Suitable steel for Ruger "colt style" bushing

cal44walker · October 28, 2012, 02:26:49 PM

I'm going to make a colt style removable bushing for my Ruger NV's to tighten up the cylinder play before I set the barrel cylinder gap. Anyone have any experience of making one of these bushings and what material did they use? I'm ordering some stuff from Brownells anyway and they have a steel called LA SALLE "FATIGUE PROOF"® STEEL RODS which should be suitable for machining but not requiring any heat treatment afterwards. Sounds like a suitable material otherwise I'll look at something like 4140 or one of the 10XX steels.
Apart from "tinkermania"

the main reason to make the bushing is to tighten up tolerances but also the inside surface of the cylinder bushing hole on one of the cylinders is absoloutly hideously scarred. Something went wrong on the lathe, jammed up with swarf/too little cutting fluid or something. The thing works but I just can't leave something looking like that.

Belt Mountain pins are on the way as well. I'll get some pictures taken as I work through the project and post them here.

cal44walker

Coffinmaker · October 28, 2012, 09:51:03 PM

Tinkermania is gonna drive you nuts with Rugers. They were designed to be loose.
There are "others" who have made colt style bushings for Rugers. Look real trick. No real gain. Contact Bob Munden

Coffinmaker

cal44walker · October 29, 2012, 11:31:26 AM

I don't know if they were designed to be loose for functionality, its just cheaper for a manufacturer to have wide tolerances and less quality control. I bought the Rugers for thier unquestionable strength compared to the Ubertis. I use them for CAS as a pair and after I'm finished with them I'll use the most accurate one for offhand 25 meter slow fire shooting with smokeless. I've got access to CNC lathes/mills and all the other fun stuff so for me the tinkering is the fun part.

cal44walker

John Taylor · November 04, 2012, 03:00:35 PM

Be easier to make an oversize pin to fit the cylinder and ream the frame to fit.
Or you could use one of these http://www.brownells.com/handgun-parts/slide-firing-parts/base-pin-parts/base-pin-bushings/ruger-sa-replacement-cylinder-blanks-prod21081.aspx

Or this, http://www.midwayusa.com/product/235750/story-replacement-oversize-base-pin-bushing-ruger-blackhawk-steel-in-the-white

cal44walker · November 05, 2012, 10:55:40 AM

Oversized pins are on the way from Belt Mountain. I can make those Colt style bushings at work for no cost so I don't need to buy them. I did think about just reaming the cylinder and frame but that would irriversably alter the frame so I'm not going that route. Belt Mountain pins, a custom Colt style bushing and adjusting the cylinder gap to around 0.15-0.18mm (approx 0.07") That will clear up the huge amount of endshake and provide a constant cylinder/barrel gap for Blackpowder shooting.

cal44walker

rifle · November 06, 2012, 07:50:01 AM

Cal44Walker, why the .007 cylinder gap? Blackpowder? Couldn't you go .003-.004 on the gap if yer usin those wide lube grooved bullets? I like .006 but that's usually cap&ballers with the black and they don't have cylinder bushings. If yer gonna use smokeless too wouldn't you want to get about .003 on the gap?
Anywhoooo......wouldn't a tool steel like A-2 be a good one for a bushing? A "tough" not too brittle steel?

cal44walker · November 06, 2012, 02:25:42 PM

A gap of around 0.006/7 is for Blackpowder shooting. It currently has a .003 max and .000 (no gap) minimum and locks up after 5 rounds. It is the barrel/cylinder gap creating the issue here not the base pin. More lube is not a solution. Even dipping the rounds in Crisco before chambering is not enough. Once there is a slight buildup of BP residue there is no room for rotation. The other Ruger has a 0.006 gap and runs perfectly with BP for at least 50 rounds without cleaning. Making a bushing is just to tighten up the huge amount of endplay and wobble. And when I say huge, its huuuge. No sending it back to Ruger.....I'm currently residing in Scandinavia and the gun was bought used. Its not a misuse issue either. Too bad I can't get a good picture of the inside of the cylinder axis hole. You'd be shocked. The hole is about 0.15mm wider than the base pin it revolves on and has huge endshake. The inside surface of the hole is ridiculously scarred from a botched drilling proccess. They either ran the wrong speeds without coolant or failed to remove swarf during the boring of the hole and jammed the drill in anyway, etc etc..... Not a problem though, I probably would have done this project no even if the machining was'nt that bad.

cal44walker