Put stainless cylinders from Cabelas on my 1860's today. Pics.

Bill Akins · March 29, 2012, 06:36 PM

Some time back I had (since sold) a stainless (like) Pietta 1851 Marshal.
Back then I tried the 1851 Marshal's fluted, stainless (like) cylinder on my Pietta 1860. It fit perfectly. Cabelas has those 1851 fluted Marshal cylinders (that also fit the 1860) stainless (like) available for $71.99 each at this below link....
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Piett...h-All+Products

Just a few months ago Cabelas was selling them for $64.99 each. I should have got them then, but I didn't get around to it until last week and by then they were up to $71.99 each.

Anyway.....They arrived today. One fit right on with no problems but the other one had some material still inside the arbor hole that had not been totally machined out. A ring in the arbor hole where the mill bit had not been taken far enough down so a little metal was still there close to the cylinder's star, in the arbor hole, preventing it from sliding over the arbor. So I had to file that a bit with a half round file. But after some filing, it fit perfectly.

The reason I got these was three fold. 1. Stainless (or nickel) in a black powder revolver is much easier to clean than blued steel and won't rust up like blued steel will from the corrosive salts in expended black powder. 2. My revolvers were already nickel so I wanted something that matched their finish. 3. Both my 1860's had gold cylinders and I had found out that firing a gold cylinder flakes the gold off of it. After finding that out, I resolved not to fire my second revolver's cylinder. So I just had the one fluted gold cylinder that had gold flaked off it. When I had complained to Traditions about that, they sent me another gold cylinder free of charge. But it is solid and not fluted. But I was afraid at that point to fire ANY gold cylinder for fear of flaking the gold off it. So now I have one perfect fluted gold cylinder, one perfect solid gold cylinder, and one fluted flaked off gold cylinder....that I set aside as accessories for the two revolvers that will never be put on except for display.

For shooting I'll be using these new stainless (like) fluted cylinders.

A little info about them. They both have pins between the cylinder nipples so my hammer can rest on the pin and not slide over to the next cylinder. Fit and finish are excellent except for that one little defect in the arbor hole that I had to half round file a little. Other than that, they are excellent.

One thing about the stainless (like) steel. It is NOT in the white regular steel that has been highly polished. I did some research on the net about these cylinders and although I can't remember where I found this info....here is what I found.....

The steel is NOT regular steel. It is some kind of hard steel that isn't exactly the same as "stainless steel" (even stainless isn't really stainless, it is stain RESISTANT). Anyway....I read that this special steel has almost the same qualities as "stainless" steel in that it is very rust resistant just like what we know as "stainless steel" is. If memory serves me, I think the article said it had nickel or some other additive in it. Anyway, I was satisfied after reading about it that it is just as good as "regular" stainless steel. So for all practical purposes it is the same as stainless steel. But technically it isn't. That's why I call it stainless (like) steel. Wish I could remember where I found that info to give you the link. But since I didn't bookmark it, and can't remember where I read it, you'll have to take my word on it.

Here's a few pictures of my Pietta 1860's with the new cylinders on them.

Below pic is from some months ago when I put my 1851 Marshal stainless (like) cylinder on one of my nickel 1860's. That's how I found out I could use the 1851 Pietta cylinders on my Pietta 1860's. You can see my old flaked off gold cylinder below the revolver.

Next three pics were taken today just after I finished putting the new cylinders on my Pietta 1860's. You will notice in the first below pic that the bottom one of my revolvers still has its gold hammer installed. I took the other gold one off the other revolver because its bolt spring leg cam had worn out and I bought the case colored hammer from a member here. I plan to take the other gold hammer off too before I shoot it (to prevent it flaking like my gold cylinder did) and today I ordered a "Pietta replacement parts set" which included a new case hardened hammer (and other parts) from EMF who has them for $30.00 (which is ten dollars cheaper than Cabelas). Here's a link to EMF for that Pietta replacement parts kit. The picture they use is of a Pietta 1858 hammer, but the kit is for the 1851 and 1860's and they just used the wrong pic in the ad.....
http://www.emf-company.com/store/pc/...IT-80p1232.htm

This is about as close as you can get to having stainless 1860's unless you want to pay around $900.00 or more each for the ultra rare few stainless ones rarely seen on Gunbroker. Eventually I plan to have Masonic medallions inset into the grips. I'll never sell these, these will be inherited by my heirs.

In above pic, the three small boxes hold my perfect, fluted, unfired, gold cylinder, my perfect, non fluted, solid, unfired, gold cylinder, and my fired flaked off gold, fluted cylinder. I keep them with the revolvers in the case. Also included is my nipple wrench and an extra bolt spring plus an aluminum tool I made to allow me to gently tap out my barrel wedge without scratching my barrel.

Another pic of aluminum tool for pushing out barrel wedge. I filed my wedges so that I can usually push the wedge out just using thumb tension, but just in case the wedge gets sticky, I made this little aluminum tool to aid me pushing the wedge out without using steel so I won't scratch my barrel. Its end fills the wedge hole and won't slip like using a steel screwdriver that many uninformed people use to drive the wedge out with. I hate to see scratched and dinged up barrels on the right side of the cylinder wedge from driving the wedge out with a steel screwdriver and slipping and dinging and scratching up the barrel on people's revolvers who don't know any better. I see very many used ones scratched and dinged up like that on Gunbroker.

Can't wait to get that new case hardened hammer and install it and take them shooting with the new stainless (like) cylinders. I've shot one already (the one with the flaked off gold cylinder) a lot and it is very accurate. Should be just as good with the new cylinders. Have yet to fire the second revolver.

Well that's it. White PVC grips, nickel with stainless (like) cylinders. I think they look great. What do you think?

.

Beagle333 · March 29, 2012, 08:47 PM

That's a good lookin set of pistols right there!!!

Hawksnest88 · March 30, 2012, 12:08 PM

I think that cylinder is plated not SS. But I could be wrong. I have three extra 1858 SS cylinders for my blued 44 Rems. sheriffs, like $81 + shipping now. I also have a SS 1858 44, my best shooter. Beautiful guns you have. BIll G.

Bill Akins · March 30, 2012, 01:17 PM

Thanks Hawksnest. I think they are beautiful too. Just one thing, those cylinders I bought are NOT plated. Read my earlier post wherein I told that they are a material similar to stainless steel without actually being the same molecular structure of what we normally consider as stainless steel. So in reality, they are basically just as good as, and almost the same qualities as "stainless" steel. I call them stainless (like) steel.

.

sandman_nv · March 30, 2012, 10:14 PM

very, very nice, Bill!

MEATSAW · March 31, 2012, 12:32 AM

Correct me if I am wrong but aren't the frames brass on the nickel plated versions of these?

Bill Akins · March 31, 2012, 01:26 AM

Thanks Sandman NV.

Yes Meatsaw, my 1860's frames are nickel plated brass. I take real good care of them. And since I never shoot more than 22 grains of BP in my cylinders, they should last a lifetime. Perhaps several lifetimes or more. As long as you don't overload a brass frame, they should last as long as a steel frame. But if by any quirk of fate they don't, well I'll just get a steel frame and have it nickel plated and fit that onto my nickel barrels and stainless (like) cylinders.

.

Hawksnest88 · April 7, 2012, 05:52 PM

Bill Akins, when I saw your post, I ordered one of the cylinders from Cabelas. It is not SS but rather a metal SS-like, just as you said. The cylinder fits perfect on my Pietta short barrel sheriffs 1860, lines up perfect and shoots great. Much easier to clean than the blue one. Thanks much. Bill Grenoble

Doc Hoy · April 7, 2012, 07:57 PM

Pretty nice.

I know yo have a passion for fancy pistols.

These certainly fit the definition.

sharpie443 · April 7, 2012, 08:53 PM

Wow those are nice.

Probably a little out of my price range.

Andy Griffith · April 8, 2012, 06:59 PM

Well Bill, I guess you realized early on that...

Life's too short to live with an ugly gun.

Bill Akins · April 9, 2012, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Hawksnest88 wrote:
Bill Akins, when I saw your post, I ordered one of the cylinders from Cabelas. It is not SS but rather a metal SS-like, just as you said. The cylinder fits perfect on my Pietta short barrel sheriffs 1860, lines up perfect and shoots great. Much easier to clean than the blue one. Thanks much. Bill Grenoble

You're very welcome. Nice to know my thread helped you out.

.

Bill Akins · April 9, 2012, 01:25 AM

Thanks Doc, Sharpie and Andy.

But Sharpie they may not be as out of your price range as you thought.
I paid $160.00 for one of them and $200.00 for the other one. They came in perfect unfired condition with the white PVC grips and gold hammers, gold triggers and fluted gold cylinders. So for the two of them before I bought the stainless like cylinders, I had close to $400.00 in them including the cost of shipping them to me. Got both of them off gunbroker.

So with the stainless (like) cylinders costing $71.99 each and only $1.00 on Cabela's coupon shipping special to ship them to me, that equals $144.98 for those two cylinders, then I bought a case hardened hammer from a member here for $5.00, then also bought a full parts replacement kit from EMF for $30.00 plus $4.00 for shipping, $5.00 for the nipple wrench on the sale table at a dealer's, and I got the case for free on a trade.

So that's....

$400.00 (approx) for the two revolvers themselves.
$143.98 for two stainless (like) cylinders.
$ 1.00 for the special shipping rate that day on cylinders from Cabelas.
$ 5.00 for buying case hardened hammer from member here.
$ 30.00 for parts replacement kit from EMF.
$ 4.00 for shipping parts replacement kit.
$ 5.00 for nipple wrench on sale.
_______
$588.98

Total money I have in both of them not counting powder flask, straight line capper and other small accessories. As you can see, not out of sight price wise at all for the two of them. Amounts to about $294.50 or so each, which isn't bad considering that includes the stainless (like) cylinders.

Just watch and shop the auctions Sharpie and you can find a nickel 1851 or 1860 too for about $200 to $250. (The one I got for $160.00 was several years ago).

.

Bill Akins · April 17, 2012, 12:49 AM

Finally got time today to replace my gold hammer with a case hammer on my Traditions (Pietta) 1860. Now both my 1860 nickel with stainless (like) cylinders 1860's match and are ready to shoot. When I get time to shoot them I'll post on the performance of the stainless (like) cylinders. But I predict they will perform flawlessly.

Putting the gold hammer away for another day. Nothing wrong with it, just don't want to flake the gold by firing it as I found out on my other 1860's cylinder and hammer will happen. When I took the gold hammer off today, I could see marks and scratches wearing the gold off just from it being cocked!
They do a lousy job on that gold plating at Pietta. Scratches off, wears off, and even blows large patches off the cylinder just from light load (22 grains) firing. So if any of you get a gold plated pieces Pietta, make it only for display, don't shoot it, or else it will ruin the gold.....otherwise do like I did and replace the gold cylinders and hammers with stainless (like) cylinders and case hardened hammers. No problems then.

Got the case hardened hammer on replacing the gold hammer. Sorry for bad quality of pic. My camera's not the best.

.

March 29, 2012, 06:36 PM	#1
Bill Akins Senior Member Join Date: August 28, 2007 Location: Hudson, Florida Posts: 1,135	Put stainless cylinders from Cabelas on my 1860's today. Pics. Some time back I had (since sold) a stainless (like) Pietta 1851 Marshal. Back then I tried the 1851 Marshal's fluted, stainless (like) cylinder on my Pietta 1860. It fit perfectly. Cabelas has those 1851 fluted Marshal cylinders (that also fit the 1860) stainless (like) available for $71.99 each at this below link.... http://www.cabelas.com/product/Piett...h-All+Products Just a few months ago Cabelas was selling them for $64.99 each. I should have got them then, but I didn't get around to it until last week and by then they were up to $71.99 each. Anyway.....They arrived today. One fit right on with no problems but the other one had some material still inside the arbor hole that had not been totally machined out. A ring in the arbor hole where the mill bit had not been taken far enough down so a little metal was still there close to the cylinder's star, in the arbor hole, preventing it from sliding over the arbor. So I had to file that a bit with a half round file. But after some filing, it fit perfectly. The reason I got these was three fold. 1. Stainless (or nickel) in a black powder revolver is much easier to clean than blued steel and won't rust up like blued steel will from the corrosive salts in expended black powder. 2. My revolvers were already nickel so I wanted something that matched their finish. 3. Both my 1860's had gold cylinders and I had found out that firing a gold cylinder flakes the gold off of it. After finding that out, I resolved not to fire my second revolver's cylinder. So I just had the one fluted gold cylinder that had gold flaked off it. When I had complained to Traditions about that, they sent me another gold cylinder free of charge. But it is solid and not fluted. But I was afraid at that point to fire ANY gold cylinder for fear of flaking the gold off it. So now I have one perfect fluted gold cylinder, one perfect solid gold cylinder, and one fluted flaked off gold cylinder....that I set aside as accessories for the two revolvers that will never be put on except for display. For shooting I'll be using these new stainless (like) fluted cylinders. A little info about them. They both have pins between the cylinder nipples so my hammer can rest on the pin and not slide over to the next cylinder. Fit and finish are excellent except for that one little defect in the arbor hole that I had to half round file a little. Other than that, they are excellent. One thing about the stainless (like) steel. It is NOT in the white regular steel that has been highly polished. I did some research on the net about these cylinders and although I can't remember where I found this info....here is what I found..... The steel is NOT regular steel. It is some kind of hard steel that isn't exactly the same as "stainless steel" (even stainless isn't really stainless, it is stain RESISTANT). Anyway....I read that this special steel has almost the same qualities as "stainless" steel in that it is very rust resistant just like what we know as "stainless steel" is. If memory serves me, I think the article said it had nickel or some other additive in it. Anyway, I was satisfied after reading about it that it is just as good as "regular" stainless steel. So for all practical purposes it is the same as stainless steel. But technically it isn't. That's why I call it stainless (like) steel. Wish I could remember where I found that info to give you the link. But since I didn't bookmark it, and can't remember where I read it, you'll have to take my word on it. Here's a few pictures of my Pietta 1860's with the new cylinders on them. Below pic is from some months ago when I put my 1851 Marshal stainless (like) cylinder on one of my nickel 1860's. That's how I found out I could use the 1851 Pietta cylinders on my Pietta 1860's. You can see my old flaked off gold cylinder below the revolver. Next three pics were taken today just after I finished putting the new cylinders on my Pietta 1860's. You will notice in the first below pic that the bottom one of my revolvers still has its gold hammer installed. I took the other gold one off the other revolver because its bolt spring leg cam had worn out and I bought the case colored hammer from a member here. I plan to take the other gold hammer off too before I shoot it (to prevent it flaking like my gold cylinder did) and today I ordered a "Pietta replacement parts set" which included a new case hardened hammer (and other parts) from EMF who has them for $30.00 (which is ten dollars cheaper than Cabelas). Here's a link to EMF for that Pietta replacement parts kit. The picture they use is of a Pietta 1858 hammer, but the kit is for the 1851 and 1860's and they just used the wrong pic in the ad..... http://www.emf-company.com/store/pc/...IT-80p1232.htm This is about as close as you can get to having stainless 1860's unless you want to pay around $900.00 or more each for the ultra rare few stainless ones rarely seen on Gunbroker. Eventually I plan to have Masonic medallions inset into the grips. I'll never sell these, these will be inherited by my heirs. In above pic, the three small boxes hold my perfect, fluted, unfired, gold cylinder, my perfect, non fluted, solid, unfired, gold cylinder, and my fired flaked off gold, fluted cylinder. I keep them with the revolvers in the case. Also included is my nipple wrench and an extra bolt spring plus an aluminum tool I made to allow me to gently tap out my barrel wedge without scratching my barrel. Another pic of aluminum tool for pushing out barrel wedge. I filed my wedges so that I can usually push the wedge out just using thumb tension, but just in case the wedge gets sticky, I made this little aluminum tool to aid me pushing the wedge out without using steel so I won't scratch my barrel. Its end fills the wedge hole and won't slip like using a steel screwdriver that many uninformed people use to drive the wedge out with. I hate to see scratched and dinged up barrels on the right side of the cylinder wedge from driving the wedge out with a steel screwdriver and slipping and dinging and scratching up the barrel on people's revolvers who don't know any better. I see very many used ones scratched and dinged up like that on Gunbroker. Can't wait to get that new case hardened hammer and install it and take them shooting with the new stainless (like) cylinders. I've shot one already (the one with the flaked off gold cylinder) a lot and it is very accurate. Should be just as good with the new cylinders. Have yet to fire the second revolver. Well that's it. White PVC grips, nickel with stainless (like) cylinders. I think they look great. What do you think? . __________________ "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; March 30, 2012 at 01:30 PM.

March 30, 2012, 01:17 PM	#4
Bill Akins Senior Member Join Date: August 28, 2007 Location: Hudson, Florida Posts: 1,135	Thanks Hawksnest. I think they are beautiful too. Just one thing, those cylinders I bought are NOT plated. Read my earlier post wherein I told that they are a material similar to stainless steel without actually being the same molecular structure of what we normally consider as stainless steel. So in reality, they are basically just as good as, and almost the same qualities as "stainless" steel. I call them stainless (like) steel. . __________________ "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".

March 31, 2012, 12:32 AM	#6
MEATSAW Senior Member Join Date: May 1, 2009 Location: Burnet, TX Posts: 727	Correct me if I am wrong but aren't the frames brass on the nickel plated versions of these? __________________ Veteran OEF (2002) and OIF1 (2003) - US Army Member of the Burnet Gun Fighters, Inc. and of course the NRA Oregon State University alum -- Go Beavs!

March 31, 2012, 01:26 AM	#7
Bill Akins Senior Member Join Date: August 28, 2007 Location: Hudson, Florida Posts: 1,135	Thanks Sandman NV. Yes Meatsaw, my 1860's frames are nickel plated brass. I take real good care of them. And since I never shoot more than 22 grains of BP in my cylinders, they should last a lifetime. Perhaps several lifetimes or more. As long as you don't overload a brass frame, they should last as long as a steel frame. But if by any quirk of fate they don't, well I'll just get a steel frame and have it nickel plated and fit that onto my nickel barrels and stainless (like) cylinders. . __________________ "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; March 31, 2012 at 01:56 AM.

April 7, 2012, 07:57 PM	#9
Doc Hoy Senior Member Join Date: October 24, 2008 Location: Naples, Fl Posts: 5,440	Yeah, Bill Pretty nice. I know yo have a passion for fancy pistols. These certainly fit the definition. __________________ Seek truth. Relax. Take a breath.

March 29, 2012, 08:47 PM	#2
Beagle333 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2012 Location: Auburn, AL. Posts: 2,332	That's a good lookin set of pistols right there!!!

March 30, 2012, 12:08 PM	#3
Hawksnest88 Junior Member Join Date: January 28, 2011 Location: Shermans Dale, PA Posts: 10	I think that cylinder is plated not SS. But I could be wrong. I have three extra 1858 SS cylinders for my blued 44 Rems. sheriffs, like $81 + shipping now. I also have a SS 1858 44, my best shooter. Beautiful guns you have. BIll G.

March 30, 2012, 10:14 PM	#5
sandman_nv Senior Member Join Date: January 16, 2012 Posts: 108	very, very nice, Bill!

April 7, 2012, 05:52 PM	#8
Hawksnest88 Junior Member Join Date: January 28, 2011 Location: Shermans Dale, PA Posts: 10	Bill Akins, when I saw your post, I ordered one of the cylinders from Cabelas. It is not SS but rather a metal SS-like, just as you said. The cylinder fits perfect on my Pietta short barrel sheriffs 1860, lines up perfect and shoots great. Much easier to clean than the blue one. Thanks much. Bill Grenoble

April 7, 2012, 08:53 PM	#10
sharpie443 Member Join Date: March 25, 2012 Posts: 80	Wow those are nice. Probably a little out of my price range.

April 8, 2012, 06:59 PM	#11
Andy Griffith Senior Member Join Date: May 14, 2009 Location: Macon Co. NC Posts: 591	Well Bill, I guess you realized early on that... Life's too short to live with an ugly gun. __________________ Barney Fife: "Nip it, nip it, nip it!" Andy Griffith:"Oh now Barn'...."

April 9, 2012, 01:25 AM	#13
Bill Akins Senior Member Join Date: August 28, 2007 Location: Hudson, Florida Posts: 1,135	Thanks Doc, Sharpie and Andy. But Sharpie they may not be as out of your price range as you thought. I paid $160.00 for one of them and $200.00 for the other one. They came in perfect unfired condition with the white PVC grips and gold hammers, gold triggers and fluted gold cylinders. So for the two of them before I bought the stainless like cylinders, I had close to $400.00 in them including the cost of shipping them to me. Got both of them off gunbroker. So with the stainless (like) cylinders costing $71.99 each and only $1.00 on Cabela's coupon shipping special to ship them to me, that equals $144.98 for those two cylinders, then I bought a case hardened hammer from a member here for $5.00, then also bought a full parts replacement kit from EMF for $30.00 plus $4.00 for shipping, $5.00 for the nipple wrench on the sale table at a dealer's, and I got the case for free on a trade. So that's.... $400.00 (approx) for the two revolvers themselves. $143.98 for two stainless (like) cylinders. $ 1.00 for the special shipping rate that day on cylinders from Cabelas. $ 5.00 for buying case hardened hammer from member here. $ 30.00 for parts replacement kit from EMF. $ 4.00 for shipping parts replacement kit. $ 5.00 for nipple wrench on sale. _______ $588.98 Total money I have in both of them not counting powder flask, straight line capper and other small accessories. As you can see, not out of sight price wise at all for the two of them. Amounts to about $294.50 or so each, which isn't bad considering that includes the stainless (like) cylinders. Just watch and shop the auctions Sharpie and you can find a nickel 1851 or 1860 too for about $200 to $250. (The one I got for $160.00 was several years ago). . __________________ "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; April 9, 2012 at 01:49 AM.

April 17, 2012, 12:49 AM	#14
Bill Akins Senior Member Join Date: August 28, 2007 Location: Hudson, Florida Posts: 1,135	Finally got time today to replace my gold hammer with a case hammer on my Traditions (Pietta) 1860. Now both my 1860 nickel with stainless (like) cylinders 1860's match and are ready to shoot. When I get time to shoot them I'll post on the performance of the stainless (like) cylinders. But I predict they will perform flawlessly. Putting the gold hammer away for another day. Nothing wrong with it, just don't want to flake the gold by firing it as I found out on my other 1860's cylinder and hammer will happen. When I took the gold hammer off today, I could see marks and scratches wearing the gold off just from it being cocked! They do a lousy job on that gold plating at Pietta. Scratches off, wears off, and even blows large patches off the cylinder just from light load (22 grains) firing. So if any of you get a gold plated pieces Pietta, make it only for display, don't shoot it, or else it will ruin the gold.....otherwise do like I did and replace the gold cylinders and hammers with stainless (like) cylinders and case hardened hammers. No problems then. Got the case hardened hammer on replacing the gold hammer. Sorry for bad quality of pic. My camera's not the best. . __________________ "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".