tpelle
Member
I have an older (BH date code = 1996) Pietta 1860 Army. It hasn't been shot all that much - maybe 200 or so times - since new. I recently replaced it with a new (CH date code = 2011?) 1860 Army, also a Pietta, which is MUCH better made.
One of the chronic issues on the "old" pistol is that the cylinder arbor is too short. Being a tinkerer by nature, at one point in the past I drilled the end of the arbor with the intention of tapping it and threading in a stud which I would then file to length to set the arbor to the proper length. However it seems that my drill wandered off center. Looking at it again yesterday (I detail-stripped the pistol and gave it a good cleaning - it seems that I lubed the inside with some sort of grease that had mutated into a black sticky tarry substance.) I decided to make a "project" of this pistol.
I see that VTI has the arbor on their web page for $20.00, plus a little more for the locking pin.
Never having done this before, how difficult is it to replace the arbor?
Will the new arbor be long enough to file down so that the barrel fits properly?
For anyone who has done this, how do you remove the locking pin so as to unscrew the arbor? It appears to be set in a "blind" hole. Is the locking pin soft relative to the frame, so if you drilled it out the drill bit would "follow" the pin?
Is this a project that a reasonable handy person without a machine shop can perform successfully?
Any tips that anyone can offer?
One of the chronic issues on the "old" pistol is that the cylinder arbor is too short. Being a tinkerer by nature, at one point in the past I drilled the end of the arbor with the intention of tapping it and threading in a stud which I would then file to length to set the arbor to the proper length. However it seems that my drill wandered off center. Looking at it again yesterday (I detail-stripped the pistol and gave it a good cleaning - it seems that I lubed the inside with some sort of grease that had mutated into a black sticky tarry substance.) I decided to make a "project" of this pistol.
I see that VTI has the arbor on their web page for $20.00, plus a little more for the locking pin.
Never having done this before, how difficult is it to replace the arbor?
Will the new arbor be long enough to file down so that the barrel fits properly?
For anyone who has done this, how do you remove the locking pin so as to unscrew the arbor? It appears to be set in a "blind" hole. Is the locking pin soft relative to the frame, so if you drilled it out the drill bit would "follow" the pin?
Is this a project that a reasonable handy person without a machine shop can perform successfully?
Any tips that anyone can offer?
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