Pietta J.H. Dance and Brothers .36 Project

Status
Not open for further replies.
Well, after a short debate with myself last night, thinking about a new Pietta part octagon/part round .36 barrel, I decided against it, although I would still love to have one.

With my Pietta 1851 Navy .36 type guns, I swap everything in front of the frame insofar as the barrel assembly is concerned between pistols, keeping the original wedge with the barrel lug.

And I presently only have one.

VTI Gun Parts sells one for $125 with the brass pin sight and the latch lug. I could spend a ton of money on all of the rest of the load lever parts, and I might as well buy a used/new Pietta G&G .36 for that money and have another gun.

The option is to strip all of the load lever/rammer/screws/wedge parts from the octagonal barrel, but then all I would be left with is a spare .36 octagonal barrel needing the same stuff. Not gonna happen.

https://www.vtigunparts.com/store/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=66&cat=Pietta+1851+Navy

Sorry, I prefer 4-minute plug-and-play.

Thanks for all of your patience with me.

Jim
 
Eyrie G. Dogg said:
Some Dance Bros. in .36 had them.
Click to expand...

Dogg, that is very true, BUT, insofar as Italian replicas go, that would be a look-a-like for a Leech & Rigdon, and therefore I could call it a Dance .36 repro. Won't do that.

Pietta_Leech_Rigdon.jpg

Uberti markets a L&R but it has an engraved Colt-type cylinder which is incorrect, as it should be a plain cylinder.

https://www.taylorsfirearms.com/han...-collection/1851-navy-steel-leech-rigdon.html

A Dance has to have the recoil shields gone, IMO.

Jim
 
Hi expat - OK, I understand your thinking on this, now. With the recoil shield in place it could be confused with a L&R but with the shield shaved it’s unmistakably a Dance. That would be full on historic and a 100% unique. Go for it.
 
Ephraim Kibbey said:
At various times in the past, Uberti L&R's have been produced with the correct plain cylinder. They show up from time to time on the auction sites.
Click to expand...


I own one of those correct plain Uberti L&Rs from the early 1990s, though if I recall the date code indicated late 1980s manufacture. A couple other features it has differenciate it from more modern Uberti L&Rs.
 
Well, my machinist neighbor decided to not take on the milling project for my Dance .36. He did not want to make a mistake on a one-time piece of steel. He was a master machinist for a Boeing parts supplier, and that company called him out of retirement for a year just to catch up on orders. He did my R&A cylinder very well, but he stated it was only a cylinder and not a gun frame. He not a gun guy whatsoever.

At my age and location I really have no other options. I have an email in to VTI as far as procuring a Pietta 1851 Navy .36 part octagon/part round barrel with the standard pin sight and latch lug for $125 plus shipping.

I will then have to add the load lever/latch/wedge/wedge screw/rammer and all of the other screws from the 1851 Navy barrel assembly. Then I will be left with a Pietta replica 1851 Navy octagonal barrel without any of this. I have no use for it and I will send it to anyone who needs one.

I will let you folks know when it all happens.

Jim
 
Expat - That must be disappointing for you. Maybe there is an alternate machine shop that could do the work you need done.

I have a question: In this thread there has been reference to a misplaced screw on the Dance. I'm not figuring that out on my own. Which screw, where? Could someone fill me in, please. Thanks.
 
expat_alaska said:
Well, my machinist neighbor decided to not take on the milling project for my Dance .36. He did not want to make a mistake on a one-time piece of steel. He was a master machinist for a Boeing parts supplier, and that company called him out of retirement for a year just to catch up on orders. He did my R&A cylinder very well, but he stated it was only a cylinder and not a gun frame. He not a gun guy whatsoever.

At my age and location I really have no other options. I have an email in to VTI as far as procuring a Pietta 1851 Navy .36 part octagon/part round barrel with the standard pin sight and latch lug for $125 plus shipping.

I will then have to add the load lever/latch/wedge/wedge screw/rammer and all of the other screws from the 1851 Navy barrel assembly. Then I will be left with a Pietta replica 1851 Navy octagonal barrel without any of this. I have no use for it and I will send it to anyone who needs one.

I will let you folks know when it all happens.

Jim
Click to expand...
Sending you a email now.
 
Eyrie G. Dogg said:
Expat - That must be disappointing for you. Maybe there is an alternate machine shop that could do the work you need done.

I have a question: In this thread there has been reference to a misplaced screw on the Dance. I'm not figuring that out on my own. Which screw, where? Could someone fill me in, please. Thanks.
Click to expand...
I have been rather confused about this misplaced screw myself.
 
The "Misplaced Screw"...

I'm no expert, but in this digital information age, we all have access to expert information if we know where to look.
The misplaced screw on Dance revolvers is a commonly referenced feature that has been looked for to authenticate true Dance Brothers revolvers and has been used to authenticate Dance revolvers with and without recoil shields.
I'm not 100% positive which screw it is that is misplaced on the .36's, and I've always just assumed that the detailed specifics are not generally referenced in order to dissuade counterfeiters.
I've seen photos comparing Colt .44's with Dance .44's screws that shows a clear difference where the bolt spring screw is not in line with the trigger guard screw.
Here is a reference from Bill Gary, arguably an expert on the subject...
http://americansocietyofarmscollectors.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/B049_Gary.pdf
see page 8 of 9
I've seen the same point brought up by multiple other sources.
 
Malachi Leviticus Blue

Excellent resource article on Confederate revolvers! Thanks for sharing it with us!
 
Jim

Have you tried contacting Mike at Goons Gun Works to see if he could do the milling, or if not, maybe he might know of someone who could?
 
As long as we have been talking about Dance Brothers Revolvers, here is a nice little read on the .44 version. This document is one that compares screw placement between a Colt Dragoon and a Dance. It has several nice color photos showing detailed features of a real Dance. The information is compiled from several expert sources.

http://americansocietyofarmscollect...e-Confederate-Dance-revolvers-Rogers-v106.pdf
 
I still have not heard back from VTI about the spare part octagon/part round .36 barrel availability. If I do not, I will go with plan "C" and just parts swap between guns for the L&R, R&A, and the G&G depending upon my whim for the day.

I was hoping to do this project as inexpensively as I could, but it is turning out not to be that. I doubt that Mike (Goon) would do the milling but I have not contacted him about it. Besides, he has his hands full of just doing the work on guns he has on his site. I don't want to spend the two-way shipping costs plus the milling costs on this pipe dream.

As an aside, if I do get the spare aforementioned barrel, I am going to give the stripped 1851 Navy .36 octagon barrel to maint1517 as he spoke first. He has a "snakes" "tail" grip Pietta 1851 Navy .36 project on the back burner. I hope he does not spend a bunch on it insofar as procuring proper parts, which can be spendy. Any parts you guys have that you don't need/want will go a long way toward helping him out. Anything from a hammer, trigger, hand, screws, load lever/rammer, etc. parts will surely be appreciated. He has only been on THR for about 8 months and he really likes this forum. That's kudos to you guys!

Regards to all,

Jim
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

expat_alaska
  • Locked
Pietta J.H. Dance and Brothers .36 Project
2
Replies
47
Views
5K
expat_alaska
expat_alaska
expat_alaska
  • Locked
Pietta .44 Dance and Pietta 1851 Navy .36 Interchangeability
Replies
6
Views
2K
expat_alaska
expat_alaska
expat_alaska
  • Locked
E-mail Response From Pietta
Replies
11
Views
2K
RevolverLover
RevolverLover
R
  • Locked
Dance Navy (Pietta)
2 3
Replies
60
Views
4K
Old Stumpy
Old Stumpy
M
  • Locked
Which 36 cal Pietta for black powder novice?
Replies
5
Views
830
Mictlanero
M
Back
Top