I am having trouble with my 1849 Pocket Pistol (Uberti)

[Hasaf]

I am having a problem with this pistol. The cylinder is not rotating except when the revolver is held downward. I opened it and, as expected, the hand-spring was out of place. I put it back in and gave the back of the hand, the section that captures the hand-spring, a good smack with a brass punch.

That held it in place about long enough to reassemble the revolver. Shortly after reassembling the revolver the same problem reappeared. Here is a picture of the part in question:

from here

Dixie Gun Works shows it as a single part. Taylor shows it as a single part (#7) but they also show the spring as a separate part (#18).

Here is the question, if I order it as a single part, is the spring firmly attached to the hand?
Should I keep trying to hammer the two parts together until I break something (and then order the parts anyways)?
Should I apply some flux and solder these two parts together?

My plan is to just order the part, pictured above, from DGW and then try to fix the one I have until it is truly, and irreparably, broken. in truth I will order two. I recall the same part failing rather on my Remington reps too. The theory being that if I order a spare, I will never need it. . . does this sound sane?

 

[Mizar]

You need to stake the spring in place - at the back of the hand, at 45 degree angle on both sides. A small (and cheap) flat head screwdriver can be used. It should look like this:

 

[maint1517]

And as far as flux and solder, I would not recommend applying heat to the spring.

 

[drobs]

Check out J-Bar's hand spring fix video:



Personally I'd buy the replacement hand and spring from Dixie + try modifying one like seen in J-Bar's video.

 

[Tommygunn]

Mizar had it right, to be frank.
You could replace it with a new pawl, they come with spring in place, but it would require fitting.
I once replaced this spring on one of my revolver's pawl by cutting up a Pepsi can and forming a spring. It worked well as a temporary measure. Plus it told me some things about how the parts fit together.

 

[44 Dave]

Have you de-burred the hand channel, mine had some bad spots.

 

[J-Bar]

I agree with Mizar and 44 Dave; make sure the hand channel is smooth, and stake the spring into the slot on the back of the hand.

But realize that there is a good chance the flat factory spring will break eventually.

Drobs kindly referenced my video in which I show how to make a hand spring from spring wire. Since making that video, I have found some revolvers whose hand channels are not wide enough to accept the full loop of wire around the base of the hand. So I refined the technique. It's not enough of a change to reshoot the video, but I like this way better.

After drilling the hole through the hand, make a little groove just behind the hole on the bottom of the hand base. Insert the wire through the hole, fashion a hook-like bend in the end, and epoxy that little hook into the groove. Allow the epoxy to set (JB KWIK sets up in 5 minutes; I give it 30 to be sure), then form the arc and trim to length. Diagram:



Factory hand springs in Colt style open tops are much stronger than needed to keep the hand positioned, in my experience. That strong spring does provide a braking effect on the rotating cylinder, however. So if the revolver is being cocked and fired very quickly, which spins the cylinder rapidly, some revolvers may rotate past the locking notch in the cylinder. The bolt timing and bolt spring pressure factor into this. Also, the hand spring can affect the force with which the hammer strikes the cap. As the hammer falls, the hand is being pulled back down inside the hand channel. If the hand spring is too strong, it can slow down the hammer fall enough to cause a misfire. However, if the revolver does not over-rotate with a light hand spring, then the hammer spring can be lightened to make cocking much easier. Those who compete with percussion revolvers enjoy easy-cocking revolvers!

So all of this is to say, that little hand spring's power can affect the way other parts of the revolver behave. Don't be surprised if replacing a hand spring leads to something else!

 

[Shooter101]

Just get a spring kit and have it on hand because they "will" let you down

 

[Hasaf]

Actually, I got my hand & spring from Dixie yesterday (Actually two of them). Of course I put it in right away. Now I need to take it back apart and file on the hand until it is the same as the original part.

I am assuming that is the issue as the revolver now will not allow the hammer to engage the sear unless I pull the hammer back very fast.

There are also a few timing problems, the cylinder is over rotating, if I hold the cylinder while pulling the hammer back, the cylinder stops work. If I dont, it goes past them. This tinkering is just part of Black Powder.

I really like the solution below; however, I don't think the pocket pistol has room for it to work.

pictures from here

 

[Hasaf]

Well, the good news is that it is working, properly, again.

There really isn't any bad news.

 

[45 Dragoon]

The frame mounted coil works well in the small revolvers (pockets/'49s ) as well. The correct hole placement is the left backstrap screw hole. Just drill on through. The screw will need to be shortened ( I put a point on them to "locate" the spring).

J-Bar, I did a few hand springs like that except, I ran a groove around the bottom of the hand and up the back to the hole, loaded the wire from the back (where yours is coming out, mine went in) and wrapped it down around the bottom (in the groove) and back up and shaped accordingly. It takes the sharp bend out of the wire and and replaces it with an easy bend around the bottom of the hand instead. Lots o ways to skin cats . . . . lol!!

Mike

 

[dickydalton]

The frame mounted coil works well in the small revolvers (pockets/'49s ) as well. The correct hole placement is the left backstrap screw hole. Just drill on through. The screw will need to be shortened ( I put a point on them to "locate" the spring).

J-Bar, I did a few hand springs like that except, I ran a groove around the bottom of the hand and up the back to the hole, loaded the wire from the back (where yours is coming out, mine went in) and wrapped it down around the bottom (in the groove) and back up and shaped accordingly. It takes the sharp bend out of the wire and and replaces it with an easy bend around the bottom of the hand instead. Lots o ways to skin cats . . . . lol!!

Mike

Hi Mike.