Peacemaker Jam

bighead46 · June 1, 2011, 05:50 PM

I have a clone 45 Colt SSA. It works fine except it jams in one position. I think there must be something wrong with the racket teeth but they look okay. Whether loaded or unloaded I can't pull the hammer back. I have to pull out the cylinder pin, remove the cylinder and put it back in. Then all is okay on first five chambers, I can cock the hammer on all five but the sixth- can't cock the hammer back.
Any ideas? Thanks.

James K · June 1, 2011, 06:42 PM

The first thing to do in a situation like that is use a bit of paint or some non-marring marker to determine which chamber is giving you trouble. Then you can check things like the ratchet, the hand and cylinder stop.

Can you pull the hammer back part way so the cylinder turns some but not all the way to the next chamber?

If so, I think the problem is in the way the two step hand engages the ratchet. The top "finger" of the hand begins to push the cylinder around. At some point, the second step has to fit under the next ratchet tooth. If it doesn't, the cylinder hangs up and can't turn any further.

Has the problem just started or has it existed as long as you have had the gun? Is the gun new or used?

The problem could be easy to fix, but might require taking the gun apart. If the gun is new, I would return it to the shop and have them work on it or send it back. If it is used or has already been worked on, you will either have to find a gunsmith who will do the work or do it yourself, depending on how comfortable you feel about doing that kind of work.

What probably needs to be done is to take a bit off one corner of the offending ratchet tooth (or off the hand). Not a hard job but can be tricky.

Jim

bighead46 · June 4, 2011, 01:15 PM

It has been a problem for some time but seems to have gotten a little worse. At first I thought the front face of the cylinder pin bushing might be too thick and the heat from shooting the gun expanded the metal enough to cause a jam- that is- the bushing face was contacting the frame. Other people were telling me the primers were backing out (which wasn't true) and causing the jam. In any event that was my mindset until the other day when I thought about seeing if the jam always occurred at the same spot so I cocked the hammer on an empty cylinder several times until it jammed and then I swung out the loading port door and used a magic marker to mark the cylinder at the port. I then took out the cylinder pin, removed the cylinder and put it back (which I always have to do to free the jam) and then began cocking and lowering the hammer until it jammed again- and!!!! same spot- every time.
So...what could it be? I thought maybe the tail of the bolt wasn't sliding off the cam, or, maybe there is some sort of other internal linkage problem- but since the cylinder rotates okay until coming up to that one spot I am thinking the only thing that can be different is the racket tooth associated with the chamber causing the jam. I polished the recoil shield previously but only that part of the recoil shield around the perimeter. On a Colt there is a recess in the middle of the shield that the racket teeth bear against and that is rough- remember this is a clone and sometimes they aren't finished that well. In any event I have several thoughts at this point:
1. Maybe there is a burr on the racket tooth of the problem chamber that catches on a rough spot on the inner rebate area of the recoil shield it bears against. Actually the problem could be with any tooth that snags at a particular spot on the recoil shield.
2. Maybe there is something wrong with the racket tooth of the offending chamber which causes the hand to jam and not move upward as I try to cock the hammer back- I can't move the hammer at all- maybe a 1/16" at most.
In any event I think I'll polish the inner recoil shield area by making some sort of special jig that fits into position and then I run a blank rod though the cylinder pin pathway and into this jig to make it turn. I am sort of concerned about "truing up" the racket teeth as that is irreversible and may make things worse.
IAE- all help appreciated.

James K · June 4, 2011, 07:02 PM

I think if you look carefully at the ratchet tooth opposite the mark you made at the loading gate, you will see the outer corner has a nick in it. That nick is caused by the tooth hitting the lower shelf of the hand as I tried to describe above. The normal way to fix the problem is to take out the hand and file an angle in that second "shelf" so it misses the ratchet tooth. But since you know which tooth is giving trouble, you can file a bit off the corner, using a small file. If you take down the revolver, you can put the hand and cylinder together and see how they interact, and things wll be clearer.

Jim

bighead46 · June 5, 2011, 03:10 PM

Thanks for the help Jim. As I said I can't pull the hammer back at all- I thought that normally the hammer may be 1/3 to 1/2 of the way back before the second tooth of the hand engaged the racket. As I said I don't want to rush in and do something wrong- as that may only make matters worse.
I am having a little trouble trying to understand what you are saying about how the second step on the hand can get jammed by a burr on the racket teeth but I am going to smoke or mark the parts and do what you said and try to figure it out. Please stay tuned because I'll probably ask another question or two- might be a few days.
P.S. The reason I originally thought the tail of the bolt may not be sliding off is because when I try to cock the hammer the bolt is still in the notch. The cylinder also seems jammed both ways- I can't grasp it by hand and move it in either direction. In any event (IAE) I'm going to do as said and I'll post what happened. Thanks again- appreciate it.

bighead46 · June 22, 2011, 05:21 PM

Well I always think you ought to close out a thread. I carefully filed down the tooth I figured was off and now all works fine. This filing was on the underside when the tooth was in position. I think the hand was unable to move forward under the tooth because the hand was hitting the bottom of the tooth. In any event I can now cock through the cylinder without any hang ups. Thanks for the help- really appreciate it.

James K · June 22, 2011, 05:27 PM

Glad it's fixed.

Jim

June 1, 2011, 05:50 PM	#1
bighead46 Senior Member Join Date: November 8, 2010 Posts: 140	Peacemaker Jam I have a clone 45 Colt SSA. It works fine except it jams in one position. I think there must be something wrong with the racket teeth but they look okay. Whether loaded or unloaded I can't pull the hammer back. I have to pull out the cylinder pin, remove the cylinder and put it back in. Then all is okay on first five chambers, I can cock the hammer on all five but the sixth- can't cock the hammer back. Any ideas? Thanks.

June 5, 2011, 03:10 PM	#5
bighead46 Senior Member Join Date: November 8, 2010 Posts: 140	Thanks for the help Jim. As I said I can't pull the hammer back at all- I thought that normally the hammer may be 1/3 to 1/2 of the way back before the second tooth of the hand engaged the racket. As I said I don't want to rush in and do something wrong- as that may only make matters worse. I am having a little trouble trying to understand what you are saying about how the second step on the hand can get jammed by a burr on the racket teeth but I am going to smoke or mark the parts and do what you said and try to figure it out. Please stay tuned because I'll probably ask another question or two- might be a few days. P.S. The reason I originally thought the tail of the bolt may not be sliding off is because when I try to cock the hammer the bolt is still in the notch. The cylinder also seems jammed both ways- I can't grasp it by hand and move it in either direction. In any event (IAE) I'm going to do as said and I'll post what happened. Thanks again- appreciate it. Last edited by bighead46; June 5, 2011 at 03:16 PM.

June 1, 2011, 06:42 PM	#2
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	The first thing to do in a situation like that is use a bit of paint or some non-marring marker to determine which chamber is giving you trouble. Then you can check things like the ratchet, the hand and cylinder stop. Can you pull the hammer back part way so the cylinder turns some but not all the way to the next chamber? If so, I think the problem is in the way the two step hand engages the ratchet. The top "finger" of the hand begins to push the cylinder around. At some point, the second step has to fit under the next ratchet tooth. If it doesn't, the cylinder hangs up and can't turn any further. Has the problem just started or has it existed as long as you have had the gun? Is the gun new or used? The problem could be easy to fix, but might require taking the gun apart. If the gun is new, I would return it to the shop and have them work on it or send it back. If it is used or has already been worked on, you will either have to find a gunsmith who will do the work or do it yourself, depending on how comfortable you feel about doing that kind of work. What probably needs to be done is to take a bit off one corner of the offending ratchet tooth (or off the hand). Not a hard job but can be tricky. Jim

June 4, 2011, 01:15 PM	#3
bighead46 Senior Member Join Date: November 8, 2010 Posts: 140	It has been a problem for some time but seems to have gotten a little worse. At first I thought the front face of the cylinder pin bushing might be too thick and the heat from shooting the gun expanded the metal enough to cause a jam- that is- the bushing face was contacting the frame. Other people were telling me the primers were backing out (which wasn't true) and causing the jam. In any event that was my mindset until the other day when I thought about seeing if the jam always occurred at the same spot so I cocked the hammer on an empty cylinder several times until it jammed and then I swung out the loading port door and used a magic marker to mark the cylinder at the port. I then took out the cylinder pin, removed the cylinder and put it back (which I always have to do to free the jam) and then began cocking and lowering the hammer until it jammed again- and!!!! same spot- every time. So...what could it be? I thought maybe the tail of the bolt wasn't sliding off the cam, or, maybe there is some sort of other internal linkage problem- but since the cylinder rotates okay until coming up to that one spot I am thinking the only thing that can be different is the racket tooth associated with the chamber causing the jam. I polished the recoil shield previously but only that part of the recoil shield around the perimeter. On a Colt there is a recess in the middle of the shield that the racket teeth bear against and that is rough- remember this is a clone and sometimes they aren't finished that well. In any event I have several thoughts at this point: 1. Maybe there is a burr on the racket tooth of the problem chamber that catches on a rough spot on the inner rebate area of the recoil shield it bears against. Actually the problem could be with any tooth that snags at a particular spot on the recoil shield. 2. Maybe there is something wrong with the racket tooth of the offending chamber which causes the hand to jam and not move upward as I try to cock the hammer back- I can't move the hammer at all- maybe a 1/16" at most. In any event I think I'll polish the inner recoil shield area by making some sort of special jig that fits into position and then I run a blank rod though the cylinder pin pathway and into this jig to make it turn. I am sort of concerned about "truing up" the racket teeth as that is irreversible and may make things worse. IAE- all help appreciated.

June 4, 2011, 07:02 PM	#4
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	I think if you look carefully at the ratchet tooth opposite the mark you made at the loading gate, you will see the outer corner has a nick in it. That nick is caused by the tooth hitting the lower shelf of the hand as I tried to describe above. The normal way to fix the problem is to take out the hand and file an angle in that second "shelf" so it misses the ratchet tooth. But since you know which tooth is giving trouble, you can file a bit off the corner, using a small file. If you take down the revolver, you can put the hand and cylinder together and see how they interact, and things wll be clearer. Jim

June 22, 2011, 05:21 PM	#6
bighead46 Senior Member Join Date: November 8, 2010 Posts: 140	Well I always think you ought to close out a thread. I carefully filed down the tooth I figured was off and now all works fine. This filing was on the underside when the tooth was in position. I think the hand was unable to move forward under the tooth because the hand was hitting the bottom of the tooth. In any event I can now cock through the cylinder without any hang ups. Thanks for the help- really appreciate it.

June 22, 2011, 05:27 PM	#7
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	Glad it's fixed. Jim