I have a Lyman 1851 Navy that seems to have a weak mainspring.(The hammer does not ignite the cap)My question is:If I order a new mainspring from Dixie gun works are their any special tools or techniques that are required to install the new spring?Thanks in advance for any replies!PS It has a V-type main spring.
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Lyman 1851 Navy
- Thread starter philo426
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Nothing more than a couple of screwdrivers.
I say a couple because you will want one which fits the screw slots exactly right and you have some little screws holding the grip frame in place and a big screw holding the spring in place.
To replace the spring, remove the three screws holding the grip frame onto the reciever.
With this off, and the hammer down, remove the large screw that holds the spring.
Reassembly is in the reverse order.
Before you change out the spring though, you might want to read some of the older posts about the 1851 Navy.
Sometimes the problem can be traced to a lack of oil, the hammer rubbing on the frame, poor or incorrect nipples....
zonie
I say a couple because you will want one which fits the screw slots exactly right and you have some little screws holding the grip frame in place and a big screw holding the spring in place.
To replace the spring, remove the three screws holding the grip frame onto the reciever.
With this off, and the hammer down, remove the large screw that holds the spring.
Reassembly is in the reverse order.
Before you change out the spring though, you might want to read some of the older posts about the 1851 Navy.
Sometimes the problem can be traced to a lack of oil, the hammer rubbing on the frame, poor or incorrect nipples....
zonie
Yeah, that was my first thought, caps riding high on the nipples. Even a weak mainspring ought to set off a cap. Replacing the mainspring is a piece of cake, just switch parts. If the new spring is too strong you can put a small washer between it and the frame.
I took the gri-p frame off today and removed the main spring.The spring was not corroded did not even have a spec of rust on it.I oiled and greased the parts and re-assembled the revolver.It did the same thing!I don't think the hammer is rubbing on the frame or impeding its forward motion.I compared the hammer fall with the hammer fall of my Navy Arms 1860 army and they seem to fall with equal force(although this is kind of hard to tell.)The 1860 Army always ignites the caps.I even tried switching the nipples from the Army to the Navy but it did not help.I will order the spring and see if this helps.BTW I am using CCI #11 caps(if that makes a difference).I pinch them slightly so that they will stay on.
Although it's unlikely, there is another thing that can cause the cap firing problem you describe.
With the Colts, the hammer will rest on the frame when the barrel and cylinder is removed.
If the hammer is stopping on the frame before it can hit the cap (or at about the same time that it hits the cap) that would cause a mis-fire.
To rule out this possibility, test the gun by cocking the hammer. In this condition, you will probably be able to slide the cylinder back slightly so that there is a gap between the front of the cylinder and the rear of the barrel.
Now, gently lower the hammer down so it stops on the cylinder. In this position, the cylinder should be shoved up snug against the rear of the barrel.
If it still has a gap with the hammer down, the nipples are too short, or the hammer is stopping prematurely on the frame.
If it passes this test, at least that problem can be ruled out. :grin:
zonie
With the Colts, the hammer will rest on the frame when the barrel and cylinder is removed.
If the hammer is stopping on the frame before it can hit the cap (or at about the same time that it hits the cap) that would cause a mis-fire.
To rule out this possibility, test the gun by cocking the hammer. In this condition, you will probably be able to slide the cylinder back slightly so that there is a gap between the front of the cylinder and the rear of the barrel.
Now, gently lower the hammer down so it stops on the cylinder. In this position, the cylinder should be shoved up snug against the rear of the barrel.
If it still has a gap with the hammer down, the nipples are too short, or the hammer is stopping prematurely on the frame.
If it passes this test, at least that problem can be ruled out. :grin:
zonie
Update:The parts came in and I installed the new spring.However,I noticed that the design of the spring is different from the original.The Dixie spring has a groove for the hammer roller that the Lyman spring does not.Plus the Dixie spring is a little shorter.The Dixie spring made it worse!So I re-installed the Lyman spring along with the new roller pin .I am happy to report that the new roller pin made a great difference and ignites the caps properly.I noticed that the old pin is just a piece of soft wire that the previous owner must have used!Surprising how that little pin could make such a large difference.Oh well live and learn,at least the Dixie spring was only 3 bucks!I suspect that the Dixie spring was made for a Pietta '51 Navy and My gun was made by Uberti or some other Italian maker.
Well it seems that my earlier report was pre-mature!The first batch of caps fired pretty well but the next had very spotty ignition.I tried new #11 Remington caps but it made little difference.I decided to order new uberti nippples from VTI and hope this will solve the problem.i suspect that The revolver was made from mixed parts.The Barrel and cylinder are Pietta but the Main frame is Lyman.Bummer!The revolver indexes properly but this revolver is a problem!The parts are in excellent condition so I hope that the new nipples which are a little longer will finally allow me to shoot this navy!
