TangoFoxtrot
Member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2010
- Messages
- 8
I picked up a Uberti replica of a Colt 1860 revolver about 5 years ago. It was a disappointment and not much fun to shoot. It would often take 2 or 3 hits from the hammer for the caps to ignite. Over the years I've tried different nipples, including Ampco and others trying to get a perfect fit. Nothing worked. I've tried wooden dowels, pushing with great force and with sweat pouring down my face trying to get those caps seated down as far down as possible. That helped more ignite on the first try, but sometimes half would still take a second strike before they would ignite. It was too frustrating to take this pistol the range much.
I got an old CVA copy of a Colt 1851 for comparison (I don't know who made it) and immediately noticed two things. It was much harder to cock the hammer and the caps ignite on the first strike. This pistol works.
I've explored the 1860 mainspring issue before to no avail as replacement parts were just duplicate failures, but now I had a working standard to compare to, so here is what I found:
On the left is the Uberti 1860 mainspring and on the right the CVA 1851. Notice the CVA is bent higher and it's also thicker at .056" compared to the Uberti at .046. It also looks like a much better quality piece of steel :
Here is the CVA 1851. Notice the spring sits right on the roller and that the hammer has a half circle cut just to the left:
On the Uberti 1860 the spring goes further in and the hammer lacks the nice half circle. I can't even swing the spring in and out like 1860 disassembly instructions show because it extends into the frame and blocks it (the picture does not show that very well) :
First I tried to install the CVA spring in the Uberti but it would not fit. Even though they appear to be the same length, the bend in the CVA spring prevents it from fitting in the Uberti. Not wanting to mess with a good spring I next bent the Uberti spring in a vise to match the CVA. Then I had to loosen the trigger guard screws before I got it in. It was actually worse now because it scraped the forward inside of the frame and slowed down the hammer more. It was just too long now.
So next I ground down the end of the Uberti spring to get it to fit. This is what it finally looked like:
But even with the same shape as the CVA spring it lacked it's spring power, probably because it is thinner. It was still not reliable igniting caps. So next I bent it back even further than the CVA spring.
For comparison, a new Uberti spring on the left and the extra bent and shortened Uberti spring on the right:
It's harder to cock the hammer now and the caps are igniting more reliably than before. I've only tried it twice and had 5 out of 6 and 6 out of 6 ignite, so this is hopeful, but what I think I really need is a heavier mainspring of better quality, more like what is on the 20 year old CVA pistol.
Are there any sources for a heavier main spring? I really want to make this pistol reliable and enjoyable to shoot.
I got an old CVA copy of a Colt 1851 for comparison (I don't know who made it) and immediately noticed two things. It was much harder to cock the hammer and the caps ignite on the first strike. This pistol works.
I've explored the 1860 mainspring issue before to no avail as replacement parts were just duplicate failures, but now I had a working standard to compare to, so here is what I found:
On the left is the Uberti 1860 mainspring and on the right the CVA 1851. Notice the CVA is bent higher and it's also thicker at .056" compared to the Uberti at .046. It also looks like a much better quality piece of steel :
Here is the CVA 1851. Notice the spring sits right on the roller and that the hammer has a half circle cut just to the left:
On the Uberti 1860 the spring goes further in and the hammer lacks the nice half circle. I can't even swing the spring in and out like 1860 disassembly instructions show because it extends into the frame and blocks it (the picture does not show that very well) :
First I tried to install the CVA spring in the Uberti but it would not fit. Even though they appear to be the same length, the bend in the CVA spring prevents it from fitting in the Uberti. Not wanting to mess with a good spring I next bent the Uberti spring in a vise to match the CVA. Then I had to loosen the trigger guard screws before I got it in. It was actually worse now because it scraped the forward inside of the frame and slowed down the hammer more. It was just too long now.
So next I ground down the end of the Uberti spring to get it to fit. This is what it finally looked like:
But even with the same shape as the CVA spring it lacked it's spring power, probably because it is thinner. It was still not reliable igniting caps. So next I bent it back even further than the CVA spring.
For comparison, a new Uberti spring on the left and the extra bent and shortened Uberti spring on the right:
It's harder to cock the hammer now and the caps are igniting more reliably than before. I've only tried it twice and had 5 out of 6 and 6 out of 6 ignite, so this is hopeful, but what I think I really need is a heavier mainspring of better quality, more like what is on the 20 year old CVA pistol.
Are there any sources for a heavier main spring? I really want to make this pistol reliable and enjoyable to shoot.