Conversion cylinders hard on colt hammers

[ssb73q]

Hi, this post is to inform others about an issue I am having with conversion cylinders in colt replica revolvers. What I am seeing is that the firing pins are peening over the slot in the hammer face. All my colt replica revolver have reduced power springs to help minimize firing pin mushrooming, but they sure aren't helping the hammer face.

If all you shoot is the conversion cylinder, there's little issue. However, if you want to use the revolver for C&B with the peened in hammer face, it will be a terrible cap sucker. I'm not sure that there is an easy cure for this problem. Welding up the hammer face flush would help both conversion cylinder use and shooting with C&B, but it would eliminate the safety notch in the hammer.

There is not any sign of this problem with the 1858 Remington that has a solid face hammer, only the colts are the problem.

Has anyone else seen this when using their conversion cylinders with colt replica revolvers?

Regards,
Richard

[AntiqueSledMan]

Hello Richard,

See attached,  http://rvbprecision.com/shooting/1860-pietta-colt-soft-hammer-face-fix.html

I have not tried this, but it looks like a good mod to me.

[ssb73q]

Hi Antique, that looks very interesting. Thank you for posting the reference.

Regards,
Richard

[Hawg]

Harden it with Kasenit.

[Captainkirk]

Harden it with Kasenit.

+1

[ssb73q]

Harden it with Kasenit.

Hi Hawg, it seems that Kasenit has been discontinued. I can probably do similarly with the Brownell nitre bluing salts, see:
http://www.brownells.com/userdocs/learn/Inst-362_Nitre_Bluing_Bluing.pdf

See page 9 on hardening.

Regards,
Richard

[AntiqueSledMan]

Richard,

They are referring to a spring steel and how to color it.
You need to know the composition of your firing pin before you can harden it and go from there.
Each type of tool steel has it's own procedure to heat & quench, then how to draw back to a point of use.
The first heat treat it will be very hard, but also very brittle, it would probably shatter on the first firing.
Then it would need to be drawn back to toughen it up.

[ssb73q]

Hi Antique, it isn't the firing pins with the issue, it's the hammer face. I notice that the hammer face deformation is much greater on Pietta hammers than Uberti. Uberti hammer faces must be harder than Pietta's. The firing pins in Taylor (Howell) conversion cylinders is somewhat soft by design. If a firing pin mushrooms with use it is very easy to replace. Hammers are more expensive.

Regards,
Richard

[AntiqueSledMan]

Richard,

Same difference, you cant harden a hammer if it isn't tool steel.
You could case harden it, approximately .010"-.015" thickness,
but it will still be soft under that point and will still mushroom.
I cut down a hammer on my Lyman Great Plains Hunter rifle,
it was dead soft. I'm sure the revolvers are about the same.