Hammer cam and broken bolt. Replace hammer??

[McCrower]

Recently the bolt on my Uberti Cattleman 1873 NM broke and the gun jammed. When I took it apart the cam on the hammer had a "notch" in it. I tried to sand it down with 600-800 grit, and the polish it a bit. But do I need to replace the hammer because of this notch, or could I just polish more? See attached files.

McCrower
Norway

[45 Dragoon]

Reduce cam height to just barely over bolt arm thickness. A too tall cam put too much stress on the arm and the arm broke in the classic place. On the new bolt, round the inside corner where the old one broke. That will spread the stress and prevent breaking. Make sure the surfaces (cam surface that the bolt arm rides and the bolt surface that rides the cam) stay flat and do not allow the bolt arm to slide off the side of the cam. It should fall off the front of the cam. Also, the pressure the bolt applies against the cylinder only needs to be about 3 lbs.  More than that will cause excessive wear.

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

[McCrower]

Thank you for the quick reply. Do you by any chance have an illustration on where to reduce cam height and round off the bolt? Can I still use my hammer with the notch in it?

[Niederlander]

I had a cam wear out in an 1860 I converted to cartridge.  I filed the old one down, drilled it and replaced it with a good one from Peacemaker Specialists.  Works great!  (I used red loctite to secure it. )

[Coffinmaker]

I wouldn't think you would have a problem using your hammer.  You will notice a very sharp "break" from the ramp portion of the Bolt and the main flat.  I would suggest polishing that sharp break away and polish the bolt ramp itself to give a smooth ride over the cam.