Peacemaker with Color Case Hardening & Transfer Bar

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The Colt Cowboy frame and some other parts were cast in Canada.
Denis
 
Driftwood Johnson said:
As I said earlier, there is more than one way to surface harden parts than true Case Hardening. Watch the video that CraigC posted. You will see the frames being dipped into a hot salt bath and then quenched in water. The narrator of the film makes several mistakes. One of them is calling that process Case Hardening. It is not true Case Hardening done the way I described, although it will raise the surface hardness of the parts somewhat. I guarantee you that you will not get true bone Case Hardening with a gun in the Uberti price range. True Case Hardening is labor intensive, much more complicated than dipping parts into a bath, and it is expensive. If you want true Case Hardening done the old fashioned way, you will have to pay more.

As I said, the narrator of that video makes several errors. For instance guns are not proofed at three times normal operating pressure. More like 1.2 to 1.5 times normal operating pressure. Three times would have destroyed the gun. But the video is very useful for seeing some of the processes that Uberti uses to make their guns, for instance forging the frames from red hot ingots and then final shaping on CNC equipment. The way the wooden grip is shaped with the metal grip parts is also interesting, that is the way it has been done for well over a century.
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In the literature that came with my Cimarron, it says the gun was proofed at 1.5 times pressure of factory loaded ammo.

You are right about the grip fit. It's rare to find anyone (other than the custom grip makers) who fit grips like that. Certainly not for a gun in the Uberti/Cimarron price range. The grips on mine are a seamless fit with the frame, perfect all around. Feels like one continuous, smooth piece of wood.
 
The Cowboy was not a true Colt.
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It was a true Colt. Sorry but Colt and Colt fans have to own up to that. I handled a few and found it to not be a bad sixgun, until you looked at the price.

I wouldn't call the Stampede a "high end" Uberti. IMHO, their case colors were not as good but overall, the guns are comparable.


And the teachers are checking the facts on Wackypeedia when they grade the papers!
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NOOOOO, not the one I live with. ;)
 
"Case Hardening was a good solution using the low and medium carbon steels of the 19th Century for hardening the surface of the metal."

Not steel, iron. The old guns were made from wrought iron and since iron can't be hardened by heat treating like steel can, the only way to prevent wear from the mechanism was to surface (case) harden the frames. The color was secondary, a product of some hardening methods. When the switch to steel was made c. 1890, many companies, like Winchester, went to bluing. Others, like Colt, kept the color case hardening as a trademark for purely cosmetic reasons.

Jim
 
Not steel, iron.
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With all due respect, I beg to differ.

Yes, Colt used malleable iron for frames and cylinders of the early SAA, as well as their percussion guns. But by mid 1883 they started using steels that we would characterize today as transitional low/medium carbon type steels for the frames and cylinders of the SAA. In 1898 Colt began using medium carbon steels. The frames made from both of these steels were Case Hardened to reduce surface wear. By 1900 Colt had perfected heat treating their cylinders enough to be able to factory warranty the SAA for Smokeless powder. *

Case Hardening is still a viable way to infuse extra carbon into the surface of iron or steel in order to raise the hardness at the surface for wear resistance. Smith and Wesson was still Case Hardening hammers and triggers right up until they switched over to MIM parts.




*Source: The Colt Single Action Revolvers Shop Manual, Volumes 1&2, by Jerry Kuhnhausen, page 71.
 
Case hardening is still viable and used today for purposes other than cosmetic. For instance, Power Custom case hardens their hammers and triggers before polishing and then bluing. Let us also not forget that Tenifer and Melonite are basically just modern techniques for case hardening. Process is different, result is basically the same. So "modern" steel can still benefit from case hardening.
 
Driftwood Johnson, Thanks for the great post on case hardening. I love posts that educate. - Jim
 
PS Maj Dad - That gun is indeed nice! If I might ask, how did finish job cost?
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Thanks :) I bought the finished pistol, so I can't tell you what percentage of its cost it was (I can tell you I paid about $300 too much, but I love it and don't sweat it). If his website lists $150, then I would certainly trust that, but putting a pistol together with a nice finish is going to take A Few Dollars More, to coin a phrase... You can't cherry pick some aspects of gun building, and a beautiful finish will require some careful smithing to keep it that way. Decide what you want, how much you can spend, and proceed forthwith... :cool:
 
I called Beretta, and they unfortunately said that the color case on their Stampede models is just a surface treatment and not an actual hardening process... Sounds like I just need to learn how to color case harden myself! ha ha

From all this and my other research, it looks like my choices are:

1. Buy a Vaquero and maybe get it refinished at some point.
2. Buy a Cimarron/Uberti and forget about the transfer bar for now.
3. Find an EAA with a color pattern that actually looks good.

Of course it will all depend on what I can find for a good price at Tulsa. Anyway, thank you for all your comments, they have been very helpfull and informative!
 
Ruger Flattop in 44 Special on the smaller .357 frame...a limited run for Lipsey's, bluing and case colors by Turnbull...

ruger3.jpg
 
The Uberti and EAA will not have genuine case hardening.
EAA will have the bar.
Just need to decide what you can & can't live with.
Denis
 
Very nice gun! The more of them I see, the more I am wanting a Ruger with a Turnbull finish... sooo nice!
 
jcochran1111

I have a Beretta Stampede of more recent vintage and I can say that after looking at a lot of SAA copies, this particular model seemed to be the best buy for my money. Nothing fancy looking with its blued and case color finish, along with its black plastic stocks, the gun is very well built with a tight lock-up and a nice crisp trigger. Accuracy is good at around 15 to 20 yards and the balance feels just right in my hand.
 
DPris said:
The Colt Cowboy frame and some other parts were cast in Canada.
Denis
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Hi Denis

Could you elaborate on that? I'm always curious to see what's alive this side of the border, considering how scarce parts are...
 
Done by Alphacasting.
Frame.
Gate.
Hammer.
Backstrap.
Triggerguard.

Colt did barrels & cylinders, and I believe other small parts were vendored in the US.

Denis
 
Well Tulsa has come and gone (for me anyway). I decided on a plain jane blued Ruger Vaquero with a 4.75" barrel in .357 mag. Very nice gun as it is. Next step... save up some cash for a complete Turnbull job! ha ha
 
So I believe the Stampede has been discontinued, but if you find one on the used market it might well fill your needs.
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They're still listed:

http://www.berettausa.com/products/stampede-blue/

As has been said, it's not true CCH, but it's the closest the OP will come to his requirements without spending big $$$.

They are very nice revolvers. I love my 5.5" bright nickel .45 Colt.
 
I just picked up this Stampede NIB last week, while it isn't true CCH, it does look pretty good, even in this bad picture.

Stampede-1R.gif
 
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