Bushing device for unscrewing Detective Special Barrel

[Doug.38PR]

A month ago I sent my Detective Spc. off to PHH to have the barrel tightened and screwed on straight as the sight was leaning the the left a tad. The smith said he didn't have what I think he called the "bushing" device to do it as his had worn out.

I was wondering, since it is a matter of having the right tool to unscrew a barrel, couldn't I just order the tool somehwhere online and do it myself as I would a shower head or plumbing pipe. In fact, couldn't I just take some plyers and a towel to hold it and so the bluing wouldn't come off and just unscrew it, put some gel or something to tighten the grooves in the screwin spot and screw it back on?

If plyers won't do the trick or are somehow dangerous to the gun, what exact tool am I looking for and where can I find it?

 

[SamD]

I suspect that he didn't have the adapter bushing to fit a DS to his wrench.
You could buy the tools but it would be cost prohibitive and you still might not gt it right.
High percentage shot that you will ruin the weapon if you try it yourself.
Most certainly do not use pliers!

Try Clylinder and Slide.

Sam

 

[Dfariswheel]

THE classic way to totally destroy a good revolver is to attempt to remove the barrel without the correct frame wrench.

Colt barrels in particular are torqued VERY tightly in place.

To remove the barrel, the barrel is locked up in custom-made aluminum or hard plastic barrel blocks.
These are custom machined to fit THAT specific brand and model of barrel.
Most of us make our own blocks and have sets for many revolvers.

The frame wrench is a special wrench that fits over the front of the frame.
The wrench has hard plastic inserts that fit THAT specific brand and model of revolver, and provides full support for the frame.
The basic wrench you can buy at Brownell's. (Expensive).
I don't think anyone makes inserts for the small Colt's anymore, so I usually made my own.

What happens when you use "expedient" tooling like the classic old "shove a hammer handle through the frame, and twister 'er off" is a bent, sprung or BROKEN frame.

Revolver frames are not all that hard and they bend or get "tweaked" easily.
Just as bad, if the frame isn't supported properly, the area that's threaded to accept the barrel will simply crack.

Look at the under side of the threaded portion the barrel screws into.
Notice how thin it is. Using improper tools puts a tremendous strain on that area and they crack easily.

MANY, many otherwise good revolvers have been destroyed over the years by people who assumed that revolver barrels are "just pieces of threaded pipe" that can be screwed on and off at will.

Revolver barrel are not plumbers pipe.
They are precision fitted items and they MUST be fitted and adjusted.

While it LOOKS like you could just screw the barrel in a little more, in fact this is a fairly complex job requiring the tooling to re-fit, (NOT just screw it in farther).
After re-fitting the barrel so it's indexed properly, you have to re-cut the barrel-cylinder gap with an (expensive) tool that works down the bore.

After that, you may have to re-cut the critical forcing cone to the proper specs, and this requires a special tool and plug gage (VERY expensive).

In short, there's a HELL or a lot more to this than just grabbing the barrel with some tool and turning it in farther.

Since Pittsburgh wouldn't take care of it, try the Colt factory or contact Cylinder & Slide Shop at:
http://www.cylinder-slide.com/

OR, you can try to do it yourself, in which case, kiss your valuable Colt goodbye.