Which Dance finish?

[ssb73q]

Hi, I'm thinking that my replica collection needs a Dance Revolver. There are two different finish Dance revolvers that I am considering:
Old Silver, or conventional blued:

http://www.oldsouthfirearms.com/DanceBrothersRevolverOldSilverFinish.aspx

https://www.dixiegunworks.com/index/page/product/product_id/8640

Which finish would you choose?

Regards,
Richard

[mike116]

All things being equal the blued finish would be my choice.

[Hawg]

Blued

[G Dog]

Blue.  Then go for that honest wear finish.  Best color in the world.

[Necessaryevil]

I'd buy BOTH of them 

Sadly I'm not in a position to buy any more black powder guns because I just bought one of these.......https://materialdecaza.com/escopetas/395-escopeta-semiautomatica-hatsan-escort-df12-18.html

[ssb73q]

Hi guys, thanks for your replies. I am going with the majority and ordered the blued Dance. The next issue I have is if there is a conversion cylinder that can be used with the Pietta Dance. Research suggests that the Dance cylinder is shorter than the Pietta 1860. I have a couple of 1860 .45 Colt conversion cylinders and will check if one of them could be shortened to work with the Dance. It's already a given that I will add a taller front sight to the Dance since all reports I have seen is that the Pietta Dance shoots very high.

Again, thank you for your replies, that helped me decide the finish.

Regards,
Richard

[ShotgunDave]

I'm a day late and a dollar short, because I've been preoccupied the last few days. But my vote would have been blued as well.

Anxious to hear how it shoots once you have it in hand.

[sourdough]

Richard,

I am very glad you went with blued version. A silver Dance, to me, just does not cut it.

I have wanted a Dance .36 for a long time which is historically correct for caliber. Pietta made them many years ago prior to the CNC machining era. I have often thought of using a Pietta 1851 Navy, milling off the recoil shields, and re-doing the frame case colors, but that is a lot of work, so it is still on the back burner.

The Dance that Pietta currently markets is a .44 gun, which is non-historical, and somewhat an anomaly. It has a non-rebated .44 cylinder that is larger in diameter than the Navy .36 cylinder (see photo), but the frame is a "lowered" 1851 Navy frame that does not have a cut water table. The cylinder appears to be a bit smaller in diameter than a standard Pietta 1860 Army .44 rebated cylinder, and the Army .44 cylinder is longer in length than a Navy .36 cylinder. Check the forcing cone length on the Dance compared to the 1860 Army barrel.

Just some considerations for you to ponder if you want to install a conversion cylinder on the Dance.

Regards,

Jim

[G Dog]

For a Dance either .36 or .44 is historically correct.   J.H. Dance & Bros. made both.

Sourdough - maybe I am misreading you.  Do you mean that the Pietta Dance is counter-historical for reasons other than the caliber or because of it?

[sourdough]

Other than the caliber. It has no historical lines.

Sorry to have stated otherwise.

Jim

[ssb73q]

Hi Jim, research shows that the majority of Dance were in .44 caliber. There were only a total of 350-500 Dance ever made.

One thing wrong with the Pietta Dance is that the Pietta has cylinder bolt slot lead-ins, the originals don't have lead-ins. I'm still trying to determine if the original Dance's manufactured had round or squareback trigger guards.

Regards,
Richard

[G Dog]

I'm still trying to determine if the original Dance's manufactured had round or squareback trigger guards.

I've only seen a round TG on a Dance.  The PDF below has come up here before.  Has some good stuff.  Worth revisiting.

http://americansocietyofarmscollectors.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/B055_Gary.pdf

[ssb73q]

Hi G Dog, thanks for the link, interesting read.

The more I study the differences between the Pietta Dance and .44 1851/1860 revolvers, the more problems I see in modifying a .44 1851/1860 conversion cylinder to work in the Dance.

Regards,
Richard

[ssb73q]

Hi, the Pietta Dance revolver arrived yesterday. Like most all current production Pietta's, the fit, timing, and finish is excellent. Getting a conversion cylinder to work with the Dance may be easier than first thought. I attached a Howell 1860 5-shot .45 Colt conversion cylinder and find the timing perfect. The cylinder rotates and locks up as well as the C&B cylinder. However, a modification to the 1860 conversion cylinder will be required. The 1860 conversion cylinder is 0.122" too long. Since the 1860 conversion cylinder is already too short for .45 Colt COAL, a shorter .45 cartridge than .45 Colt would be required. Can you say, .45 Schofield? I already have two Howell Pietta 1860 conversion cylinders, but want to leave them alone. When Midway USA has another conversion cylinder sale, I may order and modify the Howell 1860 conversion cylinder to shoot .45 Schofield in the Dance.

Regards,
Richard

[ssb73q]

Hi, there is another option on using 1860 conversion cylinders without modification with the Dance revolver. Shorten the Dance forcing cone. The photo shows a Pietta 1860 with the 1862 Dance. Notice the wide space between the frame and cylinder of the Dance compared to the 1860. Metal (0.122") could be easily taken off the Dance forcing cone and have a frame to cylinder space like the 1860. Then either 1860 conversion cylinders or 1860 C&B cylinders could be used with the Dance. Extra 1860 cylinders are sometimes on sale for $39. I bet that extra Dance cylinders, if even available, would cost over $100.

One may argue that doing that would make the Dance not a replica anymore. However, the Dance cylinder is already not correct, the Dance never used bolt slots with lead-ins.

Regards,
Richard