1851 Pietta Revolver

JASONMATTSON · December 28, 2005, 08:39 AM

I Recently Bought A 1851 Pietta Revolver And Am Having Trouble Getting The Wedge Out So I Cant Clean The Gun, Any Tips Or Hints?

Remington kid · December 28, 2005, 08:49 AM

Well, I can't help you much but I have the same Colt on it's way and should be here Friday. They suggested I buy there wedge puller that was on sale for $4.99 so I did. On another site someone mentioned that they just used a screw driver. I'm sure someone on here can tell you just what you need to do.

JASONMATTSON · December 28, 2005, 08:51 AM

Where Did You Buy The Wedge Puller From?

pohill · December 28, 2005, 09:08 AM

Getting the wedge out isn't a problem if you don't baby it. Place a small screwdriver head or something that fits over the wedge tip but doesnt touch the exit slot and give it a slight whack (you have to elevate the left side of the gun so the wedge has clearance when it comes out). Use someting soft like a piece of wood if you dont want to mar the metal. I use a Walker nipple wrench, screwdriver end, which compresses the wedge spring perfectly. The problem is putting the wedge back it - don't drive it too far.
The wedge puller is meant to use on a musket.

Remington kid · December 28, 2005, 09:15 AM

Pohill, Where did you get the idea that the wedge puller is for a musket? The one I ordered is offered with the 1851 Colt and other revolvers with wedges.

JASONMATTSON, When I talked to a gun teck at Cabelas he said they were on sale and he recomended one for all the wedge style revolvers so I added it to my order yeasterday. It will allow you to pull the wedge without dinging up the gun in cases like your having now.They do get stuck every now and then. I'll let you know how it works.

pohill · December 28, 2005, 09:30 AM

Are you talking about this item at Cabelas?

Wedge Pin Puller
The Wedge Pin Puller is crafted from hardened steel. It has a flat hammer head, a claw type wedge pin puller and a nipple wrench. And it also has a hole for a thong or lanyard. For use on rifles only, does not fit musket nipples.

mec · December 28, 2005, 10:07 AM

This is how it's supposed to work. I haven't seen one of the Piettas with the difficult wedge but a lot of people post about them:

Remington kid · December 28, 2005, 10:53 AM

Pohill, I have no idea which wedge puller he was suggesting. All I can tell you is what I said above. He is there gun teck and and we talked about the 51 I was buying he suggested the a wedge puller for it that they have on sale. I'm assumeing he knows what he's talking about but who knows. I'll post a pic of it when I get it and let you know if it works.
Thanks for the pics Mec!

pohill · December 28, 2005, 11:22 AM

That's the only wedge puller they advertise. It really won't work on a Colt wedge - the musket wedges have a lip that the puller can grab. But, if you can adapt it to a Colt, that'd be great. Nothing against Cabelas, but if you want advice on some items they sell, go right to Traditions and ask them. Good luck.

Remington kid · December 28, 2005, 01:40 PM

Pohill, Cabelas has never led me wrong yet and I have been dealing with them for over 35 years.They don't advertise the parts kit either but you can get them if you ask there teck for the order number.

Weird Guy · December 29, 2005, 05:19 PM

I had trouble with that wedge too.

I was trying to use a softer punch (hard plastic) to hammer it out, but it wasn't working.

In the end I just broke down and used a flat tipped screwdriver as a punch, and it came out right away with that one.

I did put the revolver between two phone books to make it easier.

JN01 · December 29, 2005, 07:58 PM

I also have a Pietta '51 Navy which is difficult to break down. The problem is that the wedge spring (See the photo in mec's post above) is so strong that I have to push DOWN on the little tab of the wedge spring (so that it will clear the hole) before/while pushing the wedge out. Looking at the wedge after taking it out of the gun, the wedge spring sticks up above the top of the wedge quite a bit. I've never seen one quite like that, maybe it needs to be replaced with one that isn't quite so "sprung".

pohill · December 29, 2005, 08:04 PM

The strong wedge spring is a good thing. The Walker nipple wrench has a screwdriver end that slides in and compresses the spring, with a lip that pushes up against the tip of the wedge at the same time. A little tap and it's out.

johnrtse · December 29, 2005, 10:45 PM

I had this very same problem with both of my recently-purchased Pietta Colts. Here is the cheap solution:

Support the gun on your workbench so as not to mar the finish. I scrounged up a short 4" long piece of wooden dowel that was 1" diameter. Place the dowel on the end of the wedge on the right side of the barrel. Then, using a big hammer, wack the end of the dowel REALLY HARD! And not some wimpy hit- WACK IT REALLY HARD!! The wedge will pop right out.

Using the wooden dowel, it won't mar the blueing at all. The wedge will also be much easier to remove from now on too. All I have to use now on my Colts to remove the wedge is a small hammer (with plastic ends to protect the finish).

Remember: Wack it REALLY HARD!!

FWIW,

Remington kid · December 30, 2005, 10:57 AM

I'll post a picture of this thing that Cabelas sent me. The guy I talked to called it a wedge puller but when I got it I had no idea how to use it as a wedge puller so I called them at Cabelas.
This thing is really neat! It looks like a 4" long billy-club but one end is tapered down to look like a round stick about 1.5" and about 1/4" around. What you do is flatten the round stick part on both sides until it fits the wedge slot. Now you can just wrap the large head of this thing with a hammer and tap out the wedge pin without dinging up your revolver or the pin. It's made of really tuff hard plastic.
It's made by Mountain State muzzle loaders and it's called a barrel pin puller.
Works great !

Smokin_Gun · December 30, 2005, 02:59 PM

Use a rawhide or similar composition, plastic, rubber, teflon. And give it a good smack it'll come out.

Happy Holidays to all...

Old Dragoon · December 30, 2005, 05:06 PM

SG,
You back home? or on your Bro's computer?
I'm going to the Gun Shop in the Morning to shoot my newest "58.
Be shootin' light load unique to see what this new one does. Too bad it's supposed to rain, Dm range is a lot closer.

Weird Guy · January 7, 2006, 06:42 AM

Yeah, I would recommend finding a punch that is soft enough to not mark up your metal finish if possible. I used a flat tip screwdriver before, but I did slip once and marred the finish of my brother's 1847 Walker Colt once. It isn't bad, but still it shouldn't have happened.

Next time I am in a hardware store I will see if they have any brass punches, or at least some wooden dowel rod that I can sand or whittle down to fit the colt wedge pin slot.

Remington kid · January 7, 2006, 07:44 AM

The wedge puller (pusher) I got from Cabelas works perfectly and it will not leave any dings or marks on your frame or the pin.I can also tap the wedge back in with the heavy end of this thing. It's made out of really tuff , hard plastic. I had to flatten the end with a grinder so that it fit the end of the wedge and slot . Looks and works just like it was made for it!

[IMG]

[/IMG]

Low Key · January 7, 2006, 08:37 AM

That's a beauty of a gun and I may have to get one myself after I finish collecting the main group of 58 remingtons that I want. I'm curious, are you going to keep her in the blue or will you give it a patina finish like you did on your 58? The gun would look good either way.

Remington kid · January 7, 2006, 09:26 AM

Lo Key, It will have the patina look when I'm done with it.It's tuned just about perfectly now .It took me a little bit to get the trigger pull just where I wanted it but now it's just right.
This gun is a lot of fun to shoot and a little lighter to cary around the yard.

gmatov · January 8, 2006, 12:35 AM

Mike,

Do you chew your nails? If not, all you gotta do is squeeze the spring hook down and push to get the wedge out.

The hook ain't really supposed to go out the other side, by some sites, IS supposed to hook to the off side of the frame, on others.

WE ain't gonna whack the wedge with the reload to get it out. If you had a hundred Injuns attacking you, you would whack it with anything you had, no plastics or rubber hammers to not mar the frame. Or plastic drift punch, that you have to grind to fit.

My '60, you wanna pull the wedge, smack the muzzle with the palm of your hand, breaks it loose enough to thumb it out. That hurts too much, take a rawhide mallet.

You ain't supposed to hammer the wedge in. If the arbor is bottomed out properly, you can't draw the barrel back any further. You just deform the slot in either the arbor or the barrel extension, or the wedge itself.

I don't know, is there any of you who are driving the wedge in with a hammer?

STOP RIGHT NOW!!!When it stops moving, slip the wedge in, the best check is if the mating parts, frame extension and barrel extension, where the locating pins are , are kissing, the wedge is home. AND, everything is in line. Smack 'er harder, with arbor clearance, shoot high. Loose, pressure from the charge will push the barrel downwards, shoot low. Got to lock everything up mechanically to shoot straight.

If you have a deep hole under the arbor, and you hammer the wedge in, you just made a Howitzer of your .36, at least until you jack the barrel high enough to bind the cylinder. You will NEVER hit at POA, unless you aim a foot low, or more.

Ah, well, I forget what the hell the topic was. Does this help?

Cheers,

George

MPP1423 · January 8, 2006, 01:29 AM

I Like That .51 Mike! Im Going To Get Me A .36 Next And I Really Want A Walker!!

Remington kid · January 8, 2006, 08:06 AM

Kevin, One of my favorite western movie's is "Quigly down under" mostly because all the Revolvers are C&B. In one scene the girl is protecting the baby from wild dogs by shooting at them with a walker. It looks like a cannon in her little hands and kicks like a mule. They even show her reloading it. In just about all the gun fights all you see is C&B revolvers. My wife bought me the movie on DVD for Christmas and it's really great because you can stop it and look at the guns anytime you want up close. A walker is on my list also but not for a while at the price there going for now.

George, The plastic wedge drifter I use is nice when your thumb wont take it out . You just hit it with the back of your hand to drift out the wedge.

Wayner · January 8, 2006, 10:35 AM

I bought a new 1851 Pietta for several reasons and one was to see about the dreaded stuck wedge. I'm convinced that pietta uses a bit of "wack it in to form fit it" with the wedge seating. Too bad they don't loosen it up after that for the customers. I ended up breaking the tips off my composite wedge drifts made for me by the imfamous Smokin-Gun and had to reshape them. I finally used my little gunsmith hammer with the flat of it and just hit the wedge out with it. The spring does get in the way and I say to put a bevel on the springs tip sos it can move down out of the way when it's hit. After the initial wacking it out the wedge was easier to remove after that. Pietta wedges do fit nice and tight and that's good when firing the gun.

December 28, 2005, 08:39 AM	#1
JASONMATTSON Junior Member Join Date: December 28, 2005 Posts: 2	1851 Pietta Revolver I Recently Bought A 1851 Pietta Revolver And Am Having Trouble Getting The Wedge Out So I Cant Clean The Gun, Any Tips Or Hints?

December 28, 2005, 09:08 AM	#4
pohill Senior Member Join Date: December 27, 2005 Location: northeast Posts: 521	1851 Getting the wedge out isn't a problem if you don't baby it. Place a small screwdriver head or something that fits over the wedge tip but doesnt touch the exit slot and give it a slight whack (you have to elevate the left side of the gun so the wedge has clearance when it comes out). Use someting soft like a piece of wood if you dont want to mar the metal. I use a Walker nipple wrench, screwdriver end, which compresses the wedge spring perfectly. The problem is putting the wedge back it - don't drive it too far. The wedge puller is meant to use on a musket.

December 28, 2005, 11:22 AM	#9
pohill Senior Member Join Date: December 27, 2005 Location: northeast Posts: 521	1851 That's the only wedge puller they advertise. It really won't work on a Colt wedge - the musket wedges have a lip that the puller can grab. But, if you can adapt it to a Colt, that'd be great. Nothing against Cabelas, but if you want advice on some items they sell, go right to Traditions and ask them. Good luck.

December 29, 2005, 10:45 PM	#14
johnrtse Member Join Date: September 27, 2005 Location: New Ulm, Minnesota USA Posts: 24	I had this very same problem with both of my recently-purchased Pietta Colts. Here is the cheap solution: Support the gun on your workbench so as not to mar the finish. I scrounged up a short 4" long piece of wooden dowel that was 1" diameter. Place the dowel on the end of the wedge on the right side of the barrel. Then, using a big hammer, wack the end of the dowel REALLY HARD! And not some wimpy hit- WACK IT REALLY HARD!! The wedge will pop right out. Using the wooden dowel, it won't mar the blueing at all. The wedge will also be much easier to remove from now on too. All I have to use now on my Colts to remove the wedge is a small hammer (with plastic ends to protect the finish). Remember: Wack it REALLY HARD!! FWIW, __________________ John Last edited by johnrtse; December 30, 2005 at 02:49 AM.

December 30, 2005, 02:59 PM	#16
Smokin_Gun Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 2005 Location: Mojave Desert, CA Posts: 1,195	Smack that wedge... Use a rawhide or similar composition, plastic, rubber, teflon. And give it a good smack it'll come out. Happy Holidays to all... __________________ "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

December 28, 2005, 08:49 AM	#2
Remington kid Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2005 Location: South Central West Virginia Posts: 611	Well, I can't help you much but I have the same Colt on it's way and should be here Friday. They suggested I buy there wedge puller that was on sale for $4.99 so I did. On another site someone mentioned that they just used a screw driver. I'm sure someone on here can tell you just what you need to do.

December 28, 2005, 08:51 AM	#3
JASONMATTSON Junior Member Join Date: December 28, 2005 Posts: 2	Where Did You Buy The Wedge Puller From?

December 28, 2005, 09:15 AM	#5
Remington kid Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2005 Location: South Central West Virginia Posts: 611	Pohill, Where did you get the idea that the wedge puller is for a musket? The one I ordered is offered with the 1851 Colt and other revolvers with wedges. JASONMATTSON, When I talked to a gun teck at Cabelas he said they were on sale and he recomended one for all the wedge style revolvers so I added it to my order yeasterday. It will allow you to pull the wedge without dinging up the gun in cases like your having now.They do get stuck every now and then. I'll let you know how it works.

December 28, 2005, 09:30 AM	#6
pohill Senior Member Join Date: December 27, 2005 Location: northeast Posts: 521	Are you talking about this item at Cabelas? Wedge Pin Puller The Wedge Pin Puller is crafted from hardened steel. It has a flat hammer head, a claw type wedge pin puller and a nipple wrench. And it also has a hole for a thong or lanyard. For use on rifles only, does not fit musket nipples.

December 28, 2005, 10:07 AM	#7
mec Junior member Join Date: December 6, 2001 Posts: 1,536	This is how it's supposed to work. I haven't seen one of the Piettas with the difficult wedge but a lot of people post about them:

December 28, 2005, 10:53 AM	#8
Remington kid Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2005 Location: South Central West Virginia Posts: 611	Pohill, I have no idea which wedge puller he was suggesting. All I can tell you is what I said above. He is there gun teck and and we talked about the 51 I was buying he suggested the a wedge puller for it that they have on sale. I'm assumeing he knows what he's talking about but who knows. I'll post a pic of it when I get it and let you know if it works. Thanks for the pics Mec!

December 28, 2005, 01:40 PM	#10
Remington kid Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2005 Location: South Central West Virginia Posts: 611	Pohill, Cabelas has never led me wrong yet and I have been dealing with them for over 35 years.They don't advertise the parts kit either but you can get them if you ask there teck for the order number.

December 29, 2005, 05:19 PM	#11
Weird Guy Member Join Date: December 23, 2005 Posts: 82	I had trouble with that wedge too. I was trying to use a softer punch (hard plastic) to hammer it out, but it wasn't working. In the end I just broke down and used a flat tipped screwdriver as a punch, and it came out right away with that one. I did put the revolver between two phone books to make it easier.

December 29, 2005, 07:58 PM	#12
JN01 Senior Member Join Date: May 16, 2005 Location: E Tennessee Posts: 828	I also have a Pietta '51 Navy which is difficult to break down. The problem is that the wedge spring (See the photo in mec's post above) is so strong that I have to push DOWN on the little tab of the wedge spring (so that it will clear the hole) before/while pushing the wedge out. Looking at the wedge after taking it out of the gun, the wedge spring sticks up above the top of the wedge quite a bit. I've never seen one quite like that, maybe it needs to be replaced with one that isn't quite so "sprung".

December 29, 2005, 08:04 PM	#13
pohill Senior Member Join Date: December 27, 2005 Location: northeast Posts: 521	The strong wedge spring is a good thing. The Walker nipple wrench has a screwdriver end that slides in and compresses the spring, with a lip that pushes up against the tip of the wedge at the same time. A little tap and it's out.

December 30, 2005, 10:57 AM	#15
Remington kid Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2005 Location: South Central West Virginia Posts: 611	I'll post a picture of this thing that Cabelas sent me. The guy I talked to called it a wedge puller but when I got it I had no idea how to use it as a wedge puller so I called them at Cabelas. This thing is really neat! It looks like a 4" long billy-club but one end is tapered down to look like a round stick about 1.5" and about 1/4" around. What you do is flatten the round stick part on both sides until it fits the wedge slot. Now you can just wrap the large head of this thing with a hammer and tap out the wedge pin without dinging up your revolver or the pin. It's made of really tuff hard plastic. It's made by Mountain State muzzle loaders and it's called a barrel pin puller. Works great !

December 30, 2005, 05:06 PM	#17
Old Dragoon Senior Member Join Date: October 31, 2005 Location: The Republic of Californi Posts: 581	SG, You back home? or on your Bro's computer? I'm going to the Gun Shop in the Morning to shoot my newest "58. Be shootin' light load unique to see what this new one does. Too bad it's supposed to rain, Dm range is a lot closer.

January 7, 2006, 06:42 AM	#18
Weird Guy Member Join Date: December 23, 2005 Posts: 82	Yeah, I would recommend finding a punch that is soft enough to not mark up your metal finish if possible. I used a flat tip screwdriver before, but I did slip once and marred the finish of my brother's 1847 Walker Colt once. It isn't bad, but still it shouldn't have happened. Next time I am in a hardware store I will see if they have any brass punches, or at least some wooden dowel rod that I can sand or whittle down to fit the colt wedge pin slot.

January 7, 2006, 07:44 AM	#19
Remington kid Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2005 Location: South Central West Virginia Posts: 611	The wedge puller (pusher) I got from Cabelas works perfectly and it will not leave any dings or marks on your frame or the pin.I can also tap the wedge back in with the heavy end of this thing. It's made out of really tuff , hard plastic. I had to flatten the end with a grinder so that it fit the end of the wedge and slot . Looks and works just like it was made for it! [IMG][/IMG]

January 7, 2006, 08:37 AM	#20
Low Key Senior Member Join Date: September 4, 2005 Location: In the woods of TN Posts: 298	That's a beauty of a gun and I may have to get one myself after I finish collecting the main group of 58 remingtons that I want. I'm curious, are you going to keep her in the blue or will you give it a patina finish like you did on your 58? The gun would look good either way. __________________

January 7, 2006, 09:26 AM	#21
Remington kid Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2005 Location: South Central West Virginia Posts: 611	Lo Key, It will have the patina look when I'm done with it.It's tuned just about perfectly now .It took me a little bit to get the trigger pull just where I wanted it but now it's just right. This gun is a lot of fun to shoot and a little lighter to cary around the yard.

January 8, 2006, 12:35 AM	#22
gmatov Junior member Join Date: September 20, 2005 Posts: 346	Mike, Do you chew your nails? If not, all you gotta do is squeeze the spring hook down and push to get the wedge out. The hook ain't really supposed to go out the other side, by some sites, IS supposed to hook to the off side of the frame, on others. WE ain't gonna whack the wedge with the reload to get it out. If you had a hundred Injuns attacking you, you would whack it with anything you had, no plastics or rubber hammers to not mar the frame. Or plastic drift punch, that you have to grind to fit. My '60, you wanna pull the wedge, smack the muzzle with the palm of your hand, breaks it loose enough to thumb it out. That hurts too much, take a rawhide mallet. You ain't supposed to hammer the wedge in. If the arbor is bottomed out properly, you can't draw the barrel back any further. You just deform the slot in either the arbor or the barrel extension, or the wedge itself. I don't know, is there any of you who are driving the wedge in with a hammer? STOP RIGHT NOW!!!When it stops moving, slip the wedge in, the best check is if the mating parts, frame extension and barrel extension, where the locating pins are , are kissing, the wedge is home. AND, everything is in line. Smack 'er harder, with arbor clearance, shoot high. Loose, pressure from the charge will push the barrel downwards, shoot low. Got to lock everything up mechanically to shoot straight. If you have a deep hole under the arbor, and you hammer the wedge in, you just made a Howitzer of your .36, at least until you jack the barrel high enough to bind the cylinder. You will NEVER hit at POA, unless you aim a foot low, or more. Ah, well, I forget what the hell the topic was. Does this help? Cheers, George

January 8, 2006, 01:29 AM	#23
MPP1423 Senior Member Join Date: September 10, 2005 Location: GOODLETTSVILLE,TN Posts: 298	I Like That .51 Mike! Im Going To Get Me A .36 Next And I Really Want A Walker!!

January 8, 2006, 08:06 AM	#24
Remington kid Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2005 Location: South Central West Virginia Posts: 611	Kevin, One of my favorite western movie's is "Quigly down under" mostly because all the Revolvers are C&B. In one scene the girl is protecting the baby from wild dogs by shooting at them with a walker. It looks like a cannon in her little hands and kicks like a mule. They even show her reloading it. In just about all the gun fights all you see is C&B revolvers. My wife bought me the movie on DVD for Christmas and it's really great because you can stop it and look at the guns anytime you want up close. A walker is on my list also but not for a while at the price there going for now. George, The plastic wedge drifter I use is nice when your thumb wont take it out . You just hit it with the back of your hand to drift out the wedge.

January 8, 2006, 10:35 AM	#25
Wayner Senior Member Join Date: December 8, 2005 Posts: 116	Danged wedge I bought a new 1851 Pietta for several reasons and one was to see about the dreaded stuck wedge. I'm convinced that pietta uses a bit of "wack it in to form fit it" with the wedge seating. Too bad they don't loosen it up after that for the customers. I ended up breaking the tips off my composite wedge drifts made for me by the imfamous Smokin-Gun and had to reshape them. I finally used my little gunsmith hammer with the flat of it and just hit the wedge out with it. The spring does get in the way and I say to put a bevel on the springs tip sos it can move down out of the way when it's hit. After the initial wacking it out the wedge was easier to remove after that. Pietta wedges do fit nice and tight and that's good when firing the gun.