CAP & BALL conversion Cylinder gap ????

[rbertalotto]

I have a Uberti Dragoon and a Uberti Walker.....Both with R&D (Buffalo Arms) conversion cylinders in 45LC.

The cylinder gap is only .003 and they bind up in this area rather easy. I can turn the front of the cylinder in my lathe.

What should the gap be when I'm using black powder exclusively in these revolvers?

Thanks...

[Pettifogger]

First make sure the gap is adjusted properly before cutting anything.  Have the arbors in your guns been checked to make sure they are the right length?  99.9% of Ubertis have arbors that are too short and putting in the wedge can result in a variable or no gap.  Also, remember that Colt C&B cylinders have no bushing on the front.  So the spring loaded hand will push the cylinder forward and it will appear there is no gap.  You have to pull the cylinder to the rear to measure the gap.  Assuming everything is correctly adjusted the gap should be around .006 for BP.

[rbertalotto]

Have the arbors in your guns been checked to make sure they are the right length?  99.9% of Ubertis have arbors that are too short and putting in the wedge can result in a variable or no gap.

Thanks!....Can you explain this a bit more.

[Pettifogger]

http://www.theopenrange.net/forum/index.php?topic=7988.0

[Coffinmaker]

Rely heavily on Pettifoggers information stored on The Open Range.  One council I have beyond that, you should do NOTHING to anything until you have checked and made any necessary corrections to the fit of the barrel to the arbor.  Attempting to achieve correct fit, spacing, gap, timing ...... anything is a waste of time until the barrel is stable on the arbor with the arbor fit nice and snug.

Coffinmaker

[rbertalotto]

Thanks.....Will do!

[45 Dragoon]

What they said ^^!
  The exception I have is the size of the "gap". I maintain gaps at .002 with excellent results. If yours is binding with a .003, you must have quite a bit of " out of spec" end play. I doubt that is the case so maybe while pulling back on the cylinder, its more like .008-.009? I say this because, the larger the opening, the more "stuff" to get between the arbor and cyl. to cause it to bind. The closer the opening, the more "stuff" goes out the barrel. I've got customers that have shot 160 rounds each, with 2 guns, in a competition, over a 3 day weekend, with nothing more than a wipe down of the outside of the guns and no take down whatsoever! No binding, no miss-fires, no cap jams.

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com

[rbertalotto]

I measured the gap on both the Walker and the Dragoon and they are both at exactly .010"

I used both revolvers today at a CAS shoot and they both worked perfectly. No hick-ups.

I'm going to tune them per Pettifogger when I get a chance.....

[45 Dragoon]

After rereading the original post, I realize you are using conversion cyls. . My post would be the same but the comment about 160 shots fired was concerning cap and ball. Obviously, that wouldn't matter with conversions. For my full  time converted arms (I use gated for my OTs) I set a "tight" .002 clearance.

The best feature OTs have over revolvers with a bushing is that they automatically clean the cylinder face each time you cycle the action. This allows you to get away with a very tight bbl/cyl clearance.

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com

[rbertalotto]

Mike,
I checked out you excellent web site. Can you tell us what you do to "bed the arbor"?

[45 Dragoon]

rbertalotto,
Thank you for stopping by my site.
Along with correcting the short arbor, I chamfer the end of the arbor (slightly more than what's already there). I use a steel impregnated epoxy to fill in the void the chamfer creates  thus immobilizing the end of the arbor. This eliminates any vibration of the arbor that could happen even though it is fully  against the bottom of the arbor hole in the barrel assy. This is a unique fit to the revolver and will insure that it will be the same revolver every time it is re-assembled. This (arbor fitment ) is most important to have a finely tuned open top.

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com

[rbertalotto]

Very interesting. Thanks for explaining.