Preparing a New Cap & Ball Revolver For the Range
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- As they come from the factory, most cap & ball revolvers will have some rough areas that will benefit from being polished.
In this video I’ll show you how I de-burr and polish the bearing surfaces of a cap and ball revolver to improve the function of the firearm. I’ll take you through the process on a new Uberti Leech & Rigdon revolver.
Mike Beliveau links:
Patreon - / duelist
Website - mikebeliveau.com/
It seems to me that the quality of these cap and ball reproduction revolvers has improved substantially since they first started making them in the 1960s.
And people wonder why they are getting more expensive.
It has, but they are still made to a price point that doesn’t allow for fine-tuning.
That was true up until the last couple years, the quality on all the ones I've seen recently isn't as good. Cast metal and powdered metal parts that barely fit, very minimal fitting overall, several wouldn't even work out of the box, required hand fitting and finishing.
@@squeelerwheeler7753 idk. I have a 1973 and a 2017 and they look pretty identical... Who knows
@SqueelerWheeler unless they are retooling the machinery, they've easily paid off everything they use. The only thing increasing cost are material cost and salary. Since I'll assume most people have been trained and raises aren't huge, I'll say the only real increase is materials. Same with cars. Car prices are ridiculous for the same vehicle a year ago, which is 3-5k more. Housing as well. My house is worth twice what I paid for it now. The "quality" hasn't improved that much to justify a price increase, IMHO.
Part of the thrill and fun when getting a brand new percussion revolver is getting it ready to shoot. I love the entire process of buying, shooting and collecting these reproduction percussion revolvers.
Thank you for another good informative firearm video.
You and Blackie Thomas are my go to guys for Cap and Ball pistols as to how to work on and shoot them. Great video!
I'm happy to see that they ship them now without the navy scene roll engraved on the cylinder! That's what was preventing me from wanting one. Great video!
I think if you buy a Navy, it's accurate to have a Navy cylinder. If it's not a Navy... I hope you didn't end up with a Navy cylinder.
Thank you. We appreciate your time, and effort, in showing us how to do these improvements.
Mike this is perfect timing with this video. I just received a brand new Pietta 1860 Army, have not fired it and sometimes need a refresher. Thank you and keep up the GREAT work!
Got a pietta 1860 army about a year ago, and i love it, beautiful revolver and i didn’t even degrease or do any of this to it.. It was it was without the box so im assuming its used but looks new..
Last week i picked up a pietta 1851 Navy confederate, didnt shoot it yet..
I find that the same is true with Rossi lever guns. They are well made just sharp and rough and with a little polishing and deburring they become excellent. My rule for this kind of stuff is go slow and do a little at a time, you can always do more but can't undo it if you've gone too far.
I just bought an 1862 Police pocket model by Uberti. Upon disassembly I was happy to see it needed very little work. The biggest problem is the face of the hammer is very rough I had a hard time polishing it out. I'm waiting for my slixshot nipples to come then off to the range. Thanks I enjoy your videos as always.
Mike, one more important step to eliminate cap sucking is to adjust the Hammer to Nipple spacing. On most repos the hammer rests on the nipple when fully down. A well set up revolver should have a space of approximately. 005" between these components when the hammer is down. To achieve this spacing requires removing some metal from the hammer face or the base of each nipple. It's a tedious job but provides dividends at the range. Cap sucking is almost zero, much like the originals, without the addition of cap posts or shields. PS, thanks for your detailed videos.
Thanks for pointing that out. I always stone the face of the hammer to provide the needed clearance.
Oh, on my 1851 the hammer face, plus a crumpled cap is what causes the hammer lockup. Long nipples!???!
You can't beat those little guns for the price. I've had several Cimarron products and the fit, finish and functionality has always been top notch. Usually on par with any of the high-end products.
Awesome informative video. For someone brand new to cap and ball revolver this is a wealth of information.
Thank you Mike ! You are a blessing to us guys that like guns.
I always enjoy watching you work, Mike. It doen't take alot to make a decent gun a better one and your explanation of what you are doing makes it a great video.
Thanks!
@@harvdog5669 Unless any major components are cracked, they should be safe to shoot.
@@duelist1954 oh boy, I am excited now.
I think I would like to send you photos of them.
I think they have hoards of patina.
I believe there is a way to bring the gap closer together.
Maybe my local black powder gun smith can help me after he looks them over.
Last time I shot them, I had a blast.. ps. I love taking them completely apart.
A guy really learns Alot about how they really work doing that..
Anyway, I am on a 5 day water only fast right now. And now it is past my bed time.
Thankyou for your knowledge sir.
May God bless you.
From Harv.
I have learned a TON about cap & ball revolvers and how to clean them up from you and Blackie Thomas over the last several years. Thanks so much for taking the time to teach us cap & ball enthusiasts how to turn good reproductions into great reproductions. It has made a world of difference for me with the function and accuracy of my guns.
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Thank you sir so much for your help and the hard work you put in to making these videos for us all
Thanks!
I am definitely doing this when I buy a new cap and ball revolver, thanks for the video.
Yeah the Machining on original Colts is phenomenal. It's crazy to think that they were that good in the 1840s 50s and 60s
Mike this is great information for a new shooter. A link back to taking things apart would be a help especially the screw driver bit numbers.
Thanks for the hard work.
Hi Mike, nice video. There is one more thing one needs to do if they expect reproducible accuracy, fix the Uberti short arbor. Most all Uberti's have a short arbor. I drill and tap a hole in the end of all my Uberti revolver's arbor and then insert a steel set screw. A little red loctite then finishes the job. That lets me adjust the barrel to cylinder gap. Most all Pietta's come with a correct length arbor where no adjustment is necessary.
I've always wondered why uberti does this... Probably just to save manufacturing time if they've implemented LEAN practices. No hand fitting of the arbor is necessary if you make it too short...
Good information ssb73g. I didn't know that. But I have a Pietta 1851 Colt reproduction that only had deep maching marks on the hammer. These marks caused some hammer dragging when shooting.
I filled these down with my stones. Then washed down the parts in hot water.. After some drying time in dry air i relubed all parts .
When ever i shoot my Pietta now I get much tighter groups around the 10 ring(s). Smoother hammer action helped immensely.
Thanks for these videos Mike. As I've been getting into black powder more, these informative videos have been a real help.
Mike is a triely remarkable and technical experience in what you're seeking. Go back to his earlier videos and watch them.
This reminds me of all the hand fitting I had to do when I assembled two stripped MAC10/45 receivers I bought back in 1992. They both shoot great now.
As a relative newbie to Black Powder revolvers , this video is Gold ! Thanks Mr Bellevue!
Thank you very much.
Can you please explain cylinder gap and wedge fit on open top revolvers.
Thanks, Mike…very good instructional video for better gun performance and shooter safety👍
Thank you mike, I appreciate your time and effort to share your experience and show us how it’s done.😊
I had learned this from you and others. It can be a great benefit. I have had to do this to a few H&Rs 22s also good stuff you teach and it satisfying. Thanks for the recap. I'll get a nother one to slick up😊
There are going to be some detail differences between design types, but the principles will be the same for all. Good show!
During my study before my 61 navy copy purchase and setup, there was a certain guy Dustin W (guessing you know who) , who had some also great video on commissioning these oily beasts.
I ended up using a "purple" brand straight de-greaser spray, till it all squeaked. Then I finally learned about the advantage of moose milk, made from the ballistol, which I had never used with smokeless powder firearms, but quickly appreciated, since water based lube and protectant over hot water cleaning, made more sense that mixing oil and water for the rest of my life. (yeah, not a proper English sentence).
Been lucky so far, but watching to the end here. Thanks for another useful video to share with any starting black powder shooter I meet.
I love watching your videos!!! It was why I decided to try out black powder, so I just purchased my first Uberti black powder revolver. But I did notice that it wasn’t as smooth to operate as my modern Smith & Wesson revolvers. So I will definitely be going over my pistol following your advice before shooting it. Thanks for your video it answered a lot of my questions and was perfectly timed!!!!! Keep up the great work.
My two consecutive 1851 Navy sheriff's models, brass frames, 5 1/2 inch barrels are old 44 cal.
They have never misfired ever.
One thing the old man taught me was,, after putting caps on, use the hammer to push the caps down all the way.
Works every time.
And they are accurate when shooting.
The old man was a gunsmith and a deadly fast draw.
He smoothed them out real nice and they have hair triggers.
I need to re blue them sometime.
Most of the blueing is wore off.
They go off and feel like a cannon. LOL LOL 😆
ALOT of FUN, if nothing else but to hear them go bang, which are fairly loud..Just thought I would share that. Ya all have a great night..
The older friend bought them both around 1970.
Thousands of rounds have been fired thru them
It's a handsome gun. With a little TLC, it looks ready to make some smoke.
The cap drop groove polished really works well!
Such a beautiful piece of art that revolver.
It is very interesting to me to watch you work on the pistol. I have hunted my whole life and love History. I have done some black powder hunting and enjoy shooting the guns. I have a couple of black powder guns. A Hawken 50 cal and a White mountain Carbine. Haven’t shot them in years. Went to modern in-line types and just don’t use them much anymore but they are fun to shoot.
Wow you got lucky. a friend of mine just bought one. great gun but it had the 51 Navy cylinder with the navel scene still on the cylinder. I removed it for him and reblued the cylinder. I find myself very impressed with Uberti these days. There parts and there colt replicas are extremely close to originals. Almost like some used a original then translated the sizes to metric. Pietta there parts are not even close.
Thank you so much I just received my first 1851 Black Powder Revolver and I can't wait 😁👍
Great info and just what I needed! Thank you for your efforts in putting out this video!
Good morning, another great video. I guess I need to go buy a new revolver so I can practice my de-burring technique.
Thanks for sharing your expertise ,I find the history and development of these old school weapons fascinating.I have an 1860 Navy I have for static display I would love to take it to the range someday ,but here in NY you can't possess all the fixings to shoot it without a pistol permit ,I think I'll apply for a pistol permit just so I can have some fun with this gun at the range .I've just subscribed to your channel and appreciate your passion and knowledge of these antique firearms .
I recently got a Cimarron open top 38 that's loading gate edge was sharp enough to cut your thumb if you slid across it at all. Had to send back to get it smoothed out a bit. I was worried it would destroy the case color finish.
You heard about Birchwood Casey’s Barricade? Used to be called sheath?
Been using that as long term rust protection, its been working like science lately :D
I can attest to the sharp edges I have, in the past, encountered. Good stones and crocus cloth pay for themselves. Thanks for showing this. It might save someone on bandages.
I was taught in my apprenticeship to remove any burrs left after machining or cutting anything. Even then components all went through a recurring system before any finishing processes
Yes, i was taught the same finishing work years ago.
However in the push to get more machined parts out the doors to the
consumer per shortest amount of time has led manufacturers to skip these steps for proper finishing.
Thiis not only may leave burrs left on the manufactured piece. But mill marks and tolerance s being out of spec.
Now I give manufacters crediti3 for uupgrading their ma8chinery and for r trying out new and exciting tooling steels in a race to increase propductivity of manufactued pipeces.. drills and similar other tooling
Me too, dude. I started out $4.75/hr + a "free" baloney sandwich deburring and sweeping the shop, taking out the chip bins and generally being taught attention to detail like everyone else back in the day. I kind of accept that now days CNC's leave climb marks, but as I understand it, that's not at all the way things are done at Pietta or Uberti, so I don't know why some teenager who wants a little extra Bitcoin and lunch can't be hired to work a "break stick" a few hours a day after school and maybe translate that into a good career. I'd hate to see the art die off entirely someday.
Great video, Mike. I just bought two Pietta 1860 Army revolvers. I’m handy enough to perform this work. I watched you years ago shooting your TVM Fowler. I purchased one also. 😃
Thanks Mike, southern revolvers look the best IMO!
Thank you for this video . It showed me a lot that is going to come in handy in the next couple of weeks as I have just ordered up my first Black powder revover . Thanks again .
Enjoy gbe3 new pistol
Thanks!
Hey Mike. My Pietta 1858 New Army ( A wise man told me they NEVER called it the Remington 1858 )
Came to me in great shape. The trigger was very smooth and no obvious defects inside I needed to file down.
Thanks for all the great videos Mike. I live on a low SSI disability income so it takes me quite a while to save up
for something I Can't eat. Hence I do a lot of research before I make any purchase.
Your videos were instrumental in my putting my toe in the BP revolver pool.
I’m glad the videos helped you get started.
I could watch you all day , I used to shoot black powder fourty years ago in the UK , cap and ball and shot , times gone by , but as I said , you're interesting , back in the seventies when I was shooting black powder I was also modifying my loud and smelly Japanese two stroke motorbike with a file and emery cloth , miss the smell of black powder , I shot trap with a four bore Cogswel and Harrison punt gun from the 1830's and got two birds with one shot , great fun , good , interesting videos , keep em coming 😎👌
Loved the video - very helpful. However, since I'm new to this, I wish you had shown us the steps to disassemble and re-assemble the gun. Where to you start, other than knocking out the wedge? What's next? Maybe another video? (I've had a Pietta 1851 Navy from Cabellas sitting in a box for15 years and want to start shooting it.)
I always seem to come back to this whenever I plan on getting a new gun. Friend sold me his 51 navy and it definitely needs work and probably a new cylinder as it’s beat to hell.
I have done that to modern Ruger Blackhawk and even some Smiths the first time I took mine too 60 year old gunsmith he was nice enough to show me he said I'm not always going to be around I helped him for about two years learned a lot but if you can find a true old hardware store or parts store they use too have them real small super fine points file They work perfect for those safety notches just makes it little easier if you can find one
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise and hello from Detroit Michigan brother
to have a sweet start, I put a thin puck between the frame and the bi-blade spring, it considerably softens the trigger without having to take back parts difficult to work👍
What, you don’t like that nice sandpaper feel when cocking and firing the gun?! 😁 Some of the ones that I have were terrible, mostly the smaller frame Colt Blackpowder Series.
You stoned the slot to smooth the action...I had to Stone the Slot just to get the gun. 😀 great video.
A very informative video, thank you
Reminds me of the classic 1911 purchasing procedure, except you did not replace about half of the internal parts.
Very informative - Thanks !
I had no idea about any of that, it'll be a tremendous help!
😎👍
Thank you for this. I am going to sit down with my new Uberti repro Colt 1860 this weekend and go though it step by step.
Wonder if percussion caps will ever be available to purchase again. Love your channel and content. Best tune up video on cap and ball I've seen. Thank you!
Thank you for this ! I just got a uberti 1858 Remington replica and I had no clue where to start 😅🤣
Ordered the stones from Brownell's! Gonna give it a go Mike! Thanks buddy! 😃 Gonna stop Evil Roy from his life of crime! 🤣
Bought a Cimarron Richards conversion, took it apart for the first time and a burr somewhere jabbed my finger. Not pleasant. So glad I found this channel to learn how to fix this nonsense, thanks.
Thank you for this video, it's reminded me to polish my LeMat. I can hardly get the thing apart with a mallet!
Good luck!
Very helpful. Really opened my eyes.thanks
I have a 1860 army by Uberti that needs this done. I only used it for re enacting never live fired it. I will give this a go!
Thank you Mike! I'm loving it! I ordered a Single action stoning kit.
Excellent video. Thank you for sharing your knowledge
Thank you for sharing this.
Hi from Syracuse NY brother thank you for sharing your adventures in guns etc.
I purchased a Ruger Security Six around 1986. I to file around the hammer particularly the part you hammer set the back. My friend actually cut himself. on the hammer. So its commoner that you think!
Thank You Mike for an excellent job with excellent instruction. Many Blessings! DaveyJO in Pennsylvania
FYI if you would like to De Grease steel parts in a little different way? OJT while in a metal treatment industry taught me the advantages of TSP(tri sodium phosphate) in Hot or almost or boiling water. #1 When you fish out your part and rinse in Hot water, they dry readily. #2 it is a base and will not bother steel(aluminum bad) #3 it is cheap, a couple lrg table spoons a gallon #4 you can dump it in your garden within reason for fertilizer #5 gets in everyplace well #6 if you add a surfactant/ dish soap TSP gets into the surfaces even better.
Keep chasing the craft.
Wet that stone the sound is going right to my brain. It's like nails on a chalkboard.😂😂
I think Uberti pistols are the bench mark standard. While I am obviously no expert, I wonder if this one slipped past QC, perhaps a new trainee? The blessing here is there are no finer hands for this pistol to have fallen into than Mike’s. One question is, do you touch up the bluing after easing the edges? Thank you Mike!
Generally no.
That was excellent, Mike, much more informative than the last one you did on this subject, and much clearer about the reasons for doing some things and the standard to achieve when doing them. Thank you very much.
Two questions: First, aren't you concerned about removing some of the bluing? That would seem to make it more susceptible to rust since bluing is more than just aesthetic.
Second, have you tried some kind of go-pro camera? I know I've seen you do so in a couple of shooting videos from a while ago, but not on "work" videos. I can see what a horrible pain working around that tripod is.
Yhis video, as well as your earlier one is great technical information on the manufacturing aspects of these great low cost guns. Especially on these type of guns. I bought a 1851 Pietta/Colt reproduction for $100 a few years back from a pawn shop in Texas. This gun was manufactured in vast numbers by junior and/or even apprentice machinists in LESS than ideal conditions. Even poor quality lighting. In my humble opinion these machinists do a very good job on these guns in making them shooters. But my old Storm, Ruger M77 bolt gun, bought new in June 1973, came finished to marketable, and competitive standards. Which are above par for my own standards.
Thanks Hugh
Thanks for this video. I bought a Pietta with the “old west” finish in an 1851 and have not shot it in two years because it’s too difficult to take apart. No help from the retailer BTW. This video gives me the confidence to work on it. I think the finishing is what caused the poor fit. I won’t buy another “finished” one again! Actually broke the wedge spring getting it out the first time.
Mike as usual another great video! Can you pleas tell me where you got the soft jaws for your vice?
Probably from Amazon
LOOKS NICE THANKS FOR SHARING
Thanks for your time and efforts. It's greatly appreciated 👍
Simple Lil job in the shop 👍☕️☕️✌️
have you ever done an experiment to see if reaming the cylinder mouth to bore size or slightly larger improves accuracy or velocity? I know the originals tend to be larger than the standard used today, but I don't know if that is by design, wear, or manufacturing tolerances.
I haven't, but it certainly won't hurt accuracy to do it. Theoretically it should improve accuracy...practically...I'm not so sure.
This is purposefully design to seal powder behind ball to prevent adjacent cylinders from going off and preventing ball from migrating forward from recoil, binding the cylinder. A safety thing.
I ust bought my first, so I am glad you did this again.
Thanks Mike, i just purchased my first 1851 Navy, and i think i'll take it apart and clean it up before i shoot it.
Have fun!
Clever way to polish the center of the cylinder Mike.
Perfect timing, I just got a Uberti Remington New Model Army.
so interesting thank you mister
Another one good for the range!
Brand new model too! I haven't seen one with .36 cal and rounded Griswold & Gunnison-style barrel before, I suspect this one will sell well for them!
Very good Mike!
Thanks
thank you.
Brother this was awesome! I have about 50 questions pop in my head while watching.... Wish I could use my GI bill to pay you to train me.
Thanks. Helped me a lot
Showing disassembly and assembly would really help the newbies.
It is a two part series. here is part 1. ruclips.net/video/2qtMkLGdZA4/видео.html
@@duelist1954 Thanks, I watched it.
Good tips. Thank you.
Looking to get my 51 and my 58 out plus I've got one 50 caliber muzzleloader and a 45 caliber muzzleloader love shooting tham👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸💪
I have just been gifted an UbertiReplicas Walker 44 and I am looking forward to doing the clean up you have described in this RUclips. One question I have is regarding the “swirly” case hardening finish on several parts of the revolver.
Will the stones and emery cloth you describe damage the finish? Do I need to take especially care, use special tools to not mar the finish? The finish is very beautiful, reminiscent of the finish on some of my Starrett shop bench tools. And advice on how not to damage the finish is welcome.
Cheers.
reb.
Mike, thanks for the information much appreciated!
Excellent video!
Good Video
i love your videos and i love cap and ball revolvers and colt replicas.