ASM Walker loading data

[Bunk Stagnerg]

I recently acquired a pretty good Armi San Marco Walker.
It is cosmetically beat up on the outside, but the barrel and chambers are  in good condition not pitted and the frame and interior parts are tight and solid.
I plan to use 30 grain (volume) of FFFg DuPont gun powder, a 1/8" lubricated felt wad and .454" soft lead ball.
My question is that about right for a fun load?
I am not planning to shoot Comanches with it just a mild paper punching,  can rolling load.
Bunk

[hellgate]

That's a nice easy load. With my two Uberti Walkers I found my eventual ideal load was 44grs of FFg+lube wad+.454 ball+ over ball grease+#10 Remington cap. When I shot 50 grs FFFg I ended up with crushed wedges and excess cylinder gap. New wedges corrected the gap problem.The FFg was a softer load so the ram did not drop on me. If your rammer falls, email me for how to correct it. I told shooters they were my 44/44s.

[Bunk Stagnerg]

Thanks Hellgate
That is what I was looking for. I have plenty of FFg and will try both and see what happens. I usually just put grease over the first chamber to fire with my 1860 Army. The felt wads give me a good grease star and the fouling is nice and soft. That way i lube the barrel with the first shot then depend on the lube in the felt wads.
Bunk

[45 Dragoon]

That's what happens when your arbor is too short, it beats up the wedge. The wedge is not a clearance adjuster. You should be able to shoot max trip7 loads with no problem!  If it's Uberti, the arbor is short. As far as the rest of makes, if you can tap the wedge in enough to lock the cylinder, the arbor is too short.

Here is a pic of Hovey Smith's Super Walker. It's diet is 240 gr. Kaido bullets with max trip7 charge. The barrel /cyl clearance is a snug .002. You can't lock it up with the wedge. It is a game getter!!!

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com
Follow me on Instagram @ goonsgunworks

[hellgate]

The only modern made Walker I have ever heard of coming apart was with full loads of T7. It sent the barrel assembly down range when the wedge cutout in the arbor gave way.

45 Dragoon,  do you recommend drilling and threading a hole in the end of the arbor then using a set screw to adjust the arbor length or using shims?

[45 Dragoon]

Hey Hellgate!

I use both!!

The steel shims bring the floor of the arbor hole up to meet the end of the arbor. That allows the transmission of the shock wave from firing, to pass through the two assys as if they were one. In other words, they won't move against each other. When allowed to move at different rates or times, that is when wedges get chewed up and in some cases pushed out!  

The Walker you are describing came apart because it had room to do so. The arbor had a void in front of it. Had the arbor bottomed out against the barrel, it would not have been able to come apart. That is the reason I stress tapping the wedge in and out instead of "finger" or "thumb" pressure. Every shot with a loose wedge will do damage (to the gun or wedge or both).

My service calls for steel shims for the arbor hole. Along with that, a 1/4" set screw is installed in the end of the arbor. This allows for wear and "wedge adjustment" meaning, if your revolver in the left holster (or a Walker in the right holster)  has a wedge that is sticking out too far and catches on the holster, you can adjust it in.

Correcting this (the arbor length) can also be felt in the recoil and seen (in some cases) by a dropping loading leaver that didn't use to drop!! (It's good to have proof!!!)

Of course it has been my experience as well that a large barrel/cylinder clearance allows the cylinder to act as a slide hammer and worsen the problem of the "short " arbor. Again, when the correction is made, I set the bbl/cyl clearance at .002". The arbor IS what defines that clearance. This tight clearance allows much less fouling out which allows you to shoot all day without having to disassemble because of a binding cylinder. It also leaves you with a much cleaner revolver to clean.


Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com
Follow me on Instagram @ goonsgunworks

Here is a pic of the "adjustable bearing ". This is the arbor  of the Super Walker.

[Coffinmaker]

OK boys and girls.  PAY ATTENTION.
In the past I, and "others" have described modern made Open Top Cap Guns as finely made KITS!!  I am/was serious.  The guns simply DO NOT come out of the factory "well done."  Not even medium rare is some cases.  There are TWO steps to be taken as soon as the
gun comes out of the box.  BEFORE it is ever fired.  Maybe before it is even cycled.  To get it out, wipe it down then clean it is a given.
1st - Take it apart and fit the Locking bolt to the Cylinder notches. 
2nd - Check and fix the Barrel to Arbor fit.  Until the Barrel/Arbor fit is correct, you really can't do anything else and have it come out right.

SO:  PAY ATTENTION to what 45 Dragoon posted above.  I don't care if it's a .36 or .44 or Dragoon or Walker.  It doesn't matter.  fit the bolt, then fix the barrel/arbor fit.  If it's a Uberti, the Barrel/Arbor fit is atrocious.  If it's a Pietta, the bolt fit is atrocious.

Coffinmaker

[45 Dragoon]

Ahhh!!!

Just to clarify!! (I re-read Hellgates post)

He asked if I used shims to correct arbor length OR a set screw in the end of the arbor.

My reply was both but,
 - the steel shims in the arbor hole are for answering the short arbor.

 - the set screw is solely for the bearing surface for the wedge. It replaces the front most portion of the wedge SLOT in the arbor. It has nothing to do with correcting the "short arbor".

                -here's why-
 
When you get a combination of " shims " that are within  .002"-.004" over what is needed to correct the arbor length, you can "fine tune" the arbor fit by dressing the end of the arbor ( I have a fixture so it's easier than dressing shims forever!!!) to your spec.
If I'm fitting a conversion cyl that is to remain as a permanent setup (like my Dragoons and '60 Army), my spec is .0015
All others are .002-.0025.  This dressing of the arbor may make the wedge slot larger than orig. thus, it will take most or all of the wedge to tighten up the assys. Now you can adjust the set screw to act as the front bearing and set the wedge depth to your liking.

Maybe that's a little more clear for those that may not have understood my previous post.

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com
Follow me on Instagram @ goonsgunworks