Chambering Reaming?

[Toots McGrubbner]

Hey! :)

Anyone out there specialize in reaming cylinders for cap and ball revolvers? My Pietta could use a good reaming badly. Groove to groove it is about .377” but my chambers are only about .370”.

Thanks!

[Outpost75]

DougGuy should be able to do that.

[Toots McGrubbner]

I messaged DougGuy and he does not ream .36 revolvers.

I might just get rid of this gun if the problem can’t be resolved. The gun is just not shooting well at all. I asked him if he can ream .44 revolvers but probably not, it appears cap and balls are such a small part of his business he doesn’t stock reamers for them and I totally understand.

[Outpost75]

I messaged DougGuy and he does not ream .36 revolvers.

I might just get rid of this gun if the problem can’t be resolved. The gun is just not shooting well at all. I asked him if he can ream .44 revolvers but probably not, it appears cap and balls are such a small part of his business he doesn’t stock reamers for them and I totally understand.

You might consider getting a .38 cartridge conversion for your Pietta. I have one for my .36 Remington which shoots well with factory .38 Special wadcutters and .38 Long Colt having hollow-based bullets.

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[Toots McGrubbner]

You might consider getting a .38 cartridge conversion for your Pietta. I have one for my .36 Remington which shoots well with factory .38 Special wadcutters and .38 Long Colt having hollow-based bullets.

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I enjoy shooting cap and ball a great deal. It is not for everyone but is very rewarding and enjoyable for me personally. Very nice gun, though. I like the looks of the period correct “conversion” guns made by Uberti etc.

[Sven205]

Mr. Charlie Hahn does chamber reaming on 44's for sure. I bet he does the 36 calibers, as well as other little tweaks all the way to an extreme workover for these cap and ball revolvers.

If interested PM me if you want some contact info.

[M-Tecs]

http://www.hahnmachineworks.com/index.html

[Ozark mike]

A reamer would only cost ya 25 dollors yore looking for a adjustable reamer ill look and see if i can find ya a link

[Toots McGrubbner]

A reamer would only cost ya 25 dollors yore looking for a adjustable reamer ill look and see if i can find ya a link

Oh? I’d be very interested! Thanks!

[Ozark mike]

Here if ya feel like a challenge

https://drillsandcutters.com/4-a-hss-adjustable-reamer-3-8-13-32/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI48jy352S6wIVXSCtBh0JGw8vEAQYASA BEgJj0_D_BwE

[Ozark mike]

Read some learnin material before ya go ahead unless you understand the machinery trade things like chattering and understanding how the tool works is important. Kinda like a paint job where a plan and prep is more time consuming than the actual job. Then when yore done ya can brag to ya beer buddies how ya made yore hogleg more powerful and accurate.

[Toots McGrubbner]

Read some learnin material before ya go ahead unless you understand the machinery trade things like chattering and understanding how the tool works is important. Kinda like a paint job where a plan and prep is more time consuming than the actual job. Then when yore done ya can brag to ya beer buddies how ya made yore hogleg more powerful and accurate.

I quit drinking recently but I see what you mean!

Can these reamers be used by hand? I don’t own a drill press or vice.

I slugged my barrel bore but don’t think I’m getting a super accurate groove to groove as I own a standard set of micrometers and the 7 groove rifling is making it tricky. I do know without a doubt my chambers are small. They mic out at about .369-.370. The bore slug is around .373-.374 best I can tell.

The bore slug also would not fit into the cylinder even with a lot of pressure.

[Ozark mike]

Yep there hand reamers ya have to take it slow no hogging or it will chatter jus a sec i will find ya a answer to yore problem with odd groove number

[Ozark mike]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?189557-Measuring-a-5-groove-slug/page2

[indian joe]

Hey! :)

Anyone out there specialize in reaming cylinders for cap and ball revolvers? My Pietta could use a good reaming badly. Groove to groove it is about .377” but my chambers are only about .370”.

Thanks!

Toots 3/8 inch (.375) reamers are everywhere ----13 bucks off Ebay right now - borrow a decent T handle tap wrench and you can do this by hand - if you need the last couple thou a piece of fine emery in a dowell rod will do it - other alternative is shoot it with some filler on top of the load that might take up the windage in the bore.

[john.k]

i t would depend on the hardness of the cylinder .....if it cuts easily with a file ,then you could certainly ream it without machines ,by using a reamer held in a carpenters type brace..........You would need some considerable experience in the metal trade ,before this kind of job would be done accurately .....but ,no doubt it can be done.......A drill press would be OK ,if you could get the alignments correct ,and the drill belted down to rotate at around 50 rpm s.............Im sure I could make the chambers .375 with a lathe using a drill bit,with a fine cut needing only a slight hone to clean up.

[Ozark mike]

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/1858-throat-and-barrel-size-reaming-questions.107297/

Powley gauge is what ya need here is some that have been down that road

[Good Cheer]

Mr. John Taylor did the work creating my two favorite percussion revolvers, a .40 caliber 1851 (round ball gun) and a .41 caliber 1858 (for .41 revolver molds), so he could maybe fix the chambers' diameter for you.

[Jniedbalski]

Mr. John Taylor did the work creating my two favorite percussion revolvers, a .40 caliber 1851 (round ball gun) and a .41 caliber 1858 (for .41 revolver molds), so he could maybe fix the chambers' diameter for you.
Wondering how much to change out to 40 or 41 cal? From John tylor

[TheOutlawKid]

Charlie hahn is great at it. And very inexpensive. Reaming your own cylinders seems easy in theory but its not. I have a drill press and i tried it myself with a nice .375 reamer etc and it wasnt straight. Went slow and was carefull...its not as easy as it sounds and precision is very necessary. Hand drill wont cut it. Trust me when i say to have it done professionally or by a competent machinist

[indian joe]

Charlie hahn is great at it. And very inexpensive. Reaming your own cylinders seems easy in theory but its not. I have a drill press and i tried it myself with a nice .375 reamer etc and it wasnt straight. Went slow and was carefull...its not as easy as it sounds and precision is very necessary. Hand drill wont cut it. Trust me when i say to have it done professionally or by a competent machinist

Capgun cylinder - all you need to do is ream depth a little over half the ball diameter - pointless taking more out - we dont need more powder capacity, just need to be able to load a correct size ball. I did a army colt and a walker last year. I have a lathe, drill press, mill, I made the reamer from a spare bolt - but I did the reaming slow and easy by hand - used a T shape tap wrench to hold and turn the reamer - not so hard - and you can stop before you wreck the cylinder rather than after if you use the machines.
I went .462 we got a .464 pedersoli mold both guns shoot nice groups with full cylinder - never used to happen before. I didnt think it was difficult - maybe I am a competent machinist and dont realise it :coffee:

[TheOutlawKid]

I wanted full cylinder reamed being that i only shoot conicals and wanted a little more powdee capacity. A tapered hand reamer can be had for a .44 cap gun but all i could find was a straight reamer for my .36 cals. I used a drill press and i will admit...im not the best machinist. But i ended up ruining a cylinder. It did ream but it was a "little" off...so thats why i went and had it done professionaly. I was going to order a custom made hand reamer that had a pin gauge type guide...kinda like the hand reamers you get from brownells, but i instead opted to just have them done by someone else who has the available equipmenr and experience.

[Ozark mike]

A person can also do the split dowel method if it is jusa a few thousands

[indian joe]

I wanted full cylinder reamed being that i only shoot conicals and wanted a little more powdee capacity. A tapered hand reamer can be had for a .44 cap gun but all i could find was a straight reamer for my .36 cals. I used a drill press and i will admit...im not the best machinist. But i ended up ruining a cylinder. It did ream but it was a "little" off...so thats why i went and had it done professionaly. I was going to order a custom made hand reamer that had a pin gauge type guide...kinda like the hand reamers you get from brownells, but i instead opted to just have them done by someone else who has the available equipmenr and experience.

I would not take the amount of meat out full depth that my Army colt needed - would definitely NOT shoot conicals in a cylinder reamed that much - too skinny !! (a 36 would be ok) The walker was ok ----but I never saw the point in running conicals in capguns anyway - roundball works fine. Everybody has a different plan....................thats ok

[Toots McGrubbner]

Friends, I’ve been in conference with Charlie Hahn and in short, my revolver is on its way as we speak to him.

I weighed the cost of all the tools I’d need for the work and the fact that I could very easily screw it up with my inexperience. Mr. Hahn quoted me a very reasonable price and will also be examining the gun for any other recommended work.

I like the gun enough to rather not botch it. Thanks, all! Tremendous experience here for sure. Here is a photo of my swell little Navy:

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[Sven205]

Friends, I’ve been in conference with Charlie Hahn and in short, my revolver is on its way as we speak to him.

I weighed the cost of all the tools I’d need for the work and the fact that I could very easily screw it up with my inexperience. Mr. Hahn quoted me a very reasonable price and will also be examining the gun for any other recommended work.

I like the gun enough to rather not botch it. Thanks, all! Tremendous experience here for sure. Here is a photo of my swell little Navy:

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I dont think you'll be disappointed, from my experience his work is top notch.

I did the same as you thinking about reaming it myself, for the price it wasn't worth messing it up. Turnaround time earlier this year was quite fast as well, less than a month.

[Toots McGrubbner]

I dont think you'll be disappointed, from my experience his work is top notch.

I did the same as you thinking about reaming it myself, for the price it wasn't worth messing it up. Turnaround time earlier this year was quite fast as well, less than a month.

Gland to hear it! Thanks for the report.

[arcticap]

What's the approximate price for a standard ream job by Charlie Hahn?

[Toots McGrubbner]

What's the approximate price for a standard ream job by Charlie Hahn?

You’ll have to contact him on the price because it seems as if it can vary, he quoted me a general range.

[Good Cheer]

Wondering how much to change out to 40 or 41 cal? From John tylor

Sending you a PM.

[Woodnbow]

Mr. John Taylor did the work creating my two favorite percussion revolvers, a .40 caliber 1851 (round ball gun) and a .41 caliber 1858 (for .41 revolver molds), so he could maybe fix the chambers' diameter for you.

He does nice work and at a fair price. Highly recommended!

[Woodnbow]

Charlie hahn is great at it. And very inexpensive. Reaming your own cylinders seems easy in theory but its not. I have a drill press and i tried it myself with a nice .375 reamer etc and it wasnt straight. Went slow and was carefull...its not as easy as it sounds and precision is very necessary. Hand drill wont cut it. Trust me when i say to have it done professionally or by a competent machinistif it was easy, everyone would do it...
;-)