Webley IV indexing issue

Mark-II

Mark-II

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Don't know if this is the right forum or not...

Anyway, I recently picked up a Webley IV .38 from a sponsoring dealer from the lot that one of our sponsor importers brought in.

It's not indexing completely, being a fraction of a mm from complete lockup when the hammer is cocked (When the trigger is pulled completely to the rear with the hammer held back it will move the cylinder that extra fraction to lock properly. still isn't safe to shoot, however).

I'm pretty certain, therefore, that the hand/pawl is worn. It appears to have a small step or notch in the tip besides.

Anyone have any experience working on these pistols that could tell me how big a job it is to replace this?

I see Marstar sells the hand, and I'm thinking of replacing it myself, since both the wholesaler and dealer seem to have gone quiet on me regarding promised RMA replacement of the pistol.
 
Timing a revolver is not a drop-in replacement job. A new hand might also not be tall enough either. An experienced revolver smith is your best bet. The local guy here in Ottawa TIG welds them, re-contours, then re-hardens the hands to bring them back into timing.
 
Thanks

I think I need to pursue the RMA after all, though. I *thought* that the trigger on this one was too light for a military piece, so I just had another look at it. Turns out it doesn't take a whole lot of effort to push the hammer forward from full ####, so the sear is worn dangerously as well.

Quite the lemon I've got here....
 
How much experience do you have with Webley revolvers?

I ask because I have one on the table in front of me right now. I can push the hammer forward allright, even though it is stiff. No matter: it will NOT go forward far enough for the Firing Pin to come anywhere near a primer.

Hold the gun up to the light, side on, and re-check carefully. Look for the firing-pin coming through the recoil shield far enough to touch off a primer. If you see that, THEN you have a problem. No point getting your nose out of joint... or buying parts.... if you don't have to.

I have put many hundreds of rounds through this particular Mark IV Webley revolver over the past 35 years and it functions just fine.

A point to consider is that these revolvers now are 70 years old and they ALL have been through one World War, many were through Korea as well and they have been used without problems in every climate in the world. I am sure that if these were junk, I would have heard about it by now.

They were sold off by the militry as "surplus to requirements", with no warranty expressed or implied. That's a nice way of saying that they were dumped on the market. I have not yet come across one which is utterly unsafe and I have seen more than a few. Most of the work they seem to require is caused by rough handling and poor cleaning practices. The majority of them are great. Mine has even been modded for match shooting, if you can believe that!

BTW, when you get her running, she's gonna shoot REAL low for you and groups will not be good. That is because she is rifled for a 200-grain round-nosed lead bullet of .362" diameter and commercial .38 S&W is loaded with a 146 of approximately .358" diameter. Friend JETHUNTER on this forum has the right bullets.

And another point: drag on the cylinder can give the same symptoms as a short-stroking hand. Have you cleaned out any ancient cosmoline from the cylinder axis?

Hope you get her up and running. These are a lot of fun to shoot with.

Good luck!
 
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No experience, but I've been reading. I thought that being able to knock the hammer off the cocked position was a bad thing in any pistol. If not, then okay - one less worry.

These were supposed to have been cleaned in an ultrasonic and oiled before going out. It seems pretty smooth, and it does go to the same point every time it is cocked, just shy of locking up. The tip of the hand is worn and the corner somewhat rounded or peened.

I already picked up components for reloading and trawled cast boolits for info before it even arrived - I loaded up only about 40 rounds with my standard 158 .358 bullets, just to function test the gun, knowing they'll probably even keyhole. I've got a proper NOE 200gr .363 waiting in the wings for spring when I can cast again (so I'm already pretty invested in this pistol).
 
Hand wear is pretty common on older revolvers - if you can get a drop in that's longer that either indexes correctly or over indexes and jams it up then you're ok, provided that you have the skill set to carefully polish down the hand until it works. If you get it and it doesn't work, then I guess you've got a spare fixer part.

As far as the hammer slipping when in battery, well, I don't think that sounds good. It's possible that if it's slipping without the trigger that it won't fall all the way but it wouldn't make me comfortable. Strip the gun down and figure out if it's the hammer or the trigger that's worn, or both. Also, I know very little about the MkIV's and how they work internally, but I'm assuming you're speaking SA with the slipping, or does it slip/jam in DA as well?
 
Is there a decent local gunsmith? If so, why not get him toevaluate it for peace of mind? Should be free unless you authorize repair work.
 
Mark-II said:
Thanks

I think I need to pursue the RMA after all, though. I *thought* that the trigger on this one was too light for a military piece, so I just had another look at it. Turns out it doesn't take a whole lot of effort to push the hammer forward from full ####, so the sear is worn dangerously as well.

Quite the lemon I've got here....
Click to expand...

I'm no Webley expert but that doesn't sound right.
 
It's ok guys, from what I understand the dealer has the replacement pistol and I just need to contact them in order to get the details for transferring this one back to them so I can get one that's hopefully in better fettle.

That ought to be a better option than to have to get something repaired that I probably would not be able to sort out myself, save by intervention of serendipity. ;)

Now if the replacement has issues, perhaps this will get revisited. Right now I just hope that I get to shoot the gun i bought on halloween before New Years!

On that note, I bought a small portable propane heater that works a treat for thawing out frozen fingers at the range, so I'm set for long quiet days at the range in the depths of January now.
 
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