The wedge on open top Colts...

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C Younger said:
I did the same test on my Pietta and was surprised to find that there wasn’t room for a washer. Since I got back into bp revolvers, I’d read from most sources that the Pietta was the poorest in fit and function of the two major Italian manufacturers. I can’t confirm this as I’ve been so happy with my Pietta’s that I’ve had no reason to try Uberti.
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Nothing wrong with Pietta's fit or function out of the box. Of course there's always room for improvement. I've owned a lot more Pietta's than Uberti's. Uberti is a little better but Pietta is the best bang for the buck. The main thing I have against Pietta is they're so big compare to originals and those big fat grips.
 
45 Dragoon said:
C Younger, you are a good man sir!!! And thanks for checking !! If it had failed that test, you may in fact have had a "one inna million" (or whatever the no. is !! Lol). Any way, the .060" is probably fairly close, better to make one thicker and thin as needed. I have some spacers that I try to use first (some that didn't "quite" make the grade so to speak) and use them as I can they run .093", .083", .144" and .122". As Jackrabbit1957 says, there isn't any standard. AND you won't really "know" what you need unless you drive the wedge in and check the "clearance" each time you adjust.

On another forum that caters more to cowboy shooting, the topic of "thumb pressure" came up. So I did a little experiment with my own Dragoons. Sure enough, if you just use thumb pressure and measure the clearance and then drive the wedge in with more force (like Colts instructions say) . . . guess what? Yup, it closes down !!! So, bottom line, to have the SAME revolver each time you reassemble a Colts open top style revolver, it needs to be driven in so that it will impart "tension". That " tension " removes the clearance of the arbor/arbor hole fit (it's there or you wouldn't be able to insert the arbor) . . . something you're not strong enough to do with your thumb (I don't care who ya are!! Lol!!). So that's the how and why and "why" it's good to know about.

Thanks for putting up with me CY and thanks for the input Jackrabbit!!

Mike
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I think I understand what you mean by imparting tension, and when assembled properly, there is A LOT of tension. I got to thinking about how that wedge was so tight with a space in front of the arbor. If I just place the barrel on the arbor and press the frame and barrel together by hand, the tightest barrel/cylinder gap I can achieve is about 0.03” and it doesn’t close much more with a wedge that’s installed using only thumb pressure. It’s not until the wedge is tapped into place that things really tighten up. It’s as if everything has to flex, even if very slightly, to allow the barrel to move closer to the cylinder.

I checked out the Cimarron video you mentioned above. It seems that if you follow his advise and tap the wedge back toward the screw, you’d have two parts that are loosely held together and would be more subject to the possibility of peening as they rattle around while being fired. It also made me chuckle when he referred to the barrel/cylinder gap as “head space”.
 
45 Dragoon said:
Welllllllllllllllllllllllllllll . . . that's "somewhat" debatable (lol) ( maybe "functional" lol!!). (Hey Hawgie , Cap !!)

Mike
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Hey, Hawg, Mike!
Mike, I didn't say it was gonna work like one of my Goonerized beauties...just that it would work! Hell, if Pietta built a gun like you do they'd have to charge 1500 buck for it. (and it would be worth it, too!)
 
45 Dragoon said:
Well, the difference between the 2 companies is way more than "arbor length ". Pietta's arbors of the last dozen yrs (+ or -) are fine but the action parts are of '70's type but of modern make (MIM). They're sort of a " one trick pony " because everything is off the same basic frame. No pocket pistols, no horse pistols.
On the other hand, Uberti is the lone maker of pocket pistols and horse pistols. Their action parts are probably the finest ever put in an open top or Remington platform (Sam woulda had a fit for um !!!). They are cut steel (no MIM), accurate dimensionally across the board and pretty accurate with revolver contours. Don't let a short arbor keep you from the finest revolvers of these type (and the only in a couple of cases). The arbor fix is an easy fix.

Mike
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I didn’t know about the differences in their innards, maybe I’ll give Uberti a try one of these days. It used to be that there was a substantial price difference between the two, but the gap is closing.
 
Hey Dicky!
Hey CY! Hawg, Cap !! Lol

CY, you are right about the video!!
Now I'll say, if you're shooting loads that just get the ball/bullet out the barrel, you may get away with short arbors but if you like shooting max loads or heavier loads, the life expectancy of your revolver will depend on the "tollerance stack" of the individual revolver. With a corrected arbor, you can shoot max loads in a Walker (and any smaller open tops) from now on!!! So, it's definitely worth taking the time to address the barrel/cylinder clearance . . . even on a new Pietta. On a Pietta, you only need to dress the arbor down to your preffered clearance.

Cap! Thanks for the shout !!! (Check's inna mail!! Lol)

Mike
 
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