Help! Uberti SAA question/problem

[DonP]

I've got an 1873 Uberti Cattleman in .45 Colt that I was cleaning up.

The hammer had some rough spots that I could feel when I cocked it, so I decided to take it apart and check for rough finish, grit, etc. My ultimate goal is to try and get it as slick as my Cimmaron in .45. Same manufacturer, just a little slicker finish and handling.

When I took it apart (came apart very easily) the "hand" that rotates the cylinder is missing any kind of spring to hold it in the correct forward position in the frame ... and ... there was a small 1/4 inch long steel pin, about the size and diameter of a roll pin but solid steel, that fell out when I took out the hammer and the hand.

At first I thought it might be an alternative to the original leaf spring for the hand, sitting in a small detent on a spring to keep the hand in place, but there is no place for it to go that I can find?

So do I put the pin in a drawer and assume that some crazy Italian worker just dropped the ball and let some random pin fall in the works, or am I missing something? (Not the first time as my wife will promptly testify)

I've ordered a new hand spring from Brownell's but the small steel pin has me baffled.

As always guys, any and all help from Uberti/Cimmaron etc. DIY gunsmiths is appreciated.

Don

 

[rcmodel]

Some of the newer ones use a spring & plunger to push the hand.
Not a flat spring.

Sounds like you lost the coil spring, or it is still in the hole in the grip frame the plunger goes in.

Look again.

It goes in the same hole the top left grip frame screw goes in from the back.
I believe there is a plug screw in the hole to keep the spring & plunger from falling out the back of the frame when you take the frame screw out.

rc

 

[Lar1911]

Taylor has a gunsmith on hand full time in their Winchester facility.

Good question to ask them.

Taylor's & Co., Inc.
304 Lenoir Drive
Winchester, VA 22603

Phone: 540-722-2017
Fax: 540-722-2018

E-mail: [email protected]


http://www.taylorsfirearms.com/contact/

 

[rcmodel]

Taylers gunsmith is going to tell him pretty much the same thing I told him.

rc

 

[DonP]

Thanks guys

I looked all over the frame for an indent and coil spring that the "pin" might fit in.

Never thought to check the grip frame. I'll check it out tonight when I get home. Who knows, the little tiny coil spring might still be stuck in there.

Reminds me of working on assembling my ARs. Tiny parts and spring everywhere. All shooting across my kitchen table to Lord knows where, only to wind up rattling around in my vacuum cleaner later that week.

 

[robhof]

The Ruger single 6 has that same plunger spring combo for the hand and the spring usually stays in the hole, if you're lucky. I had one spring out when I separated the gripframe from the frame. It took hours to find as I wasn;t sure what I was looking for til I found it.

 

[BCRider]

If it stuck to the rear grip frame and then fell away good luck finding it. The darn spring is about 1/16 diameter and maybe 1/4 inch long.

The pin goes in the hole first and THEN the spring. So if the pin fell out and there's no spring to be seen then it's skipped town for the open road and you'll need a new spring.

 

[DonP]

Aha! Found it!

The little tiny hole, just a little above the grip screw hole, on the left side of the frame has a "jewelers" sized screw holding the spring and "plunger" in place once the hammer and hand are inserted.

When I removed the hammer and hand as a unit, the pin part fell out but the spring stayed in the hole. (Good thing I didn't use my air gun to blow out any grit or dust!)

The spring was still there (Wow, is it tiny but fairly strong - wouldn't find a replacement for that at Ace Hardware) and I couldn't see it because it was just long enough to stay in the hole.

The only reason it didn't fall out is the oil seemed to hold it in place. Just dumb luck I guess.

I guess I'll send the extra hand/spring set I ordered back to Brownell's for a credit.

There were a couple of burrs on the hammer stops and a few other pieces that I carefully smoothed out on my #5000 grit Japanese water stone.

I'll reassemble it tonight or tomorrow with some CLP and see how it handles now. I picked up an extra .45 ACP cylinder for it about a year ago, but the base pin bushing is a little too long for a correct fit. I may have to stone it a thousandth or two, or just swap the bushing with the .45 Colt cylinder. That should make practice a little cheaper.

Thanks guys. None of the reference material I found talked about anything except the leaf type spring.

The collected experience on this board is really a great resource and does a lot for our hobby/sport.

 

[goodtime]

There's a good chance you'll need to have a gunsmith fit the 45acp cylnder to time properly. I have a 45 Colt Uberti SAA fitted with the same, and it dropped in, but did not function properly. A 'smith did it for me, and gave me a free trigger job while he was at it!

While you have it apart, this might interest you:

http://www.gunblast.com/JimTaylor_Uberti.htm

 

[Lar1911]

I live near Taylor, so when i got the 45 ACP cylinder I did not get it right. So I went to them and they did it for me. While i waited I handled their collection.....mmmmmmmm