My 1851 uberti navy arrived a day early.

[Ballshooter]

Look down at the bottom of the arbor hole and see if there's a witness mark (circular mark where arbor is contacting the bottom).

Like this
View attachment 235880

Mike

Thanks Mike, I will check it out.

 

[Ballshooter]

There looks like a slight ring at the bottom.

 

[45D]

Not sure the arbor has a big enough circumference to do that there. I've had a couple of the newest Uberti's here and my spacer seemed to be thinner than usual. Not sure why they'd "sneak up" on the correct length but, ya never know.
I'd definitely want contact to be full instead of one spot.
If that IS from the arbor, I'd want to dress the end of the arbor to make it full contact.

Mike

 

[Ballshooter]

Not sure the arbor has a big enough circumference to do that there. I've had a couple of the newest Uberti's here and my spacer seemed to be thinner than usual not definitelynecessary. Not sure why they'd "sneak up" on the correct length but, ya never know.
I'd definitely want contact to be full instead of one spot.
If that IS from the arbor, I'd want to dress the end of the arbor to make it full contact.

Mike

I will put some Prussian blue or something similar and double check the fit.

 

[Flint1]

So far all of my cap and ball revolver shooting has been with a Remington new model army. I am a Civil War collector and have original 1851 Navy and 1860 Army I don't shoot so the arbor question on Colts was never a concern for me. About 2 months ago I purchased a Whitneyville Dragoon and First Model Dragoon, both by Uberti, to eventually shoot. When I got them one functioned perfectly working the action but the other was like trying to cock a relic dug up from the Civil War. It would not budge. There was a note included that said because of the weight of the Dragoons sometimes during shipping the wedge would be driven in too tight causing the action to jam. It said to drive the wedge out slightly and readjust it. I did and it functioned just like the other. Not having actually shot the Colts I had always thought the wedge should be driven in all the way. I had no idea it could be adjusted to change the functioning of the cylinder. So what are the possible bad effects of firing a Colt with a short arbor? If the barrel actually can pivot while trying to travel further back along the arbor while stopping at the bottom of the frame that sounds like something that would damage the firearm. Apparently from what I read about all of the Colt replicas are being made with short arbors, so I imagine alot are being fired that way and have been for years. About a year and a half ago I also bought Uberti replicas of the 1849 Pocket Model and 1862 Police to put in display cases of originals I have of those models. I may decide to eventually shoot those as well. If short arbors can cause damage would the Dragoons with the heavier charges be more likely to suffer damage than the smaller framed models?

 

[45D]

So far all of my cap and ball revolver shooting has been with a Remington new model army. I am a Civil War collector and have original 1851 Navy and 1860 Army I don't shoot so the arbor question on Colts was never a concern for me. About 2 months ago I purchased a Whitneyville Dragoon and First Model Dragoon, both by Uberti, to eventually shoot. When I got them one functioned perfectly working the action but the other was like trying to cock a relic dug up from the Civil War. It would not budge. There was a note included that said because of the weight of the Dragoons sometimes during shipping the wedge would be driven in too tight causing the action to jam. It said to drive the wedge out slightly and readjust it. I did and it functioned just like the other. Not having actually shot the Colts I had always thought the wedge should be driven in all the way. I had no idea it could be adjusted to change the functioning of the cylinder. So what are the possible bad effects of firing a Colt with a short arbor? If the barrel actually can pivot while trying to travel further back along the arbor while stopping at the bottom of the frame that sounds like something that would damage the firearm. Apparently from what I read about all of the Colt replicas are being made with short arbors, so I imagine alot are being fired that way and have been for years. About a year and a half ago I also bought Uberti replicas of the 1849 Pocket Model and 1862 Police to put in display cases of originals I have of those models. I may decide to eventually shoot those as well. If short arbors can cause damage would the Dragoons with the heavier charges be more likely to suffer damage than the smaller framed models?

Sir . . . THANK YOU!!!!

You're exactly right! Because the arbor is short, the barrel CAN ( and will) pivot back with each shot . . . especially with heavy loads. It's the arbor being bottomed out that stops that from happening.
That's what happened with my Walker and Dragoons back in the '80's. My Walker especially ate wedges like candy! The damage is "chewed up " wedges, barrel material bulging out behind the wedge slot and the most dramatic is arbor failure. It's also responsible for producing loose arbors though often times the arbor can be loose right out of the box. It's always good to check that before making a spacer to correct the length problem. Check it by chucking the arbor in a vice and wiggling the frame. You'll be able to feel the slightest movement.
The reproductions ( including the Colt 2nd gen reissues and the Sig. Series) have always had short arbors . . . only the Piettas of the last 15 yrs or so have been more or less correct. Production expediency and / or ignorance is the most likely cause for short arbors but it's obviously something that can be corrected since Pittas no longer have that problem.
If you'll search here, I've posted how to easily make and fit a spacer.

And yes, the wedge should be driven in. It is NOT an adjustable "gap" setter.

Mike

 

[Flint1]

What Mike says makes lots of sense. I had wondered about the Colt reissues which I believe were in the 70's and 80's. If I recall correctly Colt actually resumed the serial numbers from where they had left off with that model over 100 years earlier. I would have thought at least Colt would have manufactured them with the correct arbor length. I wonder if that is why Uberti recommends such a "light" load compared to what the chambers will hold. I was just tinkering with my Whitneyville. To me it looks like the loading lever doesn't go too deep into the chamber for a light load. That would take a whole lot of grits for a filler, not just to get the ball close to the chamber mouth but to avoid leaving a gap between the ball and powder. Could that be a symptom of a short arbor as well? I also noticed the wedge seems to ride more to the rear of the slot and is not in the center. I bought my Remington way back in December '80. It sounds like even going that far back there has been the short arbor problem with repro Colts. I know this has been said many times, but those two Dragoons ran about $500 each. For that except for wiping them down they should be ready to fire right out of the box without risking damage to them if not abused.

 

[Griff093]

If I recall correctly Colt actually resumed the serial numbers from where they had left off with that model over 100 years earlier. I would have thought at least Colt would have manufactured them with the correct arbor length. I wonder if that is why Uberti recommends such a "light" load compared to what the chambers will hold.

As far as serial numbers, the 2nd Gen BP re-issues didn't start off where the originals left off. The 3rd Gens, or Signature Series started off where the 2nd Gens stopped and those were the guns produced by the Black Powder Firearms Co., (aka Iver Johnson). The major parts for the Re-Issue BP series came from Uberti, while Colt fit & finished the "C" series guns in house it was with those major components from Uberti. The "F" Series 2nd Gen Re-Issues were fit & finished by Iver Johnson under contract from Colt. My "C" series guns are in the 7,xxx range, my "F" series gun is in the low 25,xxx range, & my Signature Series is in the mid 31,xxx range. (I think someone said once that the "C" series began with the Lee & Grant Commemoratives, and then went thru serial # 25,100.