Cap and Ball revolver. Why not the old way?

[B.L.E.]

I've got a 58 Remington I bought new in 69. It cuts a ring but if you don't use wads or lube it will chain and has since it was new. As long as you use wads or lube you can load it up full and leave off five caps and it will never chain. I've tried to make it chain from the nipple end and done everything except pack the nipples full of powder and it will not do it.

I can see something like that happening if the cylinder's bores are somewhat choked, like a shotgun muzzle. Then you would have to shave the ball to get it into the cylinder but it would still be a loose fit once past the choked part of the cylinder.
Some people use a tapered reamer to bell mouth the cylinder bores, that way you swage the ball into the cylinder without shaving a lead ring but it is still a tight fit.

 

[Hawg]

I just watched 3-4 videos of BP chain fires. Always heard about them but never seen one. I was quite surprised they are usually not as dangerous as it sounds. Don't get me wrong it's seriously a bad thing happening but I was thinking more exploding guns, flying fingers and all. The one that exploded was a steel BP pistol the idiot owner put in newer smokeless powder. Blew the cylinder into 4 pieces and miraculously he still didn't get hurt.

They're not dangerous at all. I had about a gazillion of them when I was 12. The only one with any force is the one that goes down the bore. The rest just go a few yards. I've had them over water and it was like tossing pebbles underhand 10 or 12 feet. They just plop when they hit the water.

 

[B.L.E.]

I just watched 3-4 videos of BP chain fires. Always heard about them but never seen one. I was quite surprised they are usually not as dangerous as it sounds. Don't get me wrong it's seriously a bad thing happening but I was thinking more exploding guns, flying fingers and all. The one that exploded was a steel BP pistol the idiot owner put in newer smokeless powder. Blew the cylinder into 4 pieces and miraculously he still didn't get hurt.
Today 01:13 PM

Smokeless powder should only be used to blow up MODERN guns.

 

[Model12Win]

Well truth be told, there's lots of evidence to suggest grease over balls wasn't all that common, either. Hell, Colts didn't even mention it in his instructions. Lots of guys "bear balled" it back then, so to speak.

And hell, especially in latter times, combustible envelope paper cartridges were the most common loading method, especially in the military.

Wads are modern, but handy. They've been used for many decades, though. Keith mentions them in Sixguns.

 

[Hawg]

Wads aren't a modern invention. Colt in his instructions with new guns advised against their use. Wax was used over balls but most likely for waterproofing. General Lee's 51 navy had wax over the balls.

 

[maillemaker]

which induced the Author, after much reflection to give a slight chamfer, or bevel to the orifice of each chamber, so as to deflect, or throw off at an outward angle, the fire which expanded laterally across their mouths.

Interesting. I don't think any of my reproduction revolvers have chamfered chambers.

Here's a related question: don't grease cookies contaminate the powder?

I once tried lubricated wads under the ball. But I was trying to use them to eliminate the need for filler, so I put in like 3-4 of them between the powder and ball. The force of driving the ball in squeezed the lube out of the wads and saturated the powder, so that they would either not fire at all or fired very weakly.

Steve

 

[rodwhaincamo]

What did you use as lube?

I've only used Gatofeo's #1 lube and have always seated my projectiles with a fair amount of force and haven't had any issues.