraw the wedge. I suspect the same wold be true if the spring was removed from the original wedge.

 

[Stantheman86]

I should mention the radial troth cut in the no spring wedge is the same shape as the keep screw head for clearance when withdrawn. The blind end keeps it from falling out. One could not fill the troth with epoxy and withdraw the wedge. I suspect the same wold be true if the spring was removed from the original wedge.

I would remove the screw by the wedge and just leave the hole empty

I was just looking at pics of Griswolds online, some have a wedge spring, some don't. The spring wedges may be later repro replacements that someone fitted in recent years to complete a gun , or Colt wedges that were fitted by someone who kept using the gun after the war . Some are springless. All of them have a screw at the left side of the wedge slot probably as a "set"' screw for the wedge but it is missing on half the guns in the pics. It was probably lost at some point in the life of the gun or just removed and discarded because it made putting the wedge in harder, who knows. I'd imagine these parts got lost in field use a lot.

Half of the auctions for Confederate revolvers tell you that the wedge is a "later replacement" so apparently something was happening to all these wedges.

Letters home from soldiers talk about things like taking revolvers apart and pouring a canteen over them to clean the gun so it could be reloaded , I'd imagine some wedges got dropped or fell out , or repaired by armorers with whatever could be fitted, a lot of guys probably banged wedges out with rocks or pieces of metal and it buggered them up over years of use. An 1860 Colt that's in the Gettysburg museaum has lots of gouges in the metal by the wedge like someone used a sharp object over and over to remove the wedge, guys weren't always careful with guns.

Like almost all the Confederate Colt copies, the variations differed from gun to gun , maybe they used springs earlier on and deleted them to speed production of the wedges. We'll never know, all we have are the few surviving examples.

 

[45D]

Actually, the sole purpose of the spring is to retain the wedge intact with the revolver (so as not to be lost). It has absolutely no influence as to maintaining the position of the wedge . . . friction does that ( when it is driven in as per instructions).

As far as replacing / retaining the spring in a revolver that isn't a true "replica" of the original (unless you're correcting the "issues" ) that, is an individual decision. I always liked the "springless" versions myself. But, I do take advantage of the spring as an "insurance policy" for the ammo that I shoot in my revolvers. I "relocate" the spring to the other end and cut it short so that it "springs up" behind the head of the wedge screw which "insures" that the wedge CAN'T work loose while firing ( to date, it has worked perfectly and no "over pressure" issues have ever presented themselves i.e. stretching, metal movement, alignment issues).

Wedge inserted.

Wedge screw tightened which pushes the spring down.

Wedge fully driven in and spring "trapped" behind the wedge screw. It's a "captured wedge".


Mike

 

[poker]

I like that fast action screw Mike