wedge too loose in 1860?

[dayhand]

Question for the experts--I have an 1860 Army by Pietta about a year old that has had only a couple hundred rounds fired through it. The wedge screw is screwed in all the way. The wedge goes in with very light finger pressure all the way to the screw. Any tapping I do on it to tighten it up only forces the screw over the stop on the wedge. I have only been able to get so-so accuracy with the revolver. Do you think I need to order a new wedge that might fit tighter thus reducing the cylinder gap and improving accuracy? When the wedge is in until the stop on it contacts the wedge screw it can be pushed back out with finger pressue only. Thanks for any advice anyone might give.

 

[madcratebuilder]

I'm no expert on open top Colts, but I would say the wedge is loose. I believe the replacements are oversize and require file to fit. On both my Colts I can over tighten the wedge and get some barrel/cylinder drag. How much barrel gap do you have?

 

[pohill]

I have a copy of an original patent that describes the wedge screw as a stop, or depth check for the wedge. I don't think the Italian repros are machined close enough to the originals to allow the wedge screw to function as it was supposed to (at least not the ones I own). I have a Pietta 1860 .44 Army with a loose barrel/frame connection, too and I install a shim next to the wedge that takes up the slack and makes everything tight (for the shim I use a small piece of metal, wood, leather - whatever works or is handy). You can buy a bigger wedge (Walker) and shape it down or you can have a small weld put in the cylinder pin slot to take up the slack, then file the weld down until it all fits.
I even tried using a screw with an oversized head as a wedge screw - the head of the screw put pressure on the wedge and worked fairly well.

 

[mykeal]

Whether the wedge is in the proper location is determined by cylinder end play, not the amount of effort needed to install/remove it. With the wedge in the proper position the cylinder end play (defined as motion along the base pin, forward and aft) should be on the order of 0.006", give or take a few thousandths. It isn't necessary to measure that distance accurately, however. If the cylinder turns freely without interfering with the forcing cone, and yet does not 'rattle' back and forth, it's probably ok.

 

[dayhand]

Thanks for the replies. There is indeed a pretty good amount of "rattle" back and forth of the cylinder. It should have dawned on me that is why I was having trouble getting acceptable accuracy. I think I will order a new wedge but try the "shim" method while it is getting here. Thanks again.

Bravo Bat. 3/16 Arty, Americal Div. Rep. of Viet Nam '69-70.

 

[Tomahawk674]

I have a question regarding my wedge.

My navy also has some "rattle", or play on the cylinder, back and forth. However, at the moment it's hitting perfectly at the POA, at 12 yards, with 17.5 grains of 777 FFFg.

The gun is amazingly accurate, and I love how it shoots. I should not replace the wedge then, right?

 

[mykeal]

If it works, don't fix it.

Usually.

Of course, there's always the possibility that you can improve it further, making it an even better shooter.

The only way to answer the question is to measure the amount of end play. Feeler gauges are available at any tool or auto parts store and are quite inexpensive.