Isn't the Barrel Wedge Screw Removed When Removing the Wedge C 'b Ball Revolver

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I just got a Colt Signature Series 1860 and want to clean it but the manual says to just knock the barrel wedge out with a wooden dowel and hammer, isn't the barrel wedge screw removed before I knock the barrel wedge out?

[johnson1942]

my screw doesnt come out. it has a cut off flat side and is just turned so it doesnt hold it in any more. yours may be like mine or it may not.

[Hickok]

No, the screw is there just to prevent the wedge from coming all the way out. The flat spring with the bump on the end is supposed to catch on the screw head when the wedge is pushed out.

A good tool to drive out the barrel wedge can be made from an aluminum cleaning rod segment found in many cleaning kits. Simply file "flats" on both sides of the cleaning rod until it will fit in the wedge slots of the barrel. Wont mar the finish, when tapping the wedge out with a small hammer.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

OK, thanks. I may be posting a few more stupid questions in the next day to two until I get up to speed. Can't stand to own a Colt's that hasn't been fired yet.

[Omnivore]

What Hickok said.

Usually the wedge will be loose enough to pull out without the need for a punch that fits into the slot though. Or at least that is my experience with three different Colt's repros. Any flat-ended, non-marring punch will therefore usually do the job (depending on your individual gun). No need to remove the wedge completely from the barrel. The little pocket guns (or at least my Uberti "Police" model) don't have the spring - the wedge just flops around in the barrel once the barrel is removed (still retained by the screw, but free to move). I never knew what a pain it could be without the spring. In other words; having the wedge spring is a good thing, as it makes it easier to handle reassembly. One of my two full-sized Colts (a Pietta) will let go of the wedge even with the screw in place, if you tug on the wedge just right. The other one (an Uberti) won't. Either way works fine, but in theory it would be good to know whether the wedge can be removed completely even with the screw in place, so as you don't loose your wedge (which of course puts the gun out of operation).

Just don't be one of those people who batter the snot out of the barrel and cylinder when removing or reinstalling the wedge. I've seen horrible, horrible things at gun shows. It's a simple and easy process that doesn't require a lot of force.

[Beagle333]

If the wedge could come all the way out, you would lose it in the leaves or mud along the creekbank where you were washing your gun during a good cleaning (in 1860). :D

[bedbugbilly]

Another "no" - it's purpose is to retain the wedge so it doesn't get lost. A properly fitted wedge should be able to be pushed out with thumb pressure and replaced with thumb pressure.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I was able to remove the barrel wedge and I didn't touch the retaining screw just like you guys said. The wedge was kind of tight, I'm sure this Colt has never been taken apart. The whole gun was greased up with Bore Butter.

Now I want to remove the nipples and am heading down the black powder store. Any recommendations as to what type of nipple wrench I should be looking for?

[Beagle333]

This is the only one to own. Now if you have them loose and you keep them oiled and not too tight, you can use nearly any nipple wrench, but if you get ones that are factory tightened (by Louigi, the air ratchet fanatic) or anybody has let them sit a bit and stick..... this one will get them out without breaking the ears off the wrench or rounding off the shoulders on the nipple. It's available in other places than Dixie, but it's where I got mine.
http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?products_id=15292

(They make a similar one for rifles, be sure you ask for the "revolver" wrench when you order, no matter where.)

[Silver Jack Hammer]

OK, thanks Beagle3333. Maybe I'll soak them in Break-Free for a day before taking a wrench to them.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

Had the day off yesterday and went to the LGS and got all the accessories necessary to shoot the new Colt. It's never been shot before, maybe I won't shoot it -just kidding.

[Southron]

If you don't have a lot of experience with percussion revolvers just remember. to avoid "Chain Fires:"

1. Make sure the round balls you load are big enough to "shave a ring of lead" when they are seated in the chamber by ram. This assures you that you have an "airtight" seal, keeping flame from the chamber being shot entering other loaded chambers and causing them to accidentally discharge.

2. Make sure that you purchase percussion caps that fit snugly on the nipples of your revolver. More Chainfires are probably caused by loose fitting caps than for any other reason.

NOW, GO AND HAVE FUN WITH YOUR SIX-SHOOTER!!!!

[Battis]

I've thrown this out before in forums, and it never goes well. Originally, Colt intended the "wedge screw" to act as a depth check, to adjust how far the wedge goes in. I have an original 1851 Colt .36 and the wedge screw really does adjust the depth of the wedge. The wedge screw head actually contacts the wedge and holds it in place. This is not the case on my repros. Remember, this was used in early Colts - by the time of the 1862 .36s, there was no wedge screw. Read the patent but remember - I did not make it up. Patent #1,304 dated 8/29/1839. In this patent, Colt talks about the "key" or wedge. "As the key C is to act laterally as a wedge to draw the receiver and the barrel into contact, it is of importance that it should be checked when forced sufficiently far in, or the receiver might be wedged up and prevented from turning. For this purpose I insert a screw, e, Fig.3, into the steel button f, which is attached to D D... The head of this screw, overlapping the end of the mortise, receives the wedge and checks it. By turning this screw the force of the wedge may be tempered. In fig. 5 g is a spring-latch on the under side of the key, which catches upon D when the key is forced in and prevents its accidental removal."

As far as caps...this is from an old Colt Industries pamphlet:
"Percussion caps are now made in sizes from nine to thirteen. Ten and eleven are the best numbers for the small and medium-sized arms, and twelve for the larger sizes, although, as different-sized nipples are sometimes met in specimens of the same model, no hard and fast rule can be given. It is better to have caps slightly too large than too small, as large caps can be pinched together at the bottom enough so they will stay on the nipples, but small ones must be driven down on the nipple by the blow of the hammer, and this process frequently cushions the blow to the extent of producing a misfire."

[Silver Jack Hammer]

Battis, very interesting post. Thank you.

[Geezer in NH]

Bore Butter a new problem IMHO

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I took this Colt's out to the range and got 6 snaps of the percussion but the powder didn't ignite.

What happened was I really lubed it up with Bore Butter then I measured 20 gr of Pyrodex P from my powder on hand at home and loaded 6 chambers. I took my fresh FFFg to the range intending to shoot holy black. Six snaps and my Colt's was jammed up. I went home and pulled the charges. Today I intend to snap 6 caps through the nipples before loading FFFg. I'm hoping the reason for failure to ignite was Bore Butter reside in the flash holes.

[Omnivore]

I'm hoping the reason for failure to ignite was Bore Butter reside in the flash holes.

That is quite likely, and is the most common cause of misfires. Caps that are too tight can prevent the caps from igniting, but if the cap goes "pop" and the powder doesn't burn, then you have gunk in there. The oft recommended procedure is to snap a cap on each nipple before charging the chambers, so as to clear the nipples of any oil or grease. Another method is to make sure you don't get grease in there in the first place. As I finish up cleaning the gun, I'll usually coat the chambers with Bore Butter or Ballistol, and then swab out the nipples from behind using a pipe cleaner. If you can look through the nipple flash hole and see a clear, open channel, you're good to go, with out wasting six caps. Before loading I always swab out the chambers.

Battis; It is common to see patents, which are by their nature initial and preliminary, the designs in which end up being modified here and there once the product comes into full-on manufacturing and sales. I believe you will find that the wedge has a shoulder on it, at the large end, underneith, which checks the depth to which the wedge can be insterted. If I am not mistaken, the screw ended up being no more than a means of keeping the wedge from falling out entirely, after disassembly. And it may well be that Colt's initially shipped some revolvers built one way, and changed it to the shoulder method later on. I don't know, but the point is; that sort of thing does happen a lot in manufacturing. I myself have a patent, and in it there is a feature that we never put into the final product. Also, the patent drawings don't look like the product that went to market. Though the basic concepts are there, we've made changes in detail along the way.

I will hereby, boldly and brashly perhaps, assert that if Sam Colt intended the wedge insertion depth as being the means of determining cylinder-to-barrel gap, he had it wrong. Both of my Uberti Colts were set up that way, maybe as faithful reproductions, and they both had a tendancy to shift a little throughout a shooting session, resulting in a POI shift and a greater cylinder gap. If the cylinder arbor and the arbor bore in the barrel are such that the arbor bottoms out hard in the barrel, with the right cylinder gap, then the wedge can be tapped in tight, and it stays put, maintaining a consistent and repeatable cylinder gap and POI. Piettas are built that way, and I find it superior, regardless what Sam Colt may have done. I've since shimmed my arbors in the Ubertis to keep them consistent, with a 0.003" to 0.004" cyl gap.

[Battis]

The patent is there. As I said, changes were made as time passed. Sam Colt is long dead - can't ask him. But, I will say, the screw head on the wedge of my original Colt .36 acts as a depth set.
Like Fox News...I report, you decide.

[Texantothecore]

I have used the the wedge screw to increase the gap and it seems to do the job well. Just thumb tight.