Colt New Service .45 Colt

S

Superfuzz

New member
My father recently passed on. One of the firearms he left me was a Colt New Service...havent had a chance to get the pedigree, yet as Im deployed. It looks to be in great condition.

My problem...occasionally the crane refuses to fully go into battery. It appears the rear of the cylinder (teeth) come into contact with the frame. I havent forced it but eventually just fiddling with it, gets it to slide back into position.

I would like to have this looked at. Who would be a good skilled Colt revolver-smith in the vicinity of Georgia (where my brother lives, who has possession)?

Thank you for your help.
 
If the ratchet teeth on the star are hitting the frame, this could be a simple fix. Check the cylinder and see if it is screwed all the way down on the ejector, next check if the ejector star is clean between the cylinder and bottom of the star, and aligned with the pin hole.

Mace
Happiness is a belt fed weapon and lots of ammo
 
The Colt factory no longer services these older guns so it's hard to find someone who really is qualified to work on them.

While I'm sure there are probably qualified people in Georgia, knowing who they are is difficult.
Most local gunsmiths are NOT qualified to work on the old Colt's and are likely to do worse damage trying to fix something they don't understand.
This problem is compounded by the lack of good parts and most local gunsmiths not having the correct Colt tooling.

I can recommend Cylinder & Slide Shop. They have an excellent reputation as Colt qualified gunsmiths, and they work on the older models.

http://www.cylinder-slide.com/

I'd suggest that you'd be far better off to bite the bullet and spend the wait time and money on getting it repaired right, than make the mistake of trusting a local and getting a botched gun back.

As I just posted in another post, just because a local assures you he's a Colt qualified expert doesn't mean he IS.
 
My problem...occasionally the crane refuses to fully go into battery. It appears the rear of the cylinder (teeth) come into contact with the frame. I havent forced it but eventually just fiddling with it, gets it to slide back into position.
Click to expand...

Would have to look at it to figure out the issue.

These very old Colts are made of very soft steels. It is very easy to bend the frame, squash the barrel, and bend the crane out of position.

I suspect the frame or crane is bent.

Take it to someone who knows these guns and not have it ruined.
 
For me this is a heirloom, and I want to be able to shoot it and hand down to my Son/Daughter. I do not care what it costs, but I do want it fixed. The good thing is Im currently stationed in Germany so timeframe is no big deal...I dont mind sending it off as I cant shoot it anyhow. Also, I know quality costs, whether we're speaking of items or expertise.

I will use Cylinder & Slide to get it right the first time. Thank you all for your time.
 
Good morning Superfuzz
These are fine revolvers and you will get alot of pleasure out of it´s use. I have one in 44-40 and have shot it for years.
I was stationed in Vierhiem (just outside of Manhiem) 73-74 jockeying M60A1´s around the trees & chickens. Bought a car real fast and drove all the back roads looking over the "faderland". Linx - Rex trooper.
Mike in Peru
 
While what has been said about finding a qualified Colt smith is true, I doubt this situation requires a smith. Make sure there is no build up of crud under the star. I bet this solves the problem.
 
It could be internal wear that allows the cylinder to come forward leaving a large gap at the rear of the cylinder ( head space ).

I wouldn't turn loose any Elmer Fudd gunsmith on this gun. There are folks who know this gun well.
 
I think it's a simple fix. Your ejector/ratchet needs to be torqued down. You need a special tool that slips over the ejector/ratchet. Brownell's use to sell one. If you have Jerry Kuhnhausne's book, The Colt Revolvers, A Shop Manual, Vol. 1, look at pages 68-69.

I would use PISCO. The man who runs it, Bob Dunlap, was my gunsmithing teacher at Lassen College. He used to do the service warranty for Colt and was one of the few folks who could work on a Python. Here's a link: PISCO
 
Thank you for the info, WESHOOT2 & 4V50 Gary. I will make contact and see who has the time to give my .45 a look. I appreciate it.
 
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