Shaving leather, or

[Slowhand Bob, 24229]

Guys, it is time to do something about those ^%$*^$$%$@# sharp cylinder edges cutting up the throats of lined holsters. It is aggravating to see almost new holsters with all of the smooth chewed off by poor gun manufacturing processes. Amongst my guns this is primarily a cap and ball gun issue and it applies to the Ubertis and the Piettas. The holsters that I have used with my Evil Roy revolvers for several years now look terrible after just a couple of practice sessions with some new Pietta cap and ball revolvers but the same problem, sharp cylinder corners are also on my Uberti guns.

 

I do not have any pro gunsmithing tools such as a lathe and am wondering if common shop tools can be safely pressed into survice to do a nice job of radius cutting those sharp edges away? Perhaps using a bolt and nut as a mandrel to chuck the cylinders in my half inch drill press would create a makeshift spinner. Not having any proper cutters to do a real radius, I thought perhaps a tiny flat cut across the corners would work? Just a light touch to the spinning cylinder corner with a Dremel mounted stone to break the sharp edge? How wide should the flat be to stop shaving leather and yet still look good, would 45deg be the right cut angle? Is this all a badly flawed idea and/or are there better ways to do it? Maybe I should just accept the early battle scars on the leather, even though I do know that most of my guns do not tear it up so quickly? What say ye home grown gunsmiths?

[Cabalero Chuck]

You are going to find that the "fixing up" the finish on your guns, be it blue , cased color, or whatever will look fairly unnatural when compared to the wear on the rest of the firearm.

Yeah, that finish I refer to is undoubtably worn by the same leather against metal friction, but it will look a whole lot more contrived after you take a file or stone to that right angle on the leading edge of the cylinder and then try to blend the colors / look afterward.

That lining in your leather might need to be considered "sacrificial" , and repaired or replaced now and again if it truly bothers you.

To go grinding / filing or whatever on your guns for questionable benefit seems ill-advised.

My thought is to step back and think deeply about this drastic effect you are proposing to your guns.

[Hal A. Looyah #83098]

My Blackhawks were rounded before I got them. I really think they were done with a benchtop belt sander. They are pretty even. I would make a mandrel out of a piece of dowel or the like. At a slight angle, the cylinder will spin slowly as metal is removed, making a more even result. Dressing up the finish to match can be tough. People have different opinions on how guns should be treated and how they want their guns to look.

[Slowhand Bob, 24229]

Though I am sure a real gunsmith would actually radius the cylinder fronts, it would most lilely require a special cutter? Going with a small flat cut across the corner, Im thinking about a sixteenth would be right, finish work would be almost non-existent on such a tiny area. Just a tiny bit of touch-up blue applied to a warm surface should holdup ok, no? I would have thought this to be a common fix for these sharp cylinder edges and on the front edge of the barls also.

[Anvil Al #59168]

Mine was done on a drill press.

Just run a bolt the right size through.

Last ones I did I used a rubber washer and nut to hold it.

Chucked it up in the ole drill press.

Use rough sandpaper at first to take off the most of what I wanted done.

Then finer. Then emery cloth.

 

As far as blueing. Don't care. You can look at mine and it looks no more

than normal wear of going in and out of the holster a million time. That blue wears

there anyway.

I got my SASS guns to use. Not sit and look pretty.

Don't take much to take off that sharp edge and just round it up a little bit.

Does not hurt the gun in any way except for taking a little blue off.

And like I said. Don't care about that at all. That is coming off from

going in and out of the holster a bunch anyway.

[Muddy Creek Sam, SASS# 78004]

Bob,

 

Got a lathe and a mill at the house, if ya want to use it, come on over.

 

Sam

[Bad Hombre #23212]

Did a pair of 58s on my drill press.

I was worried about keeping it uniform.

So I cut a 30 degree angle on the edge of a 2x4, laid a fine file on it and slide it in.

Then sandpaper on the same 2x4.

Came out purdy good.

 

BH