The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The North Corral > Black Powder and Cowboy Action Shooting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old June 15, 2010, 08:06 AM   #1
bigcountry11
Member
 
Join Date: May 13, 2010
Posts: 40
Wedge Puller

Finally got my dragoon. Is a wedge puller really important. I see alot of used ones with scratches around the wedge.

I want to make sure not to bugar this one up. I plan on shooting quite a bit.
bigcountry11 is offline  
Old June 15, 2010, 08:21 AM   #2
fineredmist
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 2, 2008
Location: Wethersfield, ct
Posts: 128
A small mallet made of wood will do the job without harming the finish. I use a rifle bullet starter to drive out the wedge as well as seating the wedge.
fineredmist is offline  
Old June 15, 2010, 10:11 AM   #3
Pahoo
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 16, 2006
Location: IOWA
Posts: 8,783
Just a Suggestion.

I make my own wedge pullers out of brass. I start with one of those large head brass fasteners that are used to anchor toilet seats down to their mounting flange. I grind flats on the stud end that can be used to as a drift punch or pusher and use the pan head as a lever. Again, these are brass and will limit the amount of marring on metal. ....



Be Safe !!!
Pahoo is offline  
Old June 15, 2010, 10:15 AM   #4
madcratebuilder
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 2, 2007
Location: Northern Orygun
Posts: 4,923
You can use a rawhide, mallet, wood mallet or one of those small brass/nylon head hammers. These well not leave a mark on the finish.
madcratebuilder is offline  
Old June 15, 2010, 11:59 AM   #5
wittzo
Member
 
Join Date: February 10, 2010
Posts: 95
I don't have any problem at all with my Walker using a wooden crab hammer (that's also the same thing as a child's wooden peg hammer, but I digress).

I'm having a lot of problems with my Dance and Brothers wedge, though. That little catch does too good of a job holding the wedge in place, it's like I need to hold a screwdriver or a needlenose pliers against it so I can knock the wedge out. It's already marred the finish after only a few whacks. I've only taken the barrel off twice. I've only shot it once because it's such an annoyance to remove and therefore, to clean.
wittzo is offline  
Old June 15, 2010, 12:11 PM   #6
Dino.
Junior member
 
Join Date: November 2, 2006
Posts: 908
Fortunately, the wedge on my Uberti Pocket can be inserted and removed with simple thumb pressure.

I would suggest maybe a good polishing on yours.
Dino. is offline  
Old June 15, 2010, 01:44 PM   #7
bigcountry11
Member
 
Join Date: May 13, 2010
Posts: 40
There is a flat headed screw overtop the wedge. The directions do not say to take that out. Does this screw secure the wedge? Or don't bother with it?

thanks,
bigcountry11 is offline  
Old June 15, 2010, 02:55 PM   #8
Kadmos
Member
 
Join Date: April 27, 2010
Posts: 93
Leave the screw be. It stops the wedge from falling out once its loosed, and stops the wedge from being hammered in too far.

I use a fairly hard rubber mallet to get out the wedge if it's too tight. Put it to half cock, then give it a good whack with the mallet directly from the side opposite of the screw. I usually just hold the pistol in my other hand, under the frame, not by the handle. A solid whack seems to do it most of the time. Actually seems to work much better than a bunch of tapping or pounding with a brass drift.
Kadmos is offline  
Old June 15, 2010, 04:53 PM   #9
Hawg
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 8, 2007
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 16,175
Quote:
Leave the screw be. It stops the wedge from falling out once its loosed, and stops the wedge from being hammered in too far.
On repros wedge shouldn't be hammered in at all. Most new guns only need wedge flush on off side. Drive it in too deep and cylinder gap will be too small and it can even bind cylinder against barrel.
Hawg is offline  
Old June 15, 2010, 06:13 PM   #10
Kadmos
Member
 
Join Date: April 27, 2010
Posts: 93
Seems to me most I've found need a bit of tapping to get them back into place. I'm sorry if I made it sound like anyone should attempt to force it snug to that screw head...you shouldn't do that...but it does act as a stop to some degree for a loosely fitting wedge I would think.

The important thing is to have it not fall out, while bringing it tight (or loose) enough for the proper gap.
Kadmos is offline  
Old June 15, 2010, 06:35 PM   #11
bigcountry11
Member
 
Join Date: May 13, 2010
Posts: 40
Many thanks again for the education
bigcountry11 is offline  
Old June 15, 2010, 07:29 PM   #12
wittzo
Member
 
Join Date: February 10, 2010
Posts: 95
Here's something curious...My Uberti Walker was my first Colt. The wedge can almost come out. The Pietta Dance and Brothers wedge is backwards to the Walker, the wedge screw is on the other side. Is that correct? I have been putting the wedge back in as a mirror to the Walker. The D&B wedge falls completely out, also.
wittzo is offline  
Old June 15, 2010, 10:15 PM   #13
mykeal
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 8, 2006
Location: Northern Michigan
Posts: 2,772
Both guns are 'correct'. The Walker is the only Colt design with the wedge installed from the right side; all others were installed from the left side.
mykeal is offline  
Old June 15, 2010, 10:53 PM   #14
wittzo
Member
 
Join Date: February 10, 2010
Posts: 95
I was scared I was putting it in backwards and upside down. I googled images of it and compared mine to the pictures to make sure.
wittzo is offline  
Old June 16, 2010, 08:00 AM   #15
madcratebuilder
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 2, 2007
Location: Northern Orygun
Posts: 4,923
The Walker wedge is the odd one. The small spring on the wedge should be up so the wedge screw catches it and stops it from coming completely off the barrel lug. When inserting the wedge, if everything is fit correctly the nose should be flush or very slightly out from the side of the lug. As parts wear or from incorrect fitting, the nose of the wedge can protrude further and further. Ideally the arbor bottoms out in the barrel lug just as the wedge is flush with the side of the lug. Most all Colt replicas have a short arbor.
madcratebuilder is offline  
Old June 16, 2010, 01:13 PM   #16
Noz
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 25, 2009
Posts: 643
Ubertis have a short arbor, Piettas do not.
Noz is offline  
Old June 16, 2010, 04:45 PM   #17
Hawg
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 8, 2007
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 16,175
Quote:
Ubertis have a short arbor, Piettas do not.
Sure they do, at least mine did.
Hawg is offline  
Old June 17, 2010, 12:11 PM   #18
Smokin_Gun
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 4, 2005
Location: Mojave Desert, CA
Posts: 1,195
Quote:
I'm having a lot of problems with my Dance and Brothers wedge, though
On most all newer or not Piettas you need not tap or push the wedge all the way thru the barrel assy, to latch it... they are made oversize a hair so as when the Rev breaks in & loosens up some the wedge need not bet replaced...them's my findings anyway...
__________________
"I Smoke Black Powder" "Favor an 1858 Remington"
SGT. Smokin' Gun, Mosby's Rangers 43rd Virginia Cavalry C.S.A.
SASS# 19634, ...
Admin:http://blackpowdersmoke.com/oldcoots/index.php
Smokin_Gun is offline  
Old June 17, 2010, 02:11 PM   #19
denster
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 24, 2010
Location: Ohio
Posts: 581
Couple of things I noted from these posts. Uberti's almost always have short arbors. They use a tapered arbor to ry to limit how far on the barrel can go. Pietta uses a straight arbor and they mostly get it the correct length where it bottoms out in the arbor hole when the barrel lug meets the frame. In any case that should be the first thing checked and corrected, if need be, on a new gun. In no case should you use the wedge to adjust the barrel/cylinder gap.
Now to wedges. Uberti has the right idea. Their wedges have no taper on the flat towards the cylinder the taper being only on the side towards the muzzle. There is a corresponding taper in the end of the arbor. This allows the flat towards the cylinder to bear equally on the flats of the wedge slot on both sides of the barrel. A perfectly fit wedge will just have the radius protruding from the far side at the point you start to feel resistance. It will lock in place with a light tap and unlock the same way.
Pietta has not figured out the correct use of a wedge to lock things together. They have a 90 degree flat in the end of the arbor and tapers on both sides of the wedge. The wedge can only contact the near corner of the arbor slot on the inbound side. The taper on the side of the wedge near the cylinder allows the wedge to get through but only contact the barrel flat on that side. Then Pietta brings in Luigi the gorilla wedge setter to beat the thing in place. Fortunately all of this is correctable by the end user, but you shouldn't have to as it would be no more expensive for them to do it the correct way to start. One of my pet peeves with Pietta. I still like them as they have brought their quality way up in past years .
denster is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:24 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.05376 seconds with 10 queries