Stripping a Uberti Colt 1860?

[Brian the Brit]

A friend has just given me his Colt 1860. Woo-hoo!

All being well, I hope to take delivery of it shortly once the necessary paperwork is returned by the local police. The gun has been in storage for the past five years.

I have examined it briefly and everything seems to be fine except for a broken hand spring. I have ordered a new hand/spring assembly and a trigger/bolt spring. I also have a schematic of the revolver that I downloaded from the Uberti website.

Before I start pulling the gun to pieces, I wondered if anyone has posted an idiot's guide to dismantling, cleaning, and reassembling this model?

I'm familiar with stripping the Ruger 'Old Army'but the Colt seems very different and I'm unsure of the order in which to remove and replace parts.

Are there any specific things I need to know before I set about her with a screwdriver?

I'd appreciate your advice and guidance, gentlemen.

 

[Zonie]

To put in your new parts you will have to disassemble the gun as follows:
1. Remove the barrel by placing the hammer at half cock.
Using a wooden, aluminum or brass drift, knock the barrel wedge out of engagement with the barrel pin from the right side. It will be retained by the small screw on the left side.
Rotate the cylinder so that the ram hits the face of it between the chambers.
Use the loading lever to jack the barrel off of the barrel pin.
Remove the cylinder.

2. Remove the grip backstrap by removing the two screws on either side of the hammer. Then remove the single screw that connects the backstrap to the trigger guard/forestrap. The wooden grip will probably come off with the backstrap. If they don't, remove it. (The wooden grip is one piece).

3. Remove the mainspring by lowering the hammer to the fired position and loosen the screw at the bottom. If it resists rotation sometimes pushing forward on the mainspring at the top and pushing it to the left (counterclockwise) will cause it to loosen the mainspring enough to finish removing the screw.

4. Remove the three screws that hold the trigger guard onto the frame and remove the trigger guard.

5. Remove the screw that holds the trigger/cylinder stop spring and remove the spring. When you do this, note the position of the spring so you won't put it in upside down when you reassemble the gun.

6. Remove the trigger screw and the trigger.

7. Remove the cylinder stop (bolt) screw and remove the cylinder stop.

8. Remove the hammer screw. The hammer will slide down thru the frame towards the bottom bringing the cylinder "hand" and spring with it.

When reassembling the gun you will probably find that by screwing the mainspring screw in so that it is about 60 percent engaged, then rotating the spring up under the hammer roller and then tightening the screw is the easiest way of reinstalling the mainspring.

Hope this helps (and that I didn't forget anything).
zonie

OH: You should try to keep the screws separate with a note saying where each screw goes. I've found that there can be small differences between the screws.

 

[mykeal]

Just one thing - be very, very careful to match the screwdriver heads to the slots in the screws. A good set of gunsmith's screwdrivers is worth every pence. The screws have soft metal heads and it is very easy to damage the slots. They can be replaced, of course, but why go to the time and trouble when a little care up front can prevent damage?

 

[Brian the Brit]

Zonie/Mykeal,

Many thanks for the very detailed instructions and sound advice. Much appreciated!

Brian