'51 Navy Colt hand problem

[Jubal Starbuck]

   I have '51 Navy Colt that will advance the cylinder when you cock it once, but after that the cylinder will not advance when you cock it.  Do I need to bend the hand spring, or what?  Its marked "SM" on one of the lower barrel flats, so i'm, thinkin' it may be an older San Marco.  I disassembled it to see if a cap had gotten into the works anywhere, but everything seemed in order. Any input would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Jubal

[St. George]

Sounds like the spring - 'could' be the cam on the side of the hammer.

Disassemble once more, and look for evidence of rubbing and/or burring.

Stone that away - reassemble and try.

Use a 'strong' light when you're viewing the innards - it'll help immensely.

Fortunately - it's an easy fix and pretty inexpensive parts either way - so if you do have to replace anything - keep the factory angles and go slowly.

You'll be fine.

Good Luck.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Montana Slim]

Sounds like the hand is not "re-setting". The curved "hook" part of the bolt isn't snapping over the cam when the hammer is down. First look for burrs or other problem and remove any with fine emory paper. If this doesn't fix, carefully remove a little metal from the hand's curved "hook" area and test.This will allow the hand to snap back over the cam.

Go slow.

Best,
Slim

[Springfield Slim]

If the bolt was not resetting then the cylinder would not be locked up. Sounds more like the hand is too long, and is pushing the cylinder before the bolt has time to get disengaged. I had a '51 doing the same thing, just stoned a little off the end of the hand and it worked fine. 

[Jubal Starbuck]

   I took my '51 Navy apart again and shortened up the hand and deburred and polished it.  When I put it back together it will advance the cylinder most of the time, which is making progress.  I'll disassemble it again and shorten the hand some more, then see what happens. Confidence factor is on the way up!  Thanks for your input,

                                                                                                                Jubal