Walker Colt Disassemble Problem

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Blacksmoke

Blacksmoke

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This is my first post with your fine organization and I appreciate the opportunity. I have a Walker Colt replica, one of the Colt Heritage semi-Italian, Semi-Connecticut made guns. It has been untouched for many years and I do not remember much about it. I am having trouble seperating the barrel from the frame. Yes, the wedge is out as is the loading ram. The thing is stuck fast, not rusted, just stuck. I believe I used a grease that must have hardened into an adhesive. So, my question is which way should I rotate the barrel to seperate it from the frame? Assume I am looking down the barrel as in aiming. It does not seem to rotate clockwise and has moved a hair counterclockwise with great force exerted by me. I am not sure if the direction of twisting the barrel will make any difference but I do not want to damage it by turning it the wrong way. I am having trouble finding something to fit in the wedge slot that fits without maring the blueing. It will require a tool as it is really stuck. I tried warming the gun and that resulted in the cylinder ratchet coming unstuck so the cylinder will revolve on cocking. Before, when cold, the hammer would not budge.

Any advice will be appreciated. Any criticisims of what a bonehead move it was to apply Gold's gun grease to protect the gun in storage will be born by me in good spirit.
 
Don't twist the barrel. Be sure the wedge is completely removed, not just mostly out of the wedge slot. Bring the hammer to half cock so that the cylinder can move freely. Position the cylinder so that the rammer can engauge the web between chambers. Then use the rammer lever to move the barrel assembly foreward. It may take a bit of effort if it hasn't been off in a long time. Clean all surfaces and lightly oil before reassembly and it won't give trouble in the future.
 
Welcome to the THR where you will find answers to questions you didn't even ask. There are two locator pins between the frame and the barrel and you must move separate the two at least 1/8" before you can turn the barrel. I would try penetrating oil on both ends of the cylinder pin to disolve the hardened grease. It may take a while but it should work. Once the cylinder is somewhat free and you can rotate it so the rammer will rest between the chambers then you can gently tap the lever with a wood (or rubber) mallet. Take your time and it will come apart.
 
I'm sure you will get a better answer than mine but this is how I would try. You said that you had warmed the pistol up and this resulted in freeing up the cylinder. Also by reading your post it sounds as though it has gummed up. I would try boiling water, either soaking or just pouring it on for a short time and then see if it has loosened up enough to dismantle.

If that didnt work then I would try some penetrating oil and soak it. Not owning a Walker I dont have a clue as to it's breakdown but if neither of these methods worked then it has either seized up like an old flathead engine and needs to soak in the oil a good length of time or you are fighting metal against metal during the breakdown process and need someone with more FYI than me on what your doing wrong. Good luck!
 
Thanks a bunch. I will cease twisting and reattach the loading ram and lever. I clean forgot about backing off the two machine screws although I did give them a look and a wonder. The penetrating oil is a good thought (Duh!).

BTW, anyone found concical bullets they like? I was wondering about lead flat point.45 Colt bullets? The Walker Colt is .454, right? So, there ought to be something that fits?
 
fineredmist cautioned about not trying to turn the barrel until it is separated from the locating pins. I do hope for your sake that you didn't bend the pins by trying to twist the barrel before the barrel was were clear of them. If you did you might have a seriously damaged gun.
 
Blacksmoke - Don't know what 'machine screws' you're talking about. There are no screws involved in removing the Walker barrel assembly from the frame.

There are two locater pins in the frame at the lower joint between the frame and barrel assembly; these pins prevent the assembly from rotating, so any attempts to rotate the barrel assembly will be thwarted until it has backed out enough to clear those pins.

The gun was designed to use the loading lever against the cylinder face to remove the barrel assembly. The most common problem is the wedge not being far enough out; if you can't move it then it's still interfering with the barrel coming off. To be absolutely sure, remove the screw that holds the wedge in place and remove it completely from the gun. It's a real pain to put that screw back in, so don't do this unless you need to be sure the wedge is really out of the way.

Note that the cylinder needs to be rotated to move into place to provide a surface for the loading lever to work against. As stated above, the gun needs to be at half cock for that to happen.
 
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Pancho - the pins are replaceable. Bending them is not serious damage.

Blacksmoke - .45 (or .44, whichever you prefer) caliber conicals and molds are widely available. They are generally not considered good ammunition for the Walker. Most people use .454 or .457 round balls.
 
The pins are a press fit. Getting them out is a challenge, but it's doable. And finding pins that will press fit back in is also a challenge. I assume VTI's parts will fit, but I've never tried them.
 
I can remember when I took apart my first muzzleloading revolver (1860 Colt repo) and being surprised to see the locating pins and feeling lucky that I didn't try to twist the barrel off. It would have been my usual luck to find the pins too late bend the pins and wallow out the holes.
 
Using the loading lever against the front of the cylinder will damage the cylinder if you exert much force, I say this from experience. Try heating the gun in the oven or with a blowdryer to melt the old grease first. Then put a wooden dowel between the lever and the cylinder before you exert any force, this should prevent damage to the loading lever as well as the cylinder. Do not strike the loading lever with a mallet as this can bend the lever, also from experience.

Jared
 
what jphendren said,
I have a Walker Heritage also and using the lever on the cylinder to seperate it worked well for me. It has always been a pain to remove the barrel from that particular piece.
 
Success! Thanks to many of you this gun came apart with no damage. I fogot about the locator pins. When I attempted to twist the barrel thinking it unscrewed from the frame I met with resistance. Fortunately, Captain Walker must have been whispering in my ear as I stopped and sought advice from you all. The penetrating oil did the trick and with a modest tap of the loading ram with a wooden mallet the parts seperated cleanly. The gun had been well smeared with Bore Butter in 1998 and sat in a gun safe until this weekend. I would not recommend Bore Butter as a preservative.

So, it has been thoroughly cleaned and relubed with a mixture of Crisco, Beef fat and olive oil. The can I mixed this in had contained a bit of Indian Masala spice powder which is now mixed into the lube. This ought to mix well with the odor of burnt Goex FFFg!:evil:

I was not able to find balls other than Hornady caliber .451. The bore on this gun is .454, right? I tired setting a ball on the mouth of the chamber and it fits with a little overlap that should provide the lead shavers that Gatafeo recommends in his treatise on BP shooting. Accuracy may suffer a bit with these undersized balls but at least I can get re-aquainted with BP pistol shooting for now.

Thank you one an all once again. You saved me from making some really dumb mistakes. That is one of the reasons were all here, right?
 
The Walker is a .44 caliber gun. The bore (land to land) is .440 by design, although some variance is often encountered in actual production.

The usually recommended ball is either .454 or .457, although .451 will work on most Walkers; just watch for the ring of lead.
 
Mykeal, that was my observation, as well. Thanks for the advice. I orderer .454 balls and replacement nipples for the Walker from Cabella's. The nipples are backordered. So, I am trying to figure another method if ignition. Number 11s will not fit. Have you or anyone else made your own "cap" type igniters? Fulminate of Mercury is probably not something our nearest hardware store carries. But, being that we are Americans I am sure something can be figured out!
 
There is a device called a Tap-O-Cap that makes caps out of the roll caps used in children's toy guns. I read a thread on this forum sometime back about it - it was not universally loved, although a couple of people thought it was great.

The ignition material used in today's caps is potassuim perchlorate; fulminate of mercury was discontinued several years ago.

You might try Track of the Wolf, Jedediah Starr or The Possible Shop for the nipples.
 
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