Weary of the Wedge ?

[J.T. Gerrity]

I have a small brass punch that I use to loosen the wedge on my Colts. Got it from a blackpowder shop, and it works great and does not mar the finish like a screwdriver will. I just keep it and a small hammer in my shooting bag, so that it's always with me when I'm in the field.

I have to say that I'm glad to hear people sticking up for Colt's design. You're always hearing folks (many who have never spent much time actually using one of the guns) speculating as to how the design is inherently weak due to the lack of a top strap, or that the wedge is a pain, or that the guns can't be accurate due to both of the above reasons. On the contrary, these guns have proven to be reliable and accurate, and have withstood the test of over 170 years worth of time. Original pistols are still found whose action is crisp and tight. They certainly proved themselves during the Civil War, where Colt's pistols outsold all other types, and were looked upon with fondness and respect by the troops who used them.

I say "hear, hear" to Col. Colt and his marvelous machines!

 

[gmatov]

JT,

"Hear, Hear" to you, too.

It's as clean and simple a design as could be hoped for in a BP pistol.

You have a wedge,a hand and spring, a trigger, bolt and combination spring, and a hammer and mainspring. Add the cylinder as a moving part and you have a maximum of 8 moving parts. I don't count the loading lever and parts, as there are Colt's without them.

They have withstood 170 years of use. They will withstand thousands of rounds of shooting, yet some want some kind of toggle linkage to remove the wedge for them. Lanyards of some type to keep from losing the wedge from a poorly fitted wedge, NOT one that is mebbe a little snug, but one that has a bad spring, and there seem to be too many of those.

Cheaper to take a 10 thou flat spring than to make an original style from solid spring steel.

Yet, the one with the good spring costs no more, indeed, depending on your supplier, may cost less.

Repeating myself, here, but stories are written of the original shooters, them what needed them to conduct their part of a war, TAPPING the wedge out with a fresh cylinder, slipping in the reload, TAPPING the wedge back in with the empty cylinder. AND, I'd bet the reload was capped.

No hammer and brass drift for them boys, if it snagged, they got a wedge that fit. If no armourer available, peen the old wedge to allow you to keep fighting.

Pretty near as efficient a fighting machine as was ever created. AND, 170 years old.

Cheers,

George

 

[pohill]

S. Colt's 1st design, the Paterson, had no wedge spring. His last design, the 1862 Pocket Police, had no wedge spring. How important can the wedge spring be? If shooters want to play a "what if" mind game with the wedge, so what? S. Colt did...

As far as a Colt being "Pretty near as efficient a fighting machine as was ever created"... Efficient? How much powder goes towards propelling the roundball or conical? If they were so efficient, why are they obsolete?
No bigger Colt fan exists than this poster, but let's be serious...

 

[rifle]

Pohill, I get yer point. I did read in some history somewhere that "back in the day" a person felt ready to take on just about any happening and thought they were prepared when they carried a Colt revolver. Mind set of the old timers. hee hee

 

[Franco2shoot]

spring...

We had a newbie ask, and I realized nowhere in this thread is there a post of the Colt and the spring/burr that needs to be depressed. So I'm answering the call. Here's my Colt, and if you blow it up you can clearly see the small dents I have placed in the barrel just forward of the wedge. This was before I realized that the burr was catching the spring and NOT allowing it to be hammered out.. Subsequent to that discovery, I sharpened a golf T so the tip looked like a Jeweler's screwdriver, and then I could reliable tap the wedge out, albeit I needed a small tap hammer, which I could not understand. Thinking the soldier in the field surely did not have a brass tack hammer hanging from his belt... Then the connection of dots occured when it was suggested that they used the 2nd cylinder...
Now I'm gonna hone down that region so it taps out with a roll of Quarters wrapped in black electrical tape.. Its just too scary to tap with a loaded cylinder capped or not since I wouldn't want the loads in the cylinders to be rattled.

KKKKFL

 

[pohill]

In its day, it (a Colt revolver - any Colt revolver) was a marvel of invention. And still, today, there just is not a prettier, nicer shooter out there. They are still deadly accurate, fairly dependable, powerful...but they do have their limitations, as do all firearms. The wedge is its weak spot, but not enough of a weak spot to prevent the gun from being all that it is...
Told ya there ain't no bigger Colt fan than this shooter...(I'm the guy who traded a beautiful, well made, accurate, trouble-free Uberti Remington for a Colt Paterson and never looked back - though I do want another Remington).

 

[Wwalstrom]

Wedges?

I don't need no steeenkeeng wedges! I shoot Remmies!

No offense intended to the Colt admirers out there, it's already been a long day, and I couldn't resist.

 

[pohill]

No offense taken. We Bruins fans know that you Minnesotians haven't been the same since you lost your North Stars... he he

 

[Wedge]

I thought you guys were all making fun of me!

Learned something new today

 

[Wwalstrom]

The Nort' Stars ...

No offense taken. We Bruins fans know that you Minnesotians haven't been the same since you lost your North Stars... he he

We didn't loose them, we know exactly where they are. They were stolen from us by Norm "Greed".

 

[Plink]

Even though I'm more of a Remington fan, you'll never hear me knocking the Colt design. It fits and points better than the Remington and is plenty accurate. Plus, they just look good!

 

[dispatch55126]

Given the option between a colt army or a remington new army, I would take a Colt any day. The balance and feel of the colt is alot better. I've handled several remmies and I haven't found one with the balance I'm looking for.

 

[Franco2shoot]

Wedge update

After reading through these threads I wanted to pass along the results I found. I removed the wedge from my Pietta Colt and hit the small burr on the spring a couple times with a sandpaper drum on the dremel tool. I polished the edges in particular, and just barely hit the center. The result was much better performance. The wedge seems to lock just as tightly, but now a tap with the 2nd cylinder and the wedge becomes loose enough to pull fully back to the screw head, and then the Lever against the spent Cylinder and the barrel comes right off.

Thanks guys.. this makes BP ops for the Colt much easier.

KKKKFL

 

[DuncanSA]

Colt wedges

A few thoughts re wedges:
Firstly, we shoot these old pistols because we enjoy them - there are of course better better ideas than the wedge, but if we really don't like it we can buy a Glock!

Now lets really look at the wedge and give Sam Colt credit for working out a good and practical solution for the problems of his time. He decided that dismantling the pistol was the way to go for cleaning and swapping cylinders in combat. Right or wrong that was the the thought behind the design.

Pohill put his finger on the wedge essentials in post #2. The purpose of the wedge is obviously to hold the gun together, and the "depth setting screw" is surely to provide a datum ensure that it is put back in the same format as before dissembly.

It would be essential to get your pistol "back the way it was" to preserve the sight base from the hammer-sight to the barrel mounted fore-sight. Also the wedge setting would control the gap between the cylinder and the forcing cone.

I think we can forget about using the hook at the end of the spring as a guide. The datum we need to set is where the stop on the left side of the wedge comes against the depth-setting screw.

 

[Bezoar]

The question seemed to be, how do you keep the danged wedge from coming out. Well I believe the idea was solved along time ago by an unknown engineer.

I believe they call it a cotter pin fellows. Take your wedge out, drill a small hole in it on the end, and insert the wedge into your Colt, and then push a cotter pin or a piece of wire thrugh the hole to keep it from falling out.

I do know its an inconvenience, but cotter pins and the like do work to keep the hook on my tow chain on the chain.... And if it works for pulling trees down it should keep the cylinder in place.

 

[Im283]

I have an 1851 Navy .44. I use a small wooden handled screwdriver for the complete dismantling (SP). With this screwdriver I partially remove the barrel wedge screw and then give the opposite side of the wedge a small "pop" using the wooden handle as a mallet. This removes the wedge enough to pull the barrel off. i may be mistaken but the screw is not meant to be totally removed but in fact hold the wedge in the barrel while allowing you to pull the barrel away from the cylinder.

A soldier in the CSA easily could have had this tool with him.

I ain't hitting anything with a spare cylinder that is loaded and capped.

BTW this is far and way my favorite firearm and ten times more fun to shoot than any other gun I have. Colt did this very right!

The "hand cannon" kicks butt! Get some!!

 

[DrLaw]

Okay, stupid question after reading this thread, but now having three 'Colt's, (.31 Wells Fargo, 1862 .36 and 1860 .44 - all Uberti) and having to whack the wedges on the first two and using only finger pressure on the 1860 to get it out, I wondered how the old-timers and soldiers in the Civil War did things.

Anybody know?

The Doc is out now.

 

[Tommygunn]

I wondered how the old-timers and soldiers in the Civil War did things.

Anybody know?

I suspect just like we do -- finger pressure on the ones that can be pushed out, and some makeshift tool on those which need encouragement.!

 

[DrLaw]

I just got to wondering because in all the museums I have been in, you don't see any tools marked as being used for that purpose.

The Doc is out now.

 

[Old Dragoon]

I made a short ram to clear cartridges from my Armory Converted Original Remy, I put a piece of antler for a knob of sorts on the dowel. I had cut the piece at a branch and a piece of that antler branch , (like a finger stop) is what I use to depress the spring and this also moves the pin into the bbl slot. Doesn't mar the finish. My wedges are thumb pressure tight.