Is cutting a .44mag cylinder for .45 Colt a DIY possible job?

[Ziptar]

I've got a Ruger Super Blackhawk non fluted .44 Mag cylinder I want to have re-cut for .45 Colt for use in an old model Vaquero.

Is this something an amateur wannabe gunsmith can do for himself with reamers? Should I send it out? If I need to send it out looking for recommendations for who I should send it to.

Thanks.

[HATCH]

If you only have the one cylinder it most likely will be cheaper to farm that service out compared to buying the reamer you need.

[HeavyMetal]

even renting the reamer this job is more than tapping a hole with threads!

Add in the OOPS factor and I'd consider having a pro do it.

To that end I'd google local gunsmiths to start, with a request for references, and then look nationally if I couldn't find someone local.

Be advised ask about lead times! To many guys take something like this on and then let it sit for a year.

demand reasonable turn around, I'd think a good shop like Clarke's, could promise a 3 week turn around.

[scattershot]

In a word, no. You would need a good lathe and the bility to work to the thousandth of an inch. It's not just a matter of drilling a bigger hole with your drill press. I'd turn it over to a pro.

[km101]

Unless you are a capable machinist and have the necessary equipment, I would say send it out. This is not the type of project you want to start with. Even if you rent a reamer, if something goes wrong it can get expensive fast. A broken/damaged reamer would cost more than sending the job out. Not to mention the cost of a new cylinder, and putting the gun out of service. Seems to me that there is more downside than upside to this DIY project.

[Ziptar]

Thanks for the input. Sending it out is the better option.

Bill PM received. thanks for the info.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I own a machine shop and am a decent amatuer gunsmith... I'd send it out.

More to this than just stuffing a reamer in a hole.

You get exactly one chance to get it right and if you don't know exactly what is going to happen you will ruin it.

I can pretty much guarantee it!

Randy

[DougGuy]

At the very least you need a Bridgeport mill. Reaming throats in a tight .45 cylinder with a piloted reamer is one job that can be done on a simple workbench by a weekender pistolsmith with no issues. Re-chambering a cylinder is not that simple.

To do a competent rechamber on that .44 cylinder, you would need to have a custom reamer made with a pilot snugly fitted to the tightest throat. Dave Manson comes to mind, and the cost is about $155.00 for the reamer last I checked and that was 6 weeks ago. Then you would have to index the cylinder in a mill, with a wiggler, within .001" and punch one hole at a time, re-indexing each new hole.

IF the cylinder fits in the gun now, with the minimum amount of end shake and barrel/cylinder gap, it may be possible to rechamber it fairly easily. If the end shake or barrel/cylinder gap are much more than a couple of thousandths, it will need more than just rechambering.

[44man]

How about timing in another frame?
Cylinders are fit to a gun to be right.
I have a few stupid questions. Why ruin a SBH .44 and where is the cylinder for the Vaquero?
Ruger will make you a new cylinder pretty cheap.
By the way, a non fluted cylinder is not any stronger. Only a 5 shot is stronger "between chambers" but cylinder diameter and wall thickness must be considered.
To make a non fluted 6 shot cylinder will not turn a .45 Colt into a .454.

[leftiye]

At the very least you need a Bridgeport mill. Reaming throats in a tight .45 cylinder with a piloted reamer is one job that can be done on a simple workbench by a weekender pistolsmith with no issues. Re-chambering a cylinder is not that simple.

To do a competent rechamber on that .44 cylinder, you would need to have a custom reamer made with a pilot snugly fitted to the tightest throat. Dave Manson comes to mind, and the cost is about $155.00 for the reamer last I checked and that was 6 weeks ago. Then you would have to index the cylinder in a mill, with a wiggler, within .001" and punch one hole at a time, re-indexing each new hole.

IF the cylinder fits in the gun now, with the minimum amount of end shake and barrel/cylinder gap, it may be possible to rechamber it fairly easily. If the end shake or barrel/cylinder gap are much more than a couple of thousandths, it will need more than just rechambering.

MY opinion - (and I've got a mill, and rotary table with fixture) is that the job can be done betterer on a good lathe. You do have to zero each chamber and do all operations on each one before progressing to the next. It is NOT a one reamer cut and you're done. Use a floating reamer holder if your lathe tailstock isn't exactly centered on the spindle bore. First you must open up the chamber mouths from .430 to slightly less than .450. Then you need to intermediate drill the main chamber to about .010" below finish size with a modified drill to have a pilot and a non cutting side behind the cutting section so as to follow the existing chamber. Then you can finish ream. You might want to get (or modify) your finish reamer cut to minimum dimensions, the .45 LC has abominably loose chambers (.486 chamber, and .472 cases). Then finish ream your chamber mouths to barrel groove diameter plus .001" (or go with whatever your finish reamer is. I like to make the throat section of the reamer undersize and ream chamber mouths separately).

[Lefty SRH]

How about timing in another frame?
Cylinders are fit to a gun to be right.
I have a few stupid questions. Why ruin a SBH .44 and where is the cylinder for the Vaquero?
Ruger will make you a new cylinder pretty cheap.
By the way, a non fluted cylinder is not any stronger. Only a 5 shot is stronger "between chambers" but cylinder diameter and wall thickness must be considered.
To make a non fluted 6 shot cylinder will not turn a .45 Colt into a .454.

Exactly, what about the timing in the .45 vaquero frame. Personally I'd have a new cylinder made.

[Ziptar]

How about timing in another frame?
Cylinders are fit to a gun to be right.
I have a few stupid questions. Why ruin a SBH .44 and where is the cylinder for the Vaquero?
Ruger will make you a new cylinder pretty cheap.
By the way, a non fluted cylinder is not any stronger. Only a 5 shot is stronger "between chambers" but cylinder diameter and wall thickness must be considered.
To make a non fluted 6 shot cylinder will not turn a .45 Colt into a .454.

I bought the cylinder by itself as a loose part. The Vaquero Cylinder is still in it. I'm not looking to turn the .45 Cylinder into a .454, I just like the look of the non-fluted cylinder. I'd being doing just for cosmetic reasons.

[44man]

I bought the cylinder by itself as a loose part. The Vaquero Cylinder is still in it. I'm not looking to turn the .45 Cylinder into a .454, I just like the look of the non-fluted cylinder. I'd being doing just for cosmetic reasons.
Call Ruger.
Long ago I was cleaning my gun after a shoot. The cylinder was in my shooting box at another table and someone that had the same box went home with my box. I lost the cylinder. I sent the gun to Ruger with a $60 check for a new cylinder. They made me a new one and sent the gun back. A few days later I got the check back so I called Ruger. The wonderful lady said it was free.
Much later I got my box back when the man found out who it belonged to. I now have two cylinders.
Ruger is great, just ask. If they agree to do it it will be a whole lot cheaper.
Your risk is if the cylinder will index.
Line boring is never the answer, it fails many times. Ruger does not line bore.

[Nazgul]

I did the same rechamber job myself. Bought a 44 mag cylinder from a custom smith that was a take off from a project he did. Fitted it to my OM Vaquero frame, adjusted the timing, reamed the throats to fit the reamer pilot, rechambered it to 45 Colt. Just because I liked the non- fluted look. Been shooting it for several years with out problems. Reamed the chamber by hand using a new reamer.

Before I get flamed, it is my gun for me. No one else.

Don

[427smith]

there's nothing you can't do. just remember if you can't swim don't jump in. I've been a toolmaker for 40 years. for me it would be easy. BUT if you gotta ask you probably will have trouble. borrow or rent some tools giver a shot. can't learn any younger. good luck

[Nose Dive]

Well,,, Reaming up from 44 to 45 is out of my league. I bought a NAGANT pistol for 100 bucks and thought the ammo for it was outrageous. Which it is. So, got a 32 ACP cyclinder for same pistol from South Korea..unfluted and blued. Slipped right in and works fine... So far...so good.

But I own a 32 ACP Colt Pocket pistol and love it...but think the round is a bit weak. And, Knowing that the 32 H&R round is a bit more interesting...picked up a used reamer for that little honey and, well, hand reamed the ACP cyclinder to H&R. Bought some Starline brass, poured me out some 98 grain cast boolits...loaded her up and went to shootin. I am alive, eyes and limbs OK, but..but...but.... Just like NAZGUL... this is MY gun for ME to shoot. No one else. I reload my H&R's pretty hot and carry it to the field when I go. I like the round, the pistol, the caliber and the pittance of money invested so far.....

Now, would I do what you plan. No. Cyclinder timing and thickness and alignment are important and I didn't have to really worry about all that as the Korean cyclinder was set up for my gun. And I also agree with 427smith... If you are in need of good instructions and tooling, it is time to pass the task to the pros.

Nose Dive

Cheap, Fast, Good. Kinldy pick two.

[DougGuy]

A footnote about the "abominally large" factory .45 Colt charge holes. I had a BH convertible, 45/45 that had .454" throats, and enough room in the back of the cylinder to drive a truck through it with a round chambered. Horribly bulged cases. That was typical for Ruger 45's in those days.

Fast forward to the stainless Vaquero, and there is a nice surprise in these notoriously tight (.4502" - .4505") cylinder throats. The back of the charge holes in my cylinder measure right at .482" because a .482" +.0002" won't go in it. I thought well, that's nice! I was going to rechamber a .44 cylinder with the Manson reamer until I discovered that the finished job would be within .001" of my factory cylinder's dimensions..

Brass comes out of the cylinder with straight sides, no bulges.