A fairly decent representation of a .36cal dance could easily be made. Theres enough meat on a 36 octagon barrel to round it out.
That's just what I did : round the octagon barrel of a 1851, and file the engraving from the cylinder.
This what it looked like before :
and what it looks like now :
I'm quite happy with it, but nothing could stop me from buying a "legit" replica if I found one.
If you're into these historically interesting revolvers I highly recommend checking out Gary Wiggins book: Dance & Brothers Texas Gunmakers of the Confederacy
It is in my library. I found it quite interesting, but as Wiggins stresses out himself, there are still a whole lot of information missing about these revolvers.
I also have copies of two articles that were published in The Gun Report : "the Dance brothers Revolver - the Texas Dragoon" by Sam Maxwell in the november 1978 issue, and "two Texas pistol makers" by Roy E. Edwards in the november 1962 issue, as well as "Texas pistol makers of the Confederacy" and "Identification and Authentication of Confederate Handguns" by William A. Gary published in the bulletin of the American Society of Arms Collector and downloadable from
http://americansocietyofarmscollectors.org/resources/articles/ , and "the Dance Brothers revolvers" published in the April 2012 issue of Heritage Arms Magazine. I also have Albaugh, Bennet and Simmons' "Confederate handguns" and "Texas Gun Lore" published in 1951 by Carroll C. Holloway.
All these sources, old and new, more or less repeat the same info, so there is still room for a definitive book about the Dance & Brothers revolvers. Same goes for most other Confederate revolvers : too few originals left, too little information source. Apart from some official letters and whatever remembrances could be mustered in the 1950s, next to nothing is left. ???
