What did I do wrong?

W

w_houle

New member
I went to take my Pietta 1851 apart. In detail:
Bottom screw and back screws came off, then removed main spring screw
Went to remove screws behind the trigger guard, and they were so tight that I messed a screw head up. I had to tap on the screwdriver with a hammer to get it to turn
Removed the screw for the spring on the trigger and stop, but the screws for the stop and the trigger were very tight. At least the hammer screw was easy.
I usually assemble in the reverse order, and only the hammer screw and bottom most screw need to be torqued. So... what happened? I should be able to take this thing apart with barely any force when the spring tension is removed.
 
Sometimes those screws are very tight from the factory. I have found you need a large selection of blade sizes, match width and thickness of the screw head. As I recall I use four different screwdriver tips to disassemble a Colt revolver.

If you have a screw that has even the slightest damage it just compounds the pita factor. I've been looking at a set of screw slot files but are beyond my means, $400+ for a set of ten files.:eek:
 
I have a Pietta 1851. I seem to recall the process is this:

1. Remove grips
2. Half cock
3. Knock out wedge
4. Remove barrel and cylinder
5. Unscrew backstrap top screws
6. Unscrew backstrap bottom screw
7. Unscrew mainspring screw and remove mainspring
8. Remove three bottom screws
9. Remove trigger/bolt spring screw and remove spring
10. Remove trigger screw and trigger
11. Remove bolt screw and bolt
12. Remove hammer screw and hammer/hand

I think I got that right....

BTW, +1 on using the largest hollow ground screwdriver blade on each screw removed. I saw a problem with an 1851 where the mainspring screw was so tight that a screwdriver blade was bent. The solution on that firearm was to grab the mainspring from the top and rotate it and the screw counter clockwise at the same time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top