Compared to past years, I've been having a run of luck in ref: busted springs and parts. Finally caught up to me as the hand spring on my Navy let go yesterday. The revolver would work if pointed downward but had no cylinder rotation on the level or if held upward. Knowing the nature of the beast, I had laid in a supply of critical parts.
Hands are generally supplied with the spring already clamped in. Breakage is so common when trying to put a new spring in the hand slot, that suppliers frequently only sell them as a unit. This means fitting a new hand whether you want to or not. The spare Uberti Hand which I got from Cimarron is generic between the 60 army and 61 Navy. I found that it was a full 1/10th inch over-long. The primary drill was to make the new hand look like the old hand and work without causing the cylinder to throw by or lock up- while allowing the hammer to come to full cock. I needed a caliper, household files, stones and fine grit sand paper to do the job.
After this, I managed to remove the broken spring stud from the original hand and replace it with a modified large curling bobbie pin. This is something that worked very well with an old Remington 58 replica and I may end up using it in a pinch.
Other parts that can break or wear down include eveything in the revolver.
The Bolts also come over sized and lacking the bevels seen in the picture. The key to all this is to take it slow with much reassembly and checking function. The other key to it is to be prepared for surprises.
Hands are generally supplied with the spring already clamped in. Breakage is so common when trying to put a new spring in the hand slot, that suppliers frequently only sell them as a unit. This means fitting a new hand whether you want to or not. The spare Uberti Hand which I got from Cimarron is generic between the 60 army and 61 Navy. I found that it was a full 1/10th inch over-long. The primary drill was to make the new hand look like the old hand and work without causing the cylinder to throw by or lock up- while allowing the hammer to come to full cock. I needed a caliper, household files, stones and fine grit sand paper to do the job.
After this, I managed to remove the broken spring stud from the original hand and replace it with a modified large curling bobbie pin. This is something that worked very well with an old Remington 58 replica and I may end up using it in a pinch.
Other parts that can break or wear down include eveything in the revolver.
The Bolts also come over sized and lacking the bevels seen in the picture. The key to all this is to take it slow with much reassembly and checking function. The other key to it is to be prepared for surprises.
