• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades

Hands and cylinder rachets?

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

TNHillbilly

45 Cal.
Joined
Apr 18, 2008
Messages
521
Reaction score
0
Recently, I read a synopsis of a book pertaining to 'smithing' Colt SA's. There was reference to 'the three types of hands'. Without recalling specifics, I've encountered different types of rachet designs in pistols. My observation, though limited, is Colt rachets seem to have two facets: one allowing the hand to raise or push the cylinder, the second seemingly then allowing the hand to 'slip' off and backing when the bolt grabs. Rather than trying to buy parts. I usually grab a small piece of steel, drill a 1/8" hole (oe whatever required size), press in a piece of SS rod for the pivot. I leave it a bit long and start filing from there. I've found with these, I wind up with, for lack of a better description....a sort... 'squished' inverted 'V'. I'm wondering what other techniques you guys may have to fit a hand. Forme, it's a time consuming project! And yes, I harden the hand! Bill
 
I'm only familiar with two types of Colt hands for single actions. The single tooth used in the open tops and the double tooth ones used in the SAA. There might be a minor subset that your author was refering to but these are the major types.
First off hardening the hand is always a bad idea. I know I'll get some argument here but if it was a good idea the makers would do it. The reason being is that the least expensive part is the wear part. Hardening the hand will put excessive wear on the cylinder ratchet where you don't want it. An unhardened hand will last thousands and thousands of cycles without appreciable wear.
Fitting a hand to one of the Colt open tops is so simple it's almost complex or everybody tries to make it that way. Here is how I do it. When I refer to left and right it is with the hand spring facing me.
First I install the hand as is to see where I have to start.
The hand has to pick up the tooth of the ratchet that is in the 240 degree position just at the point or slightly after the bolt has cleared the cylinder. If it is early, which it likely will be if it's a new hand, I trim the top of the hand at a slight downward angle from left to right so that the right side is a few thousandths higher. Once it is picking up the tooth in the 240 degree position at the right point you are 90 percent done.
Remember that at 240 degrees just the left top of the hand is contacting the tooth then at 270 degrees the top of the hand is in full contact with the tooth and at it's final position at 300degrees it is only contacting on the top right corner of the hand.
Then on carry up I want to hear the bolt drop into the cylinder notch either right at or just slightly after the trigger drops into full cock. If it doesn't I trim the top right of the hand generally with a radius and that's it.
The only other things to be aware of is if the hand has a boss where the pin goes in the hammer you might need a clearance radius on the left top of the hand. Pietta's always need this. If the hand doesn't have a boss you might need a slight radius on the back right side of the hand to ease it past the arbor. Uberti generally has a clearance cut on the arbor. These are just things to be aware of. No sense making a simple job more complex than it is.
 
I've never worn out or broke a hand, but i've broke my share of hand springs on Colts. A permanent fix for that is to drill a hole in the frame and use a plunger and coil spring from a Ruger to push on the hand. That's something Colt should have done a long time ago.
 
Yes, a drill press is a must. Get it wrong and you'll be buying a new frame.

I should have mentioned that.

Thanks Dennis.
 
Back
Top