Repair question for the Uberti gurus

B

brazosdave

New member
Hey fellas, I have a Uberti 61 Navy, nice gun, but the problem is I have 3 cylinders that fail to bust caps. Nipples look good, so I don't believe that is the problem. Any suggestions as to how to approach this malady will be greatly appreciated.
 
All kinds of possibilities. Hawg mentioned one but it is unusual to do it on only three chambers. General possibilities are too wide a barrel cylinder gap, caps not fully seating on the nipple. Did this problem just show up recently or has it always been this way? Are these factory nipples or replacements?
 
I just got the gun from some people I know who have had it for awhile. it has a tuned action, been to Goons Gun Works, and i'm not sure on the nipples, probably replacements, the gun is fairly old. I think I will try Hawg's remedy, Hawgster if your out there do you know offhand what size shims those are ? I can see if they got em next time I go to town.
 
Try backing the nipples out a turn to find out if they have too much clearance. if you opt to add shim washers you can calculate the thickness by threads/mm and how much you needed to back them out.
 
Maybe the people that had it before dry fired it a lot. This can damage the nipples. A new set of nipples could be order. Nothing like new nipples to make things run better.
 
If they're seated too deep new ones wont help if they're the same height. Measure the ones that do fire from the face of the cylinder against the ones that don't and shim them accordingly.
 
I would go with Hawg's suggestion as a first step. If they all measure the same you need to look for another problem. If it had an action job at Goons it will have a very close B/C gap which is good so that wouldn't be it. It will also have a cap rake installed and the slot in the hammer deepened. Goon also puts a leather shim under the mainspring that cuts down on the striking force of the hammer which could be a contributing factor particularly if the caps do not fully seat on those three nipples. Have you tried striking them a second time to see if they go off?
 
I'd try a thin washer between nip and cylinder to bring them back a tick. Or make a shims out of a beer can.

Should bring those nips close to the hammer where it can hit the caps.
 
Minorcan said:
Maybe the people that had it before dry fired it a lot. This can damage the nipples. A new set of nipples could be order. Nothing like new nipples to make things run better.
Click to expand...
True, but with everything properly fitted, the hammer should not touch the nipples.
 
Just to be clear, I put a steel washer if anything, under the mainspring. Some folks will put leather, rubber, whatever under the mainspring to "lighten" the tension. Thining/ narrowing the spring is how you lighten the spring. A steel washer gives gives you a different angle to work with plus a small amount of "adjustability".
Leather, rubber, whatever else will degrade/dry out and be forever changing. You can't have a changing mainspring with an action stop.

Dave, is this my old Navy that you have? *(After re-reading the original question, I realize it's not. Mine was a '51) I think I know which one it is. If new or " adjusted" nips don't fix it, send it back an I'll "run through it" for ya. N.C. since I've already serviced it.

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com
Follow me on Instagram @ goonsgunworks
 
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Nah Mike, this is the 61 Navy that ET used to own. PM me your address and I believe i'll just let you take a looksee at it. I'm in the middle of a house resto job with Daryl and Waylon, and with all the projects at my house and property, I still ain't gotten around to refinishing my S & W's, lol!
 
Anyone ever made shims from a suitable amount of copper wire wound around the threads and flattened?
Works pretty good.
Click to expand...

I would think cutting them out of shim stock or an old set of feeler gauges would be more precise.
 
^^^
Yessir, not only for shims but for making small leaf springs, too.
Like for hand springs.
Although the thicker feeler gauges can be tough and difficult to shape.
Hence the wound wire approach.
 
If you know what thickness shim you need, you can make the shim yourself.

Sandwich the material between two sheets of steel. Drill to the right diameter. Remove the shim from the two sheets of steel and then file to fit.
 
Just spiral soft wire (bronze or steel) about 10 times around a nail of appropriate size and then clip the open loops (they'll look like lock washers) and then pound flat on a vise. I've done that for years until I found real live precision shims as posted above.
 
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