1851 Conversion Problem

One of my friends has this 38 Special conversion gun that he wanted me to take a look at. Here's the problem: the barrel wont come off the arbor. It goes to the end of the wedge slot and stops dead. Also, it won't twist on the arbor. Has anyone ever seen a gun like this before? It has absolutely no markings on it, not IT proof marks, nor Colt marks. Any help would be appreciated.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z182/tallship2/P1000293.jpg

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z182/tallship2/P1000292.jpg

It might be an old American Frontier Firearms (AFF) conversion.

Here's how I've gotten conversion barrels off with the same problem.

1. Put a piece of leather between the clinder and the barrel assembly below the arbor.
2. Open the loading gate and take a piece of hardwood and put it against the rear of the cylinder.
3. Whack the wood sharply with a plastic mallet. A couple of whacks and you'll have it off and you can polish up the arbor where it was binding.

By the way, AFF was the first commercial conversion company in the mid-1990s. They had Armi San Marcos make the parts, but they were assembled and finished here in the USA...probably why there are no proof marks.

Thanks, Duelist, that did the trick.

How do the AFF's compare to newer Uberti-made conversions? Are they more like the problematic ASM's? I'm mainly interested because they're the only ones that ever offered a Richards Type I conversion and I believe I've seen them on `61 Navies as well.

Might be better to just get a new Uberti `61 and have a gated conversion with ejector installed along with a relined barrel.

Dave Anderson, who owned AFF, really screened the ASM parts so he could build quality guns. Ultimately the cost of rejected parts is what drove him out of business.

I have one of the earliest Cimarron ASM made Richards '60 Army conversions. Mine was actually one of the prototypes, and it is a real shooter, But I think current Uberti conversions are higher quality.

Thanks Mike! :)

I wonder if the wedge is being driven into the end of the slot and peening it out making removal of the barrel difficult???