Trying to understand this “short arbor” on Uberti revolvers

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OK, now it's starting to make sense. Heavier powder charge and bullet more recoil and possible movement of cylinder, barrel etc. Gotcha, and since my revolver has held up all these years , in my case it's not a big concern.
 
OK, now it's starting to make sense. Heavier powder charge and bullet more recoil and possible movement of cylinder, barrel etc. Gotcha, and since my revolver has held up all these years , in my case it's not a big concern.

Exactly. If it's OK with you then there's no problem. But at least now you know ( yer edgumacated!!).

Mike
 
Exactly. If it's OK with you then there's no problem. But at least now you know ( yer edgumacated!!).

Mike
Hi Mike I have my Col 2nd Gen 1851 Navy boxed up, i just have to get a box to fit it all in, and I will be shipping it on out to you.

And yes,.. to the other guys…so far i have had a Uberti Whitneyville Dragoon, and from what I saw..The arbor was short, my Colt 2nd Gen 1851 Navy is really bad…they dried the barrel out soo far that they actually broke through into the loading lever recess..Thats on its way to Mike for a Complete Fix, rebuild ,tuning, upgrade..(Make it actually work) service..

Of course there are variables ..my Colt 2nd Gen 3rd model Dragoon, is still short but is the closest I’ve seen so far.Ive made a shim of .010” that filled the gap…But these pistols I think should absolutely be fit, end to end

To get a Positive connection of the barrel to the frame, the barrel needs to have something to “Push” against…a wall…like the face of the arbor..not to rely on a Taperd arbor ,and a tight “For now” fitting wedge, and barrel lug.

If we can get the barrel lug, to have a nice solid connection, as well as the (Arbor too arbor bore fit) .then the wedge now has Support in itself..if your shoe fits correctly just about right up to your toe, then you will have the best course of mobility , by way of support

If you wear clown shoes, then imagine tripping up all over yourself.In the case of most of these pistols as it turns out.They are wearing size 13”s when they need an size 11
 
I just finally got my first Walker, as well as first a Uberti-Colt, and I have to say that Uberti did a really nice job in this pistol.The action is pretty smooth out of the box, there are no scrape marks on the sides of the hammer, the pistol seems well timed.The Wedge popped in and out very smoothly with two thumbs.

The wedge snaps in just far enough so that the wedge “Hook” just clears over the other side of the barrel.

She does of course have the “Short arbor, if you remove the Wedge stop screw, you can push the wedge in a bit more , witch will completley lock the gun up from cocking,as the barrel is rocking or pulling towards the cylinder

However this will be an easy fix, I’ll probally end up sending it to Goons, but she is nice.The most I have seen with quality control issues is the front trigger guard screw was loose, making it look like , there was a gap between the bottom of the frame and the trigger guard plate.Luckily it was just the screw not screwed in Al the way

I ended up repairing the short arbor on my Second Gen Colt 3Rd dragoon.That required a 0.015” shim, witch was hard to make because it was soo thin.I filed my finger tip down twice, making it
 

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After reading some of the earlier posts I realized some things should be answered... forgive me if these are already answered. Wedge fit should be a firm fit with a plastic or non marring hammer tapped in until it stops, of course the arbor length should be fixed. Barrel/cylinder gap ideally should be about .002 with a max of .004. When the arbor is correct you have the same pistol each time it's assembled. If the wedge is a loose fit the gun hammers itself into being looser and looser until it gets to the point of becoming a paperweight. The arbor fix is an easy one so why not do it and save a ton of work down the road. 45D has a theory that a short arbor causes a destructive harmonic to happen that shakes the gun apart. I happen to agree with him. It seems the bigger the gun, like Walkers and Dragoons the more intense the vibration and damage becomes. The fitted arbor helps lock everything together so it vibrates as a single piece. Hope this makes sense.
 
After reading some of the earlier posts I realized some things should be answered... forgive me if these are already answered. Wedge fit should be a firm fit with a plastic or non marring hammer tapped in until it stops, of course the arbor length should be fixed. Barrel/cylinder gap ideally should be about .002 with a max of .004. When the arbor is correct you have the same pistol each time it's assembled. If the wedge is a loose fit the gun hammers itself into being looser and looser until it gets to the point of becoming a paperweight. The arbor fix is an easy one so why not do it and save a ton of work down the road. 45D has a theory that a short arbor causes a destructive harmonic to happen that shakes the gun apart. I happen to agree with him. It seems the bigger the gun, like Walkers and Dragoons the more intense the vibration and damage becomes. The fitted arbor helps lock everything together so it vibrates as a single piece. Hope this makes sense.
Yes, I mean my Second Gen Colt Dragoon wedge seats and comes out with a firm push of two thumbs, i dont know how I would make it tighter other than fitting a new wedge
 
a very competent and experienced gunsmith recommended a #10 split (lock) washer for a short arbor correction.
My Uberti Dragoon was cured with a brass washer JB welded to the end of the arbor then filed to fit.
My Pietta revolvers do not have that problem.
That is my experience
Would it not possible to get a picture or two?

Thanks!
 
I bought an Pietta 1861 Navy, and it’s Arbour seems to be fit.The wedge only goes in soo far, and does not change the gap between cylinder face and forcing cone..maby by 0.001” but that’s it, as i think its normal for the wedge to squeeze the barrel on
 
I bought an Pietta 1861 Navy, and it’s Arbour seems to be fit.The wedge only goes in soo far, and does not change the gap between cylinder face and forcing cone..maby by 0.001” but that’s it, as i think its normal for the wedge to squeeze the barrel on
Not really, a smack with a hammer will change your mind as well as the measurement.
Even though it's a current Pietta, "thumb pressure" isn't enough.

Mike
 
Not really, a smack with a hammer will change your mind as well as the measurement.
Even though it's a current Pietta, "thumb pressure" isn't enough.

Mike
Whats going on Mike?

So I fixed my Second Gen Dragoon I made a shim, and adjusted the thickness until the wedge was able to go in again..as in if the spacer was too thick..then the wedge would not go in all the way so that the spring cleared the other side of the barrel.I filed the shim down until it did

And when the barrel is tested by installing the barrel with the lug off to the side, im exactly lined up with the frame now
Is that good?
 
Whats going on Mike?

So I fixed my Second Gen Dragoon I made a shim, and adjusted the thickness until the wedge was able to go in again..as in if the spacer was too thick..then the wedge would not go in all the way so that the spring cleared the other side of the barrel.I filed the shim down until it did

And when the barrel is tested by installing the barrel with the lug off to the side, im exactly lined up with the frame now
Is that good?
Hey Gino753!! 😃

I hear ya and that would be "proper procedure" . . . but only if you're "smacking" the wedge in when "test fitting". Just through enough for the "spring to clear" doesn't mean anything if it's not "driven in".
That's what's wrong with using "thumb pressure". "Thumb pressure" will never be a match for a good smack with a plastic hammer! NONE of my open-tops will go together with correct tolerances with "thumb pressure".
All that being said, what happens when you "smack" your wedge with a hammer? Probably goes in further . . . meaning your spacer is a little too thin.
I never ever "test" with the barrel assy "out of line". It'll lie every time 😁

Mike
 
Hey Gino753!! 😃

I hear ya and that would be "proper procedure" . . . but only if you're "smacking" the wedge in when "test fitting". Just through enough for the "spring to clear" doesn't mean anything if it's not "driven in".
That's what's wrong with using "thumb pressure". "Thumb pressure" will never be a match for a good smack with a plastic hammer! NONE of my open-tops will go together with correct tolerances with "thumb pressure".
All that being said, what happens when you "smack" your wedge with a hammer? Probably goes in further . . . meaning your spacer is a little too thin.
I never ever "test" with the barrel assy "out of line". It'll lie every time 😁

Mike
Yes so, it does go in a bit further, but the gap between the forcing come pretty much reduces by 0.001”

If i try and put a piece of notebook paper on top of the origional shim I just made, then I can’t get the wedge in up to the spring

At half cock I can get a 0.010”feeler gauge between, but if I tap it in until it really stops with my delrin mallet then the gap closes to 0.009”

So what i should have done, is made the spacer fat enough to allow the wedge to go in, just till the tip of it, lined up with the other side of the barrel?

Then i would have to use a Malloy to push it in the rest of the way untill the spring cleared?

Or file the sides of the wedge?

I mean I used some Oil , painted the face of the of the shim with it and put the gun together, and when I pulled the gun appart, the face of the arbor was imprinted with oil
 
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