Excellent ideas. I had thought of trying Swiss, if I can locate some. Also next week I'll be trying a lubed felt over powder wad...some posts seem to suggest that helps. After the last cylinder and as I was taking it apart it seemed almost as if most of the binding was at the rear of cylinder, not the front. In addition to the lubed wads I'm going to completely degrease the arbor and use straight olive oil front to back.
The screw only holds the washer in place, and was locked using high strength Loctite 638 retaining compound. I then filed the screw head in a rounded pattern that resembles the end of the arbor hole inside the barrel. The washer is a rather thick split washer. I determined the overall thickness needed by using the screw by itself (I know I called it a "set screw" but it's really a flat head, 10-32 stainless steel fastener) and backing it out progressively until I could no longer mate the barrel to the frame, then used that as a reference for total length. So after using this thick washer, the fastener and locking it in place, it actually does measure out to be right at the bottom of the arbor hole. To seat the wedge now I have to tap the barrel in place with a mallet and with the wedge spring tip "just" on the outside of the barrel, it gaps at .007"
So after reading your post, I took the photo, then tapped the wedge in as far as it would go. At that point I couldn't get a .004" feeler gauge in the gap (my set's thinnest leaf is unfortunately .004"). It still cocks and rotates freely at that wedge setting. Perhaps I can try that setting next week as well. Pic of my arbor setup:
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No, not cap fragments. I know I should try some substitutes but for now I'm hung up on this notion of only using black powder. Back in the late 80's me and a friend of mine were using Pyrodex P. I had a Lyman copy of the Remington New Model Army and he was using a Dixie imported Rogers & Spencer repro.
After a cylinder full using the same measure I use for black, my revolver stopped locking up and the cylinder just free spun. I looked closer and the barrel/cylinder gap was an 1/8"! The load I was using had actually stretched the frame forward. We looked at his R&S and the portion of the barrel that protrudes into the frame just ahead of the cylinder had rather obvious crack in it.
It's also possible the alloy we were using for our cast round balls had too much tin (I have long since never used anything but pure lead for anything to do with black powder) but the combination of the two destroyed the guns we were shooting that day, and from that day forward I've only used pure lead alloy and black powder. I know I could use pure lead and reduce my replica powder charge weight but it's just an authenticity thing I guess
Happy birthday!