Thanks Cap.,
I understand the "problem" with the open top, but that is my point. You are comparing your experience with an open top that has the ability to destroy itself and a revolver that (because of manufacturing) IS pretty much built correctly. In order to compare the two designs, you need two examples of "like" build quality.
The reason the open tops fail has to do with the ability of the cylinder to slide back and forth on the arbor, much like a slide hammer used in a body shop. With that ability removed, it can't and won't. If you try to hammer a nail without the ability to "move" the hammer, you won't be able to. The same holds true with the open top design. I know it works with the steel framed open tops, I am part of a two gun test (by two different people) with brass framed (identical) open tops to see if it will hold true with them as well (using full strength loads). So, to recap, it's the sloppy build technique, not the design, that allows self destruction for open tops.
When you hold the clearance to a very tight tolerance, allowing the cyl the smallest "hammering" ability, the strength of the material itself is enough to withstand the minute amount of "hammering allowed". That, is the key.
Now that you have removed the " ability ", the design takes over and the comparison is the tensile strength of the arbor vs the strength of an open square. The arbor is a natural for the linear forces , the square - not so much.
The square is the design that won simply because of the manufacturing process and as time has proven, the ability to have a more " powerful " weapon was to incorporate newer steels and/ or thicker top straps to deal with the design.
So, again, I'm not trying to be a smart a$$, just trying to show that just because you hear something over and over and over doesn't make it true. If the S.A. revolvers of today were all still of the open top design, they would be far and away more expensive than what we pay for the ones we DO get (thank you Italians!!!!). We just gotta finish the job on these "assembled kits". Lol
Mike
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