Uberti 1860 Wiggly Arbor

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send it back. if they won't fix it, I drilled the arbor pin, glued it in, and 8 years later its holding up, only a few hundred rounds though. its a brass .44 navy that loosened the arbor on a bad chain fire.
 
Im a pietta man myself....especially new ones or most after 2016. They are by far my favorite and in my opinion are going to need less work done to them. They have softer screws than uberti but just be sure to use a good set of acrew drivers and you will be fine. I like uberti too...and i have tuned both...buuuuut pietta has won me over. Im also a small block chevy kinda guy.
 
Just a quick update. Drilled it out, upset the arbor shoulder and screwed it back in. Was really tight getting it back in and having the wedge slot aligned. Made a new pin out of a steel nail and drove it in. Put a little bluing on the end to blend in with the frame color. The arbor can't move at all now so I call that a success. Found it pretty easy once I got going. All that is left is to address the short arbor. Was already aware of that and have my plan to fix. Going to get a brass washer, easy to file down, and adjust the thickness to fill in the gap. Just going to drop it down the arbor hole in the barrel, not going to bother with JB Welding it in. As long as it fills the space it shouldn't matter.
 
TheOutlawKid said:
Im a pietta man myself....especially new ones or most after 2016. They are by far my favorite and in my opinion are going to need less work done to them. They have softer screws than uberti but just be sure to use a good set of acrew drivers and you will be fine. I like uberti too...and i have tuned both...buuuuut pietta has won me over. Im also a small block chevy kinda guy.
Click to expand...
My last Ford ran 270,000 trouble free miles... and you know how I feel about Uberti! just saying... ;)
 
bwt1911 said:
Any particular reason?
Click to expand...

Mike is correct. If you have ever had or seen a replica Colt brass framed revolver that had stout powder charges fired continuously in the revolver that would be suitable for a steel framed revolver, just pull the barrel and the cylinder and look at the recoil shield face. It will most likely have a deep imprint of of the cylinder ratchet, which will cause the cylinder to have much endplay. The same goes for a brass washer instead of a steel washer. Brass is soft and will move/compress upon pressure, much more than steel.

I have replica Schneider & Glassick and Griswold & Gunnison brass framed revolvers. I don't shoot them, and reserve my steel framed guns as shooters.

Regards,

Jim
 
bwt1911 said:
Just a quick update. Drilled it out, upset the arbor shoulder and screwed it back in. Was really tight getting it back in and having the wedge slot aligned. Made a new pin out of a steel nail and drove it in. Put a little bluing on the end to blend in with the frame color. The arbor can't move at all now so I call that a success. Found it pretty easy once I got going. All that is left is to address the short arbor. Was already aware of that and have my plan to fix. Going to get a brass washer, easy to file down, and adjust the thickness to fill in the gap. Just going to drop it down the arbor hole in the barrel, not going to bother with JB Welding it in. As long as it fills the space it shouldn't matter.
Click to expand...

I know some do-it-yourselfers that use the brass washer or just plain washers and they hold up just fine being thrown down the arbor hole...just dont lose it and you should be fine as i have seen the guns they own take a beating and the DIY fix you mentioned worked for them. ShotgunDave also did a great tutorial on how to solder a steel spacer to the end of the arbor and that is a great solution. There are different ways to fix this issue and some need drastic adjustment and others barely a hair. Stainless steel is a great material as well but id say try out your brass and see if it works for you. I would always suggest you get it done with a permanent solution ... BUT i have to be honest in stating i have seen the spacer/washer in the arbor solution work just as well so long as you dont lose it when cleaning...and i have seen them epoxied and hold up for years. So try it out and see how it works for you...im all for others to experiment as theres more than one way to skin a cat. Heres shotgundaves write up...its a great write up..
https://blackpowdersmoke.com/colt/index.php/topic,3463.0.html
 
Two reasons why I don't like material added to the arbor.
1. Looks (I know, vanity and all) it just looks "out of place" to me. The originals had a dome shaped end and some folks weld up the end and it looks more correct. I don't have time to weld every one (or the desire) so I choose to leave it "as is".

2. I drill the end of the arbor to the wedge slot, thread it and install a slightly domed set screw to act as an adjustable " wedge bearing ". This feature allows the owner to adjust for wear or a more desirable " wedge position " (in the case of re-holstering) so that a "too proud" wedge doesn't interfere.
For these reasons, I would rather "fill in" a too deep arbor hole and end up with a flat surface for the arbor to butt up against. The SS spacer I use is dome shaped on the backside to make it "self leveling". A washer on the other hand can (and does) bend since it's support is on its outer edge and no support towards the center (because of the shape of the drilled end of the arbor hole).

With the solid contact and fully supported (more central with the domed backside) spacer, there is no compression of any adhesive and full transmission of the harmonics when the revolver is fired. That's why it will act as a solid frame revolver rather than 2 assemblies - not harmonically connected - held loosely together with a wedge.

I'm not saying any other fix is wrong, this is just how and why I do it my way (cue Sinatra).

Mike
 
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Uberti-USA has a contact listed on their website. I left my comments. Perhaps if we flood the place with comments?
 
So took the time to grind down a stainless pan head screw to fill in the arbor hole. Got it down to a cylinder gap of .005 (target is .0025-.002) and when I continued down to a gap of .004 the barrel started getting g loose again with the wedge all the way in. Too small of a wedge or start over again shooting for a larger gap?
 
Not necessarily, now is a good time to install the forward "wedge bearing " ( aka 1/4" set screw so you can keep your original wedge. Heck, you're almost there!! Nice!

Mike
 
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