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Bill Akins · May 18, 2012, 09:57 PM

I'm always very careful when getting a stuck wedge out to not scratch the frame as I have seen so very many people do. Many of the used BP revolvers on gunbroker have scratches on the frame around the wedge where someone used a screwdriver and a hammer to drive the wedge out, and of course the screwdriver slipped and scratched up the frame, usually repeatedly because they didn't stop after just one scratch, but continued doing the same thing that further scratched it! Nothing drives the value down like seeing the frame side all scratched up around the wedge hole showing that whoever had it didn't know what they were doing, or were just negligent, and makes you wonder what else is messed up inside. Passed on more than a few auctions after seeing a badly scratched up frame near the wedge.

Here's a little wedge remover tool I made out of a piece of aluminum. It fits in the slot and won't scratch the steel. Of course I carefully file my wedges so that they will remove just using hard finger pressure, (careful not to file them too much!) but just in case I carry this tool with me. After these pictures were taken I changed the head of the tool recently to where instead of it being only ground on one side, it was ground on both sides. Works really well and on several occasions when I pushed the wedge in kinda hard with my fingers and it was not wanting to pull out just with finger pressure, I just put this tool in the wedge slot and gave it a gentle tap and the wedge came right out. Easy to make out of aluminum bar stock....

Tool under barrel of upper revolver, you can tell the tool's size by comparing to revolver's size.

Since this pic was taken both sides of tool head are ground now (and smoothed) instead of just one. I did that more for esthetics than anything because it worked just fine with only one side of the head tapered ground.
It just bugged me how it looked with only one side of the head tapered so after these pics I filed the other side of the head to match.

NEVER use a flat head screwdriver to drive out a wedge! You might get away with it a time or two, but eventually the screwdriver WILL slip and scratch up your frame around the wedge slot. I know because I did exactly that to a black powder revolver using a flat head screwdriver about 35 or so years ago before I learned better.

If your wedge is sticking out the other side so that it is hard to get a tool against it without the tool slipping off, and thus you can't use the edges of the wedge hole to keep your tool from slipping off the wedge, then just put the long flat side of a tool like mine over the top of the wedge, then tap the tool with a hammer. That way the tool doesn't slip and being aluminum and having its flat side against the wedge like that, it should either loosen the wedge enough to pull it out by hand, or at least drive it out enough so that you can now put the tool in the wedge slot and the edges of the wedge slot will keep the tool from slipping in order to finish driving the wedge the rest of the way out. That way you don't get a scratch on your frame.

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May 18, 2012, 09:57 PM	#34
Bill Akins Senior Member Join Date: August 28, 2007 Location: Hudson, Florida Posts: 1,135	I'm always very careful when getting a stuck wedge out to not scratch the frame as I have seen so very many people do. Many of the used BP revolvers on gunbroker have scratches on the frame around the wedge where someone used a screwdriver and a hammer to drive the wedge out, and of course the screwdriver slipped and scratched up the frame, usually repeatedly because they didn't stop after just one scratch, but continued doing the same thing that further scratched it! Nothing drives the value down like seeing the frame side all scratched up around the wedge hole showing that whoever had it didn't know what they were doing, or were just negligent, and makes you wonder what else is messed up inside. Passed on more than a few auctions after seeing a badly scratched up frame near the wedge. Here's a little wedge remover tool I made out of a piece of aluminum. It fits in the slot and won't scratch the steel. Of course I carefully file my wedges so that they will remove just using hard finger pressure, (careful not to file them too much!) but just in case I carry this tool with me. After these pictures were taken I changed the head of the tool recently to where instead of it being only ground on one side, it was ground on both sides. Works really well and on several occasions when I pushed the wedge in kinda hard with my fingers and it was not wanting to pull out just with finger pressure, I just put this tool in the wedge slot and gave it a gentle tap and the wedge came right out. Easy to make out of aluminum bar stock.... Tool under barrel of upper revolver, you can tell the tool's size by comparing to revolver's size. Since this pic was taken both sides of tool head are ground now (and smoothed) instead of just one. I did that more for esthetics than anything because it worked just fine with only one side of the head tapered ground. It just bugged me how it looked with only one side of the head tapered so after these pics I filed the other side of the head to match. NEVER use a flat head screwdriver to drive out a wedge! You might get away with it a time or two, but eventually the screwdriver WILL slip and scratch up your frame around the wedge slot. I know because I did exactly that to a black powder revolver using a flat head screwdriver about 35 or so years ago before I learned better. If your wedge is sticking out the other side so that it is hard to get a tool against it without the tool slipping off, and thus you can't use the edges of the wedge hole to keep your tool from slipping off the wedge, then just put the long flat side of a tool like mine over the top of the wedge, then tap the tool with a hammer. That way the tool doesn't slip and being aluminum and having its flat side against the wedge like that, it should either loosen the wedge enough to pull it out by hand, or at least drive it out enough so that you can now put the tool in the wedge slot and the edges of the wedge slot will keep the tool from slipping in order to finish driving the wedge the rest of the way out. That way you don't get a scratch on your frame. . __________________ "This is my Remy and this is my Colt. Remy loads easy and topstrap strong, Colt balances better and never feels wrong. A repro black powder revolver gun, they smoke and shoot lead and give me much fun. I can't figure out which one I like better, they're both fine revolvers that fit in my leather". "To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target". Last edited by Bill Akins; May 18, 2012 at 10:20 PM.