No Cylinder Gap on new Colt 1860 Army Revolver

[TangoFoxtrot]

I just picked up a second Uberti Colt 1860 revolver. The first one has a cylinder gap of .018" and this second one is so tight I can't get a feeler gauge in-between the barrel and the cylinder. Assembled and without the wedge, it's already touching. There is no front-back play in the cylinder.

I shot around 100 balls through it this weekend in front of 30grs of blackpowder hoping it might loosen up, but it didn't. It was usually good for 4 or 5 shots before it locked up tight enough at the "gap" to require hand rotation assistance to help move the cylinder.

So now I have two Ubertis, one on each extreme of cylinder gap . Any ideas on what to do? Is there a gunsmith who specializes in fixing these problems?



The new one has cylinder/barrel marks here:

 

[Tommygunn]

TWO Ubertis with cylinder gap problems? Ugh. Bad luck indeed.
A bit of judicious filing? I would suggest a Dremel tool but I've read they can be a tad bit .... ambitious, shall we say? Still, if used sparingly..... might work. Better to take off too little at a time. You can't put it back.

 

[flibuste]

Hello,

Before going anyfurther, the first point to check is :

Does the cylinder pin correctly bottoms within the barrel hole ?;

Uberti are known for lack of correct adjustment in that matter with implications on cylinder/barrel gap

Regards

 

[TangoFoxtrot]

Hello,

Before going anyfurther, the first point to check is :

Does the cylinder pin correctly bottoms within the barrel hole ?;

Uberti are known for lack of correct adjustment in that matter with implications on cylinder/barrel gap

Regards

I don't know what that means. Can you post a picture?

 

[mec]

I had that problem with a uberti paterson. What worked for me was to stuff some foil in the barrel hole forcing a minor gap upon reassembly. Might work.

 

[pikid89]

maybe you should switch the cylinders lol jk

 

[TangoFoxtrot]

Thanks for the answers.

I just spend most of the lunch hour stuffing foil inside and have pretty close to a .007" gap now. I notice that before I could push the wedge in and out by hand. Now I can't as it's much tighter, more like the other 1860.

I had tried swapping cylinders last night and there was no difference. I tried to swap the barrels too, but they wouldn't go in all the way on either one. Each one has a slightly different fitting base pin.

 

[BHP FAN]

excellent!maybe the lead foil off a champagne bottle would crush down solid?

 

[AJumbo]

No gap at all? Bingo! You struck oil! Cut the barrel off to 2 ", install a silencer, and you'll have the Avenging Angel that Porter Rockwell could only dream of!

 

[madcratebuilder]

Your Uberti has short arbor syndrome.

 

[Snaggletooth]

Try spraying the cylinder with Pam cooking oil or some good lube before you shoot and see what happens. Fouling of the pin will stop the cylinder

 

[OYE]

Check out "Black Powder Essentials" subtitle " Working Cap and Ball Essentials"
The section on tuning the Pietta also discusses your problem with the Uberti. May be of some use.