Howell's cylinder in a new Uberti 1858, problem with lock up

N

noelf2

New member
Got my new 5 shot conversion cylinder yesterday, ordered from Howell's. Fit's my carbine very well. Only issue is if I cock the hammer slowly the hand doesn't advance the cylinder far enough for the bolt to catch. I can advance it into battery with just a slight, and I mean slight, turn/touch. If I pull the hammer more briskly, the momentum of the cylinder will always advance it into full battery. I don't want to modify anything on the carbine, so I'll probably have to live with the issue. Just a bit worried if I forget and don't ensure the cylinder is in full battery before I fire. I think the hammer would still hit the firing pins, it's that close. Anyone else have this issue with the 5 shot Howell's cylinders?
 
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I spoke with Chris at Howell's and he's going to make a different back plate (cap) for me next time they run a bunch of caps. I measured the difference from hammer fully pulled (cylinder cycled as far as it would go) and the remaining bit of turn to get the bolt to fall in the cylinder notch. Was .072 difference when measured on the outside of the cylinder. Anyway, it seems the Uberti 1858 carbine may have slightly different specs from the Uberti 1858 revolvers because Chris said they haven't had any problems with the cylinders for Uberti 1858 revolvers so far. They're going to fix me up anyway, and as far as I'm concerned, Howell's is a stand-up group!
 
Is yours really a 5 shot?
Click to expand...

Yes. Howell's makes a 5 shot that has extra bolt notches on the cylinder (between the regular notches) so you have a safety stop between each chamber.
 
You sure about that? Howell's makes the Taylor's R&D cylinder, 6 shot, but the only safety is leaving an empty chamber under the hammer. No extra cylinder stops / bolt notches. You may be thinking of the safety notches on the cap and ball cylinder.
 
Your five shot is a Howell's Old West (latest name for Kenny's business). The six shot patent was sold to Taylors a few years ago, so all the newer 6 shots are actually Taylors now.

The indexing issue is a very easy one to fix and I can stretch the hand, ever so slightly, to take care of it. This will not cause a problem with your C&B cylinders functioning. You just got lucky and all your parts tolerances stacked up wrong (or actually unlucky)!

Regards, HH

http://www.cartridgeconversion.com
 
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Thanks HH. Nice to know I have options! First I'm going to see if the modified cap that Howell's makes for me does the trick. I've also heard that replacement hands come long so they can be filed down to fit. I also thought of doing this but don't want to affect the function of the C&B cylinder. Never heard of "stretching" the hand..:confused: You don't have to add material to it?
 
I heard a rumor that the CNC at Howell's is down so it may be a while before you get the part........

The hands are not manufactured long but sometimes the one in your pistol might have been filed shorter if it's over indexing at the factory. I doubt yours was (most of the time they are never touched).

No material added just gunsmithing MAGIC!

Regards, HH
 
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