colt diamondback disassembly

[janobles14]

i was asked to hot blue a friend's colt diamondback. it has a good bit of surface rust due to what amounts to neglect. i obviously need to remove all of the internals but am a bit unsure about how to go about it. i have taken down revolvers in the past but this one just looks different on the inside. if it were some junker i wouldnt really worry about it but it is a diamondback after all.

is this a feasible operation for me to do? do i need special tools to remove the crane and yoke (it looks as i might). has anyone done a diamondback or python or similar and can give me guidance here?

thanks guys!

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Get Jerry Kuhnhausen's "The Colt Double Action Revolvers, A Shop Manual, Vol 1".

It shows how to take one apart.

As a Diamondback owner, I can only say you are a better man then I to take on reblueing and full disassembly of one. It is way beyond my comfort and skill level which is my my Diamondback went back to the factory for work.

Good luck and be careful in there.

 

[MMCSRET]

I would recommend you send it to Colt for your customer. It takes some special tooling to pull the working parts out of the cylinder/crane assembly and the parts are easily damaged. The lock work in the frame is easy to remove and reinstall but all in all; a better job can be done by Colt and their shop rates are very reasonable.

 

[janobles14]

the more i look at it the more i am thinking i will give it back to him to have someone take apart. ill still do the bluing and leave myself out of the mechanical side of it.

 

[rcmodel]

That sounds like a good plan.
Complete dissembly of those older Colts is not to be taken lightly.
The cyl/crane assembly comes out of the frame quite easly if you loosen the retainer screw on the front right side enough to release the crane.

But like MMCSRET said, the cyl/crane assembly, once out of the frame, was never intended to be taken apart without using brute force.

And maybe having a spare parts bin close at hand too.

rc