Broken barrel wedge

[JayC]

After having trouble removing the barrel wedge on a Pietta '51 Navy, I read a thread somewhere that said just hammer away. I used a brass Lyman punch and a carpenter's hammer, and the force must have been transferred to the pin holding the spring to the wedge because the pin sheared, taking a chip of the left end of the wedge with it. The chip is on the top side of the wedge, beside the pin hole. Has anyone ever seen or heard of this before? I considered getting a new wedge assembly from VTI, but because the wedge is so tight, I think I'll just file it down ("front" edge) and see whether it will stay in place without a spring. I see in my NRA Firearms Assembly book in the disassembly instructions for the '51 that some apparently didn't even have a wedge spring.

It will take a lot of filing to narrow the wedge. Right now, the tip just barely protrudes from the right side of the barrel. If I get it narrow enough to be more "centered," I don't think it could shoot loose and fall out without being noticed creeping left.

Thanks.

 

[Steve499]

My Colt replica, a pocket navy 5-shooter, has no spring on the wedge. It is loose enough that I remove it by thumb pressure alone and replace it the same way. It bottoms out when the ledge on the head of the wedge hits the frame. I have had no problem with it backing out so I doubt a tight fitting wedge would back out.

A properly fitted Colt replica will have the front of the cylinder arbor bottom out on the back end of the arbor hole in the barrel assembly when the wedge is in place, preserving the correct barrel-cylinder gap. A lot of guns, though, have a space there which gets smaller as the wedge is tightened, causing the barrel and cylinder to rub. If you decide to go with a new wedge, or just file the one you have to try to center it, you might have to experiment with a shim in the bottom of the arbor hole to bottom the arbor out at the same time your wedge is centered. That also makes a Colt shoot to it's sights better as the barrel goes back to the same relationship to the frame (and the back sight) every time it's reassembled.

Steve

 

[JayC]

The arbor bottoms out just shy of the point at which the forcing cone would touch the cylinder. If this gun were shot much at one time, I think it would begin to bind due to fouling. I borrowed it to experience Colt C&Bs. I own a Remington '58 repro, which I think is much more user-friendly. Maybe once I get the wedge fitted, it will be more enjoyable.

Thanks.