fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
Courtesy of the OP... :O
First of all I take back everything I said in post #17.
An buddy of mine had a 1875 Rem clone that looked exactly the same as this Colts clone. The cylinder destruction and bending the top strap happened 2 days after the Turds announced handgun ban so replacing it wasn't an option (was used in Cowboy action so two pistols required).
At first glance my thoughts were "it was toast" same as my comment in this thread....but then i started really looking at the thing in the context of fixing it because of the "unreplaceable aspect of the situation. When this gun failed , the explosion force bent the center pin to the extent it couldnt be pulled out so I milled through the damaged cylinder to cut the pin off at both ends so cylinder removal was possible.
After removing the cylinder , I closely checked the center pin bosses in the frame & bore-firing pin line-up, they were still perfect. So now I started inspecting the top strap for cracks with the highest magnification available to me...couldnt see a crack or visible stretch lesion anywhere. So now a phone call to the owner..."hey , no promises but I think this frame might be able to be salvaged if your up for me trying" his enthusiastic "Yes go for it" started an educational trip that took a year to complete. most of the timeframe was because of my hesitations after opening my big mouth that it could be fixed...but we both decided if it failed, he was still were he was now but if it succeeded he was back in business.
His first question was "are you going to cut the old top strap out and weld a new straight piece in" . no we are going to heat the existing strap to a soft condition and press it back into shape with my 20T press....ok...
First thing was to build a jig/cage that would hold the pistol frame absolutely straight & motionless during the pressing. Also I built an exact facsimilia of top strap form so the sight channel and roundness was to be retained as close as possible.
The only option available to me to heat the strap was acetylene cutting torch...thats all I had, but even if I had a forge I wouldnt have used it because I didnt want heat to any part of the frame except the top strap. A cutting torch can have a very aggressive flame but i tried to regulate it to as little carburization (didnt want to add carbon to the top strap metal if I could avoid it, didnt want to make it any more brittle than it originally was) flame as I could.
The heating & bending went very well, was over in a very few minutes but I did make one mistake that I regret. I should have left it in the press during cooling, it sprung back just a smidge that is almost unnoticeable but I can see it because I know it is there...bugs me every tie I see it!!!
As soon as I had the top strap pushed down to be flush with the frame I built, it took it out of the press to cover with insulation to slow the cooling....I should have left it in the press and covered it as best I could.
Any how, after a new cylinder & center pin came from VTI, that pistol was tied to a stand & remotely fired by us until we were reasonable sure it was still sound, the owner has used that pistol at 2 completions, firing over 600 rounds and shows no worse for wear. The sight pain of that top strap weems to be better than before he claims, he has missed one plate target in those 600 rnds.
