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Hammer and Nipple Not lined Up

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Hylander

32 Cal.
Joined
Oct 13, 2013
Messages
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CVA Mountain Rifle:
I am thinking I will have to heat and bend the hammer out a touch.
But, do you think the hammer can take the heat and bend, or break?
I can not remove the hammer from the lock, it is on there to stay.

49527584243_849ef80691_c.jpg


49528102891_b8eeeef2b6_c.jpg
 
The drum appears to have been slightly over tightened. Bending the hammer will make the geometry between the hammer striking face and nipple even worse. If you can unscrew the drum... you can add a small washer shim behind it.
 
I agree that the drum might be the best fix. You should be able to get the hammer off. Bending it could be a fix. If you screw it up, you can most likely find another.

Fleener
 
Try a slightly shorter nipple or file that one down a touch. Id feel safer trying to do that first before touching anything else. cheap fix if it doesn't work. Measure the throw first, so you don't go too short. Then it definitely won't fire.

Those drums are on tight, attempting to loosen will likely result in damage. misalignment is common on CVAs
Heating and bending the hammer is easy, getting a CVA hammer off, not so much.
 
Reclocking a CVA drum is a fool’s errand, the hammer must be reworked. Yet another reason to avoid cheap guns. Sorry I can’t be gentler with the harsh reality.
 
Reclocking a CVA drum is a fool’s errand, the hammer must be reworked. Yet another reason to avoid cheap guns. Sorry I can’t be gentler with the harsh reality.

I think working the hammer should be fairly easy, if it is not pot metal.
Will it hold up to heat and bending or will it just break?
I only need to move it about 1/16"
 
While I think that if one moved the nipple backwards one would mitigate the problem of the angle of impact on the cap, I don't think that it's simply an overtightened drum. I think that filing down the nipple a tad or simply going to a slightly shorter nipple, providing the hammer will tolerate the increased distance, is a valid option. Because I think the whole drum is improperly tapped for the nipple itself. I think the nipple is in at an angle in the drum itself...

BAD NIPPLE.JPG

LD
 
The drum appears to have been slightly over tightened. Bending the hammer will make the geometry between the hammer striking face and nipple even worse. If you can unscrew the drum... you can add a small washer shim behind it.
CVA Mountain Rifle:
I am thinking I will have to heat and bend the hammer out a touch.
But, do you think the hammer can take the heat and bend, or break?
I can not remove the hammer from the lock, it is on there to stay. I have a cheap "Ethan Allen" that had a misaligned hammer like yours. I ended up grinding out the inside of the front of the hammer and then notching it. Now it fires every time and the geometry is perfect. Bending it is going to change the angle of the striking surface.


49527584243_849ef80691_c.jpg


49528102891_b8eeeef2b6_c.jpg
 
It appears to me a shorter nipple will not do it. Bending the hammer is the solution. Disassemble the lock. Remove the hammer. Drive the tumber out of the hammer with a square drift punch. Hold the hammer in a vice down near the bottom using aluminum or copper to protect the hammer, old copper pennies perhaps. Heat the hammer red-orange hot in the area of the bend and hump, behind the projection on the nose. Grab the nose end with pliers or a crescent wrench. When it is hot enough it will bend super easy.

Be careful not to maul the hammer. It is very easy to collapse the recessed are where it strikes the nipple. If you do that find drill bit that fits the recess before collapse. Grind a flat on it. Insert in the nose recess, after heating, and twist. It will iron out the recess to the original contour.

It does appear that CVA tightened the drum too far to me.
 
Being the fool that I am, I would get my 6" adjustable wrench out, place it onto the drum (with the nipple still installed), snug its jaws up against the outside of the drum and rotate the drum about 3 degrees counterclockwise.
That would align the nipple with the hammer and such a small movement would not appreciably loosen the drum.

Simple fix for a simple problem and it doesn't envolve doing something that could break the hammer. :)
 
Being the fool that I am, I would get my 6" adjustable wrench out, place it onto the drum (with the nipple still installed), snug its jaws up against the outside of the drum and rotate the drum about 3 degrees counterclockwise.
That would align the nipple with the hammer and such a small movement would not appreciably loosen the drum.

Simple fix for a simple problem and it doesn't envolve doing something that could break the hammer. :)

I think Zonie's solution is by far the best. Looks like a clocking problem from over tightening or mis-manufacture. Should the loosening of the drum cause a problem a washer of proper thickness might be in order. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill.
Dave
 
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