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Author Topic: Project Colt, step two.  (Read 778 times)

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Offline 44 Man

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Project Colt, step two.
« on: July 02, 2010, 07:38:03 AM »
Ok! I am very pleased with the feel of the action after just smoothing and cleaning and lubing.  Now I need to correct a timing issue with the halfcock notch.  As you can see, the alignment of the chambers is not good with the loading notch in the frame.  This is a common problem and I have run into it with a couple of other single actions. Where the action sets on halfcock, the rims of the cartridges bump the upper edge of the frame and the cylinder stop drags just a little on the cylinder.



The fix I chose can be permanent, or I can get a friend to weld up the halfcock notch a little. I used epoxy putty and you can see in the pic a small white patch in the bottom of the notch.  This brings the hammer back just enough that the cartridge rims now clear the frame, and the bolt no longer touches the cylinder. 



Next will be to fit a decent pair of grips to the gun.
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Offline Frank V

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Re: Project Colt, step two.
« Reply #1 on: July 02, 2010, 10:04:39 AM »
It's looking better all the time. You are going to have it up & running in no time.
Frank
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Offline 44 Man

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Re: Project Colt, step two.
« Reply #2 on: July 02, 2010, 03:03:31 PM »
Frank, I am having fun with this project!  She's up and running just fine now, I could take it out and shoot it and be very happy.  Sort of.  I shot it yesterday and it shoots just fine but the front sight has been polished so much that it is hard to see in bright sunshine.  I will fix that with a file to square it up and then run a checkering file across the back of it to serrate it a little.  From now on, all fixes will be cosmetic and I'm afraid after the grips get fitted, I'll have to hand it over to a professional.  Ken Kelly at Mag-na-port has agreed to tackle that part of it for me.  I'm still undiceded about what to cut the barrel to, but I'll have to pick a length soon as Kelly will have the gun in a couple of weeks.  It is fun to get a gun at a reasonable price and have it come together like this without major issues. 
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Offline Frank V

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Re: Project Colt, step two.
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2010, 05:35:53 AM »
44 Man, when I was shooting NRA Pistol Bullseye a lot we used to temporarily fix the glare with smoke, I started using a black felt tip marker as it worked pretty well & I didn't end up with smoke all over my hands & clothes. It's a temporary fix, but easy to be reapplied.
Keep working on that gun, it's going to be great when you are finished.
Frank
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Offline gcrank1

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Re: Project Colt, step two.
« Reply #4 on: July 04, 2010, 05:51:46 AM »
+1 on that Frank (BTW, NRA Bulleye 'taught' me to really shoot, highly recommended!).
A good degrease of the sight, a little masking tape and newspaper 'drape', and a couple of 'dustings' with a flat black (cheap) spray paint works well, at only a tad more work.
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Offline Glanceblamm

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Re: Project Colt, step two.
« Reply #5 on: July 04, 2010, 10:10:09 AM »
44 Man, Good read, these last four post on the Colt but you lost me on this last one. While I can understand building up that trigger a bit with the epoxy to keep the stop off the cylinder, I do not understand the timing issue as the Cylinder should free spin with the notch set at half cock?
Please forgive my ignorance as I am unfamilure with this feature on the Colt.
Thanks!
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Offline 44 Man

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Re: Project Colt, step two.
« Reply #6 on: July 04, 2010, 10:59:47 AM »
No problem Glanceblamm.  When you draw the hammer back on a 'Colt' style single action, it releases the cylinder stop bolt first, then the hand starts turning the cylinder.  When you drop the trigger into the half cock notch, the bolt should be withdrawn enough that it does not drag on the cylinder, and the cylinder should spin free to the right.  The chambers should also align with the loading gate when the cylinder is turned backwards and stops against the hand.  If the half cock notch allows the hammer to sit too low, then the chamber is not yet aligned with the loading gate, and if it's low enough, the cylinder stop bolt will drag, marking the cylinder.  I've owned a couple of Colt clones where the chambers didn't align correctly because of this, but this is the first gun I have owned that also let the stop drag.  By the way, once was not enough on this gun.  After I put it back together, the chambers were almost too far the other way to line up.  So I had to file a little off to get it just right.  Just in case you are wondering, this info is of no value on a New Model Ruger.  The mechanism that releases the bolt, does not align the chambers.  That's why they added the little detent to give you a stopping place for chamber alignment with the loading gate.  I really prefer the 'half-cock' arangement that the Colt style guns use.  If you can ever get your hands on the book, Loading the Peacemaker Colt by Dave Scoville, it has some excellent drawings in it that show all the alignments.  44 Man
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Offline Greeenriver

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Re: Project Colt, step two.
« Reply #7 on: July 04, 2010, 02:34:17 PM »
Sounds like the gun is comming along well. Nice to hear that. I enjoyed our visit and coffee the other day. Probibly could have sat and talked the day away, if we didn't have other things to do, LOL!!!

I'll be glad to see the finished project, and maybe, pop off a couple rounds in it!!! I'll bring my Birdshead and you can pop off a couple in it to see how you like the grip shape.

Dr has knocked me off from shooting till mid to late Aug. Got a pinched nerve in my arm in two places.

Greeenriver
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Offline 44 Man

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Re: Project Colt, step two.
« Reply #8 on: July 05, 2010, 03:18:00 AM »
Greenriver, you have to be careful doing 'work' that might interfer with your shooting!  ha ha.  Heal quickly my friend.  44 Man
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