How could I measure my chambers in my repro 1858 cylinder? They look small? Should I smash a lead ball in there and beat it out or is there an easier way to do it thats going over my head?
How tight are the balls supposed to be in the cylinder? The repro cylinder is alot tighter then my original. Im guessing like all holes, one that has been used for quite some time is alot looser then a fresh new one.
Pin gages. you probably don't have a set. Not really cheap but very useful.
https://www.amazon.com/HFS-0-251-0-5...3-ea3956ea4ac0
To lazy to chase arrows.
Clodhopper
Didnt even know these existed.Originally Posted by clodhopper
cheap digital caliper will get you close enough if you careful how you use it
Keep in mind that the chamber mouths might have been chamfered (beveled). Do you have any .451 roundballs?
Repro revolver chambers are usually. 450. Originals were larger.
QUIS CUSTODIET IPSOS CUSTODES?
For what you need bullets of known diameter will get you close. A 451 452 and a 454 will tell you what size ball you need. You are just going to put in a ball that shaves a ring of lead if you want more accurate than that you wil probably want a better barrel matched to the cylinder. The standard barrels should put you in the 3 inch or so range at 25 yards. A custom barrel will cut one ragged hole.
Well it's a navy model so it isn't .45. But I guess il measure it with a ball. I use .375 ball diameter.
Could it be a .36cal instead of a .44cal ?
If it is a .44cal, then I wouldn't fret about a tight fit, because it's best to shave a ring of lead off the ball during seating.
Better accuracy & it seals the front of the chamber.
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Now I lay me down to sleep
A gun beside me is what I keep
If I awake, and you're inside
The coroner's van is your next ride
Turns out that they are just right. They are only tight at the mouth. I shave a small lead ring as they go in.
I keep thinking that your Remington is a .44. I have quite a few antiques but I don't have a .36 Remington (well, I do have a Remington Beals .36) and I can't remember seeing or handling one. FLAYDERMANS GUIDE TO ANTIQUE AMERICAN FIREARMS says that there were 122,000 New Model .44s made, but only 28,000 Navy .36. They're not rare, but not that common.
Mine isnt collector grade. The owner before the one I bought it from trimmed the original cylinder down for some reason... I just got some replacement parts. They are pietta so I had to do alot of trimming. I have a new hammer and hand. Cylinder rotates perfectly and action works great. Except now I have my original broken bolt/cylidner stop in the gun since I broke the new one trimming it. It was massive and had an odd shape. I will order an original replica. But it works flawlessly now. Im sad that my bolt is broken:/ I welded it but I want a fresh one.
Very few of mine are near collector's grade, but they're still cool to have. One is what I'd call a relic - missing most of its parts.
I vote for using a pin gage set as the easiest method to determine chamber diameter. Some minor variation in chamber diameter is not uncommon. It's particularly noticeable when ball diameter is not particularly oversize for the larger chamber. The difference in effort for the smaller chamber will be noticeable.
My navy caliber Pietta 1858 has .367 chambers. Seems a lot to expect that a ball would obturate to .375, which is groove depth. That's .008 expansion. The most accurate projectile I've found is a 158gr Lee RNFP which casts .358 out of soft lead. With the heel band sized .356 and paper patched to .370 on the forward bands, the PP'd heel band slips into the chambers easily and they press fit firmly without tearing the paper. I did polish the corner on the chamber mouths with fine emery cloth to put a tiny radius on each, just so it isn't sharp and likely to cut the paper patch. RB's and heeled boolits cut a little less of a lead ring and swage in just a bit tighter that way.
The gun seems to work fine, except now I need to figure alittle problem out. The original cylinder rod thing... the rod that the cylinder spins on. Is a little small in diameter. So the cylinder sags aLittle forward. I would need figure something out to take out the loose.
What about aluminum foil tape? I use it for different projects.
Il try it! Good idea. I have some I think.
Here is the perfect range wear for test firing that rascal.
more correct way to resolve the issue is to bore the existing pin hole and make a bushing to fit the old pin as taping up the pin it will probably not go back into the hole in the frame .
running a tap into the hole to push up some metal to bush the hole will be a more reasonable measure to insure the chamber stays aligned than tape ...Seen a few of these antiques sold up here with no disclosure of the things done to them
Very good advice, tape ( not real sure how you would put it on and get the pin through the frame) is not a good idea even if you could.
Have you checked to see if the chambers are spaced so they line up with the bore ?
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