Well, on the downside, I wasted a lot of time not fixing my Uberti Cattleman today. On the plus side, I feel like I'm about 90% on traditional SAA operation. I love figuring out how guns work and how to tune them up.
For anyone who is afraid to do work on their own guns...meh, it's really not so hard, so far as simple assembly is concerned. And not a ton harder when it comes to doing trigger jobs, 'slicking up' revolver actions, ect. The most important part is starting slow and not going overboard. And it helps to start with cheap stuff. The only gun I've done major custom work on is my $350 Canik, and now this $350 Uberti.
Anyway, here is the 'bolt,' or cylinder catch, for an SAA:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/66...ttleman-revolver-carbine?cm_vc=ProductFinding
I had broken one of the tabs off the rear of my bolt. The bolt's job is to lock the cylinder (via the external rectangular notches) in place. This is normally accomplished via spring pressure. The reason that the hammer acts upon the bolt (via the 'finger' at the opposite end of the rectangular nub) is to unlock the cylinder so that the hand (the part that shoves against the teeth on the back of the cylinder) can rotate it to 'chamber' the next round, so to speak (and also so you can put it at half-cock and load rounds through the gate).
Being the 'I think I can do it better' retard that I am, I decided to repair my bolt, and in the process turn it into a bomb-proof part. Note that I would not do this on any other gun...I know that critical parts are often very hard steel alloys that should not be replaced with something I made with a spare washer (...a
strong washer, though ) and a MIG welder. But these Ubertis are fairly soft steel, and a single-action revolver is easy to bench test. Worst case, it breaks again and the gun fails in a way where I simply can't cycle it (no kaboom).
So, I say to myself...I have one intact finger at the end of the bolt, and know that the other should match it. Why not just use the remaining piece as a template to fix the other, and in the process turn the back end into a solid piece of metal (no gap between the two fingers)? After all, that finger's flimsy design is why it broke!
Well...now I know why. Despite the fact that those fingers feel totally rigid, one is essentially a spring. Imagine my embarrassment when I got it worked to the point where the hammer was coming back super smooth...only to realize that it couldn't drop because the the finger could not flex enough to ride past the nub on the hammer that moves it into the 'unlock' position.
A picture probably helps here:
A guy I work with is a way better welder than me, so I had him weld on the extra bit of metal, then I ground it to the right shape. I was quite proud of it, really.
But see the semicircular little plateau on the side of the hammer? Yep, there's the sticky wicket. That acts on the bolt as the hammer is drawn back, unlocking the cylinder as the hand moves it into position. Then it slips off, letting the cylinder come to rest at the next notch in line. When you fire, the bolt finger must ride back up that ramp without slowing the hammer down too much. Oops...well, okay, I'll order the part then. :awe:
The really important thing I learned about was the 'timing.' Which is not as witchcraft and voodoo as it sounds...it's not a Swiss watch...it's actually very simple, and not at all what I think about when I hear 'timing' (I think in crankshafts/camshafts/ect) The bolt must unlock long enough for the notch in the cylinder to clear it, and be released (back to being only acted upon by the bolt/trigger return spring, which is a flat leaf inside the frame, above the trigger guard) quickly enough to not allow the cylinder to either over-rotate or spring backwards. That's it. Someone who is moderately skilled with their hands CAN hand-fit SAA parts.
Anyhow...just thought I'd share my stupidity and offer a little insight into something that generally causes people to call upon a gunsmith.