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if you have a pistol stand that holds the gun in an upright position you could load it on the gun with a short dowel or rod & a small hammer. or you can take the cylinder off & use one of the cylinder loadin' stands that has the lever to seat the balls.
 
If the pistol is a Colt style, you would need a dowel longer than the barrel and a small mallet or hammer.

With the barrel removed or pulled up away from the cylinder and rotated out of the way, load the chamber that would be in line with the bore.

Rotate the barrel so that the bore is roughly aligned with the chamber, drop the dowel thru the bore to rest on top of the ball and give it a tap with the mallet.

Repeat for the other chambers.

Once the cylinder is loaded, rotate the barrel back to its normal position and push the wedge thru to lock it in place.
 
If you buy a factory job like a Pietta they come with a brass loading ram which goes through the hole in the barrel lug where the rammer goes in a full length version. Load a chamber, place a ball on top and rotate under the hole, insert the rammer and seat with your palm or a mallet. If you build your own find or turn a piece of round bar, preferable brass, to fit the hole, QED.
 
I just load my cylinders (3)up using my regular full size 1860 Army. Easer than using that brass rod.
 
get a loading press there are several styles available. That brass thingy makes a very good tool for cap seating.I don't know how strong Grumpa is but using the arbor is doubtful. I started out with the brass thingy and a hammer. Loading off the gun with a press is faster and surer.
WB
 
Loading an oversized bare ball with a brass rod repeatedly doesn't seem like a recipe for a fun range day :)

I'm guessing the original cut down snubby percussion wheelguns were a "6 shots then find another option" proposition. With concealment being the main motivator.
 
When i built mine i did this to load.
IMG_3692.jpg
IMG_3691 (2018-09-17T18_48_44.000).jpg


Works pretty good.
DL
 
Pretty cool huh there Woodnbow? Like I said not my idea but credit goes to Tinker. To bad I can't do the 1860 like that.
DL
 
That’s what I was thinking... I have one 5.5” Army Colt and want another. The barrel isn’t the problem it’s cutting the lever and fitting the latch that has me concerned. If I could come up with a quick detachment like yours...
 
The levers under the shorter barrels are a pain in the hand.
A short piece of hydraulic hose in your pocket can help.
 
I don’t mind that so much, don’t seem to have trouble with my 5.5” Army an .457 balls, I’m more concerned about doing a neat job of the latch.
 
That’s what I was thinking... I have one 5.5” Army Colt and want another. The barrel isn’t the problem it’s cutting the lever and fitting the latch that has me concerned. If I could come up with a quick detachment like yours...

Uberti uses a dovetailed latch (and sight on the Remington) which can be used on Piettas or anything else for that matter when cutting them down. Modifying the lever is more challenging.
 
I should be more clear, the Colt requires a dovetail for the latch mounted to the barrel. No problem. The corresponding part of the lever seems more fussy to me.
I only have Ubertis and Colts.
 
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