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Arbor Problem?

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It’s a shame there’s no more documentation from the period but one of the War Department’s chief complaints with the Colts was the wear and replacement of wedges.They ordered thousands of replacement frames and separately wedges. I’m sure some wedges were lost as well as battered and requiring replacement.

Yeah, I get it. These things were brand new then and I'm sure many wedges were installed "thumb tight" so it would be easier to take down the "next" time. Hey, if ya don't know, ya don't know. There's proof all over the forums that it's not understood!! 🤣.

Mike
 
Yeah, I get it. These things were brand new then and I'm sure many wedges were installed "thumb tight" so it would be easier to take down the "next" time. Hey, if ya don't know, ya don't know. There's proof all over the forums that it's not understood!! 🤣.

Mike
True enough. The USMC will drill things like this into your head so solidly that you will hear the instructions loud and clear sixty years later… maybe Army Sergeants just didn’t drill that effectively back in the day…

This revolver was probably sold to General Diaz of the Mexican Army and used by one of his staff. Needs a replacement wedge and probably an arbor. A set screw at the very least!

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The USMC will drill things like this into your head so solidly that you will hear the instructions loud and clear sixty years later…
Army does pretty good to. I worked with a former US Army cook. He could recite all the steps in making French Toast, very bitterly! But considering his work ethic you could see why they did it, of course they needed to tell him to crack the egg on the edge of the bowel.
 
I'm only talking about the "subject at hand" not shims in general (come on, I was raised in a garage!! 😏).

Got it. I have been involved in cycle mechanics since ? (not as a living). A couple of IT guys were the best ones I came across. Go figure.

I had not known how much I picked up watching my dad until I stopped a foreman from blowing up a brand new Diesel Crawler (I was a laborer at the time, got into mechanics/electrical latter on). Uhh Frank, you don't want me to put gas in that tank, its a diesel (followed by a argument).

Now they call it perception bias. They ordered a gasoline rig and expected a gasoline rig. I finally convinced them that them thar steel tubes were not a fancy plug wires. Our operator did get it right off either (me being the new guy, arguing with the crew , argh). Earl was a very good operator but none of them knew nuthing about engines.
 
That Centaure was certainly well used by the time you took it in…
Yeah it had a barrel gap of .027 I remember as it was the largest I ever encountered and had to close up which is why the lower lug needed trimmed and new wedge made to close the gap circumferential-ly even as the arbor end was made to bump up in the well with it's new steel plug.
It also needed chamber reaming and I think a sear lift and bolt spring. I kind of forget over time all that gets done to these projects individually.
 
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Considering the raw material, the method produces generally excellent results.
Boy that sure is the truth as only a GI can know ! They can show up with PHDs or be drop outs and all get treated exactly the same ! Even growing up as a pretty rough farm boy I was shocked at the treatment in boot camp and that was the Air Force which I assumed would be much milder than the rest of the services my buddies were in and talking about.
Drilling all day every day, marching in formation every where and being treated like dogs in between KP duty and standing guard at night.
I remember the only time to write a letter home was after lights out,under the dust cover with a flash light.
The TI's were all meaner than snakes and went out of their way to make life as miserable as they could ! I thought now how can this treatment be used to train any one but in six weeks time we were a pretty tight and cohesive out fit thinking as a unit before being sent off to our respective tech schools.
Now why does an Airmen need to learn how to disassemble and reassemble an M-16 blind folded you might ask? Didn't make any more sense to me then the gas house or the belly crawl through the constantina wire obstetrical course and those dang noisy bomb-lets going off in the pits. At least they didn't make us crawl under live fire like in the Marines or Army. Whew, finally a break for being in the AF!
I liked the AF way of thinking though as all the non coms were trained to support the officer pilots who were the ones getting their butts shot off or winding up as a POW while we stayed back on base safe and sound.
I was told the Tet Offensive didn't quite work out that way for our guys on base though !
 
OK, time for a confessions. I have no idea what a short arbor problem is. My wife assures me I have that problem though. So how do I know if I have a short arbor, a long arbor or a just right arbor? In fact what's an arbor?

I bought a new in box Cimmeron .36 5 shot from a member and the wedge is SUPER tight. To tell the truth I have not shot or fondled it since getting back home with it so I don't know if I could force it in further or not but I am not a guy that forces stuff for the most part.

Are the above symptoms a description of an arbor issue?
 
OK, time for a confessions. I have no idea what a short arbor problem is. My wife assures me I have that problem though. So how do I know if I have a short arbor, a long arbor or a just right arbor? In fact what's an arbor?

I bought a new in box Cimmeron .36 5 shot from a member and the wedge is SUPER tight. To tell the truth I have not shot or fondled it since getting back home with it so I don't know if I could force it in further or not but I am not a guy that forces stuff for the most part.

Are the above symptoms a description of an arbor issue?

In a nutshell, if it's an Uberti product, the arbor is short. If it's a Pietta, you're fine.

The "arbor" is what an open-top cylinder revolves on ( it's their "base pin").

Mike
 
I did Basic and AIT at Fort Dix in the Fall of 1967.
Spent a lot of time listening to Ode to Billie Joe (reminded me of home).
Spent a lot of time on KP drinking chocolate milk and peeling potatos.
Gained 8 ounces during training.
Temperature was in the 80s and low 90s. Trainees were all from Arkansas, Mississipli, Alabama, and Georgia. Cadre were from up north. They were all about to fry and had us in unbloused trousers, sleeves rolled up, and 15 minute breaks every hour so we wouldn't overheat. We thought it was hilarious and didn't enlighten them.

All in all, a pleasant few months with no responsibilities.
 
In a nutshell, if it's an Uberti product, the arbor is short. If it's a Pietta, you're fine.

The "arbor" is what an open-top cylinder revolves on ( it's their "base pin").

Mike
Is this a fix I could do myself? Please PM me instructions if so. I keep all PM's, when I get around to it will take me a looong time to find this thread LOL Thanks Mike, Now I know I'm of the Uberti heritage, I'll let her know.
 
I did my basic and AIT at the then Ft. Polk, LA back in July through December of 1975. I came from the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming, so the heat was no big deal. The humidity was the killer!!
 
"The arbor is in tension, not shear".

The arbor itself is in tension - BUT the load between the wedge and the end of the arbor slot is carried as a shear load at the front end of the arbor. Think back to your Strengths of Materials courses. Because of that, as long as the proposed arbor screw diameter is not as large as the height of the arbor slot, it will have no effect on arbor strength.

As an aside, the real weak point in the arbor design is the thread interface with the frame. Repeated multiple chamber chainfires will damage the threads enough that the arbor will become loose and floppy - which means the barrel will also be loose and floppy. Happened to my Centaure. One of these days I'll get around to fixing it.
 
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