(Continued from Part 1)
When other parts on revolvers break, fixing them can be a hassle. If a bolt or a hand breaks, you will need to be an expert at welding, brazing, filing, and fitting if you cannot find a replacement. Even if you do find a replacement, be prepared to hand fit the part, as quality control today is greater than it was back then. Fitting a hand precisely is essential! The length of the hand determines how far a cylinder rotates, and how the chambers align with the barrel. Misalignment can cause poor accuracy, or can become a safety hazard if a bullet enters the forcing cone improperly. If a cylinder cracks, there is little that you can do but purchase another.
Hammers and triggers, however, can be repaired by brazing. You can also purchase blank hammers and triggers on eBay, and then file them to the proper dimensions. The key to doing this is patience – it is much easier to file metal away than it is to add it back on! I recently did this on a National Arms .38 break-top revolver. I picked up a blank hammer on eBay, and notched it to install a new mainspring that I made from a Pietta 1863 mainspring. It is somewhat stiff, but it fires. I also had to create a new firing pin, as the old one was bent and worn. I used a section of an AR-15 firing pin carefully filed to the proper shape, and polished with very fine emery cloth and a buffing wheel. Firing pin length is important. Too short, and you will fail to strike the primer with enough force. Too long, and you can pierce the primer and release metal particles and hot gases back toward you.
Ammunition for centerfire revolvers is usually easy to find. For rimfires, it is much more difficult. Several calibers are commonly used for centerfire revolvers – .32 S&W short, .32 S&W long, .38 S&W, .38 Long Colt, .41 Colt, .44-40, and 45 Colt. Most of these are available at many gun stores or online. The .41 Colt is an exception, although at the time of this writing it is available from AmmunitionToGo. One common pocket revolver caliber is .32 rimfire. Ammunition is almost impossible to find, although Dixie Gun Works makes a reusable conversion cartridge that uses a .22 blank and black powder inside a lathe-turned brass .32 case. They are costly, but it is one way you can get a rimfire revolver working.
Continue reading“Home Repair of Pre-1899 Guns – Part 2, by SwampFox”