Cylinder clicking changed?

R

Rival

New member
Pietta 1851 Navy used to produce solid clicks while rotating cylinder at half cock, but now it is spinning quite freely making barely audible clicking sounds... Action is still working, is this a concern?
 
Sounds like your hand spring is broken. This is a common problem. The fix is to replace the hand/spring assembly or just the spring. I prefer to only replace the spring and therefore eliminate the need to smith a new hand. I like to make hand springs out of a more flexible material than what comes with new hands. The spring lasts longer that way. A favorite material of mine is a spring from a ball point pen. Straighten it out and then bend it to fit the hand slot. When done properly it will outlast the original.
 
It's either a broken hand spring, or gunk in the hand channel. How much have you shot it, and have you ever broken it all the way down to clean it?
 
It's definitely the hand spring, because cylinder won't cycle if I hold the gun vertically, barrel up. Barrel down, and it starts cycling again. I liked Bobby pin suggestion, going to look into that.
 
smokin' joe

I don't understand using a ball point spring. Mine are round wire, formed into a cylindrical spring, that goes around the ink refill by the ball point. Are you speaking of the flat clip that keeps the pen in the pocket? I find some of those to be not very 'springy'.

I need to remember to raid my wife's supply of pins for raw stock before they become obsolete and disappear. :)

Question, are they used 'as is' or retempered?
 
Ok guys, I need some guidance here. I took the hand out, and it is fused with the spring as one part. How exactly do I attach a DIY spring to the hand?
 
For hawgs method, you cut or pry away the existing spring stub (dremel,etc), then cut the Bobby pin to fit, securing it by peening the new spring in place. Basically crushing it in the groove cut in the hand. For a new hand, just take it out, replace it, then check timing, stoning the top surface of the hand till timing is correct. You tube or search here to do that. Me, I tend to crush little parts, so I buy and stone/retime.
 
I don't like the flat springs that come with our black powder revolvers. I have found replacements for all of the flat springs with the exception of the main spring. I hoard springs whenever I find them. Obsolete electronic items, such as CD and tape players, are a great source of unusual and useful springs. Ball point pen coil springs are also very useful. Simply straighten them out and form them to your needs. Re-tempering is not required. When used as a hand spring it is more flexible than the original spring and provides a more refined feel. I simply solder the spring in place.

Hand%20Spring_zps8kw2eeb2.jpg


Safety pins are also useful in our guns.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=623759
 
Whoa, this is almost an art.... I can order a framed print of that picture for $46.99, you should auction those off Smokin'Joe :D
 
Howdy

This is a photo of a 2nd Gen Colt SAA hand, but the idea is he same for pretty much any hand spring. It is almost always a better idea to just replace the spring, rather than the spring and hand assembly, because as previously stated the current hand will already be properly fitted to the gun, a new hand may require fitting. The spring is not 'fused' to the hand, it is sitting in a slot in the hand and the metal has been peened over to hold the spring securely.

hand_zps36a8a43e.jpg


I have found the easiest way to replace the hand is to drill a hole in a hardwood block. If you have a nice little gunsmiths block with lots of holes in it, that is even better. Place the hand on the block with the portion of the hand containing the spring over the hole. Be sure the hand is well supported. Place the new spring directly over the old one. Very carefully use a small hammer and light blows to drive the old spring out with the new spring. You may have to reposition the hand at some point to get the old spring all the way out. Once the new spring is most of the way in, just keep driving it in all the way until the old spring falls out.

Yes, these springs do tend to break, it is part of the design. Many newer single action revolvers use a coil spring in the frame instead of the old fashioned leaf springs. But springs are cheap and easy to replace. Buy a few so you are prepared.
 
There are several ways to rig either a spring wire or a "mousetrap" spring for the hand spring. One is to cut the hand down further around the stud and wrap one loop of the spring around it, with one end into the existing slot. That prevents the spring from ever coming out.

A bobby pin may work for a while but it is not really strong enough for made for long term use.

Jim
 
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