Timing problem - Pietta 1858 Remington

[Brian the Brit]

Well, the new bolt and trigger/bolt spring arrived today and after a bit of filing to the bolt are now fitted and working perfectly. When the bolt snaps into place the cylinder locks into position with negligible side-to-side movement.

Unfortunately the cylinder does not always line up correctly with the barrel as sometimes it doesn't turn far enough for the bolt to snap into the slot to lock it in place.

When I stripped the gun down again I noticed that the end of the hand is worn so the hand/spring assembly obviously needs replacing. (How I missed that the first time around I don't know.) Doh!

Anyway, when I ordered the new part the chap on the phone said, "You do know that that part will require fitting? It controls the timing."

As I thought fitting a new hand and spring was simply a straightforward replacement, I'm now unsure how to proceed.

Can anyone who has replaced a hand and spring advise me how to set about fitting it please? I'm assuming that it involves filing the tip of the hand in order to obtain the correct amount of 'throw' when the hammer is cocked - or isn't it that simple?

Once again, any advice you gentlemen could give me would be most gratefully received.

Brian

 

[R.M.]

Normally, the hand comes too long, which will try to over-rotate the cylinder. It needs a little filing/stoning on the length to get it to get the cylinder turned just the right amount, so the bolt will snap into place.

 

[mazo kid]

Just be patient and go slow, fitting often so as not to take too much off and end up in the same place you started. Emery

 

[paulvallandigham]

R.M> is right. Save your old " hand" and use it to help you determine how much longer the new hand is. Go slowly, and fit the hand so it doesn't over rotate, or UNDER rotate the cylinder.

You might want to consider having the new hand case hardened when its done, so it does not wear down like the last one did. Or, you can do it yourself, with Casenite, and a couple of propane torches. Go down to the Gun Builders topic on this forum and search for posts on case hardening. There are plenty of good posts explaining how to do this with small parts, properly.

 

[khwils]

You ordered 2 - right! :wink:

Kurt

 

[Raider2000]

Like the others have said.

The hand will come a little too long, fit it & see about where the hammer stops just shy of full cock with both the trigger & bolt also installed because they all need to work in unison.

Stoning the top portion of the hand with a little detail to the sides as you go "using the old hand as a general guide of shape" taking a few strokes at a time till you get the proper timing.

It does take some time & patience to do but the one thing to remember is to take your time, & take a little at a time till you get it right because once you go past the right spot you can not give the metal back.

 

[Zonie]

While I agree that having the end of the hand hardened is a great idea, and Casenit will do a fine job, this isn't something that should be rushed into.

Getting the Casenit to work requires that the steel be heated to a bright red color and kept at that temperature for some time.
Because the little spring that keeps the hand engaged with the cylinder ratchet is a part of that hand, and heating it to a temperature above 700 degrees (far from red hot) will remove most of the hardness the spring must be protected.
In fact, the whole end of the hand where the spring is installed must be kept cool.

There are ways of doing this like keeping the lower end of the hand and the spring under water while the upper end is red hot this is not an easy thing to do.

IMO, unless the gun is going to be used to fire thousands of shots I think the heat treatment should be avoided.

 

[Raider2000]

When heat treating the hand, I use a product called Thermo-Trap "heat absorbing paste."

When heat treating all you need to heat up is the top & slight forward faces, the rest does not need to be treated so the use of the Thermo-Trap paste around the spring & most of the lower areas of the hand will kep at a lower temperature while working the tip.

 

[R.M.]

I wouldn't worry about heat treating the hand. Chances are, the spring will break before the hand wears out.

 

[Brian the Brit]

Thanks for all the wise advice, Guys, it's very much appreciated.

My apologies to the Moderator for posting in the wrong section.

Brian

 

[Brian the Brit]

When the hand arrived it needed no 'fitting' after all - so I guess I was lucky.

I took the revolver to the range yesterday and fired 48 rounds without a single misfire.

Looks like I've cracked it!

Thanks again for the kind advice.

Brian