Weld up or make new?

[shawnba67]

This is the hand for a $13 black powder revolver. I mostly want to get it going for experience. The tip is broken off so I'm not sure how much is missing but it will attempt to rotate cylinder so I figure not to much. Any way here's a picture of it it's a .30 cal bullet hole for reference There is a small pin in this piece which would be the hardest part of just making one Ideas or opinions ?

[country gent]

The part wouldnt be to bad to make from scratch the pin can be pressed inplace. The issue is finding the corrct material for it. To soft and it dosnt last to hard and it wears all its mating surfaces possibly a mych more evpensive harder to make part.

[dubber123]

I personally would try welding first. It gives you multiple attempts at fitting the portion that contacts the ratchet without fooling with all the other dimensions. Good luck.

[pietro]

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YMMV - I would first try lengthening the existing part via laying it flat, on a smooth steel block, and swedging it with a HEAVY hammer through a steel drift.



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[shawnba67]

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YMMV - I would first try lengthening the existing part via laying it flat, on a smooth steel block, and swedging it with a HEAVY hammer through a steel drift.



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Not a bad idea at all! Thanks

[Hickok]

You are also missing a flat spring that fits in a cut/slot on the hand that keeps pressure on the hand so it stays in contact with the rear cylinder notches.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/893999/uberti-hand-assembly-1851-navy-36-caliber-1861-navy-36-caliber-1860-army-44-caliber

[Ragnarok]

Genuine John Deere parts keystock with the JD part number printed on it is some reasonably hard..yet workable stuff...comes in several sizes. This is what I use to 'carve' small parts out of that I cannot otherwise find.

Some keystock is rather soft..and I'm not very good at hardening parts..

[Ballistics in Scotland]

I've made revolver hands, and it is painfully easy to undo a lot of hard work by a few strokes too many of a file. I would make a dummy from hard plastic, or epoxy a piece of plastic to the existing broken hand. Then you can file it down a little at a time, until you get a length measurement to apply to the real thing.

I expect your revolver has the hand mounted in the hammer, like the Colts and Remingtons. That is relatively simple, as it just has to rotate the cylinder until the sear engages and the bolt drops into the slot in the cylinder. If the hand is mounted in the trigger, however, you may find that perfect alignment is secured when the hand pushes the far side of that slot up against the bolt. A lot of early British and European revolvers had only one side to the notch, the other being a transverse sloping channel.

If you decide to press-fit that pin into the hand, you could consult this article to find a number drill which fits the hole in the hammer, and a piece of drill rod just a few thousandths of an inch oversize. You can even use the unfluted end of the next drill size up, as they are pretty cheap, Taper it very slightly with files and abrasive paper while it is still far over the length. Then tap it home until it lodges firmly, and only then cut or grind the ends to length. Don't hammer it in too hard, for it is easy to burst a small part like a revolver hand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drill_bit_sizes#Number_drill_sizes