1851 bolt/cylinder lock issue

[Phil Coffins]

The cylinder bushing was in the cartridge revolver, percussion didn’t have a bushing. All the replica ones I have seen have the cam cast into the hammer. The hammers of replica cap and ball aren’t well hardened so if the cam starts to wear they will continue to wear. Like a flat tire, you can turn it over but it’s still a flat!

 

[M. De Land]

I bought an 1851 steel frame that was made sometime in the late 1970s for Bill Edwards (the guy in Afton, VA; I had a thread about it a bit ago).

For the most part it is in fantastic condition. There is one thing that I'm having a bit of trouble with however:

The cylinder stop protrudes back up through the frame at half-cock and stops the cylinder from turning. To advance the cylinder for loading I have to hold the hammer at about 1/4-cock.

The trigger/bolt spring is a wire spring, rather than a leaf spring like more recent makes. Disassembly and cleaning did not address the issue. Before I go messing with stuff, any suggestions on a course of action?

You might try spreading the bolt fingers a bit before all this other stuff.

 

[tnlonghunter]

Update: I have been able to fix the problem. Spreading the legs on the bolt worked. I had to try it a couple times to get it right. The first time I over did it and made it so the leg on the hammer cam never actually dropped off, so the cylinder never actually locked at all. That's clearly bad. A small correction the other way put things in the correct position. The cylinder now spins at half-cock and locks in correct time.

On a whim, I bought a spare parts set for a Pietta 1851 in the hopes it would fit in case spares were needed (nobody seemed to know who the actual manufacturer of this pistol is). The current Pietta spares don't fit. A couple thing physically fit in the slots, but nothing works as it's supposed to. So, in the future if this thing bites the dust it may just become a wall hanger and get replaced with a new one. I learned a ton in this small process, but I'm gonna leave working on these to the pros. I hope to enjoy it safely til then.

 

[M. De Land]

Update: I have been able to fix the problem. Spreading the legs on the bolt worked. I had to try it a couple times to get it right. The first time I over did it and made it so the leg on the hammer cam never actually dropped off, so the cylinder never actually locked at all. That's clearly bad. A small correction the other way put things in the correct position. The cylinder now spins at half-cock and locks in correct time.

On a whim, I bought a spare parts set for a Pietta 1851 in the hopes it would fit in case spares were needed (nobody seemed to know who the actual manufacturer of this pistol is). The current Pietta spares don't fit. A couple thing physically fit in the slots, but nothing works as it's supposed to. So, in the future if this thing bites the dust it may just become a wall hanger and get replaced with a new one. I learned a ton in this small process, but I'm gonna leave working on these to the pros. I hope to enjoy it safely til then.

Good deal, quite often a fix is simple. I've found that on these Pietta's that the basics to make fine and accurate shooters are present in them with some tweaking and in some cases making a couple new parts on the older guns at least. I've had two where the triggers were soft and even re-casing them would not hold a good target trigger edge . The keys are usually to soft as well in my opinion. Both of these parts can be made with file, hack saw,drill bit and proper heat treat protocal using some good tool steel but I must admit a mill is a huge time saver.