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USFA stuck cylinder bushing


Dollar Bill Charlie

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  • 4 weeks later...

No success yet, soaked in penetrating oil for three days, LONG HUNTER SAID DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT.  MOST LIKELY PREVIOUS OWNER DID NOT CLEAN OUT THE BUSHING AFTER SHOOTING.   WHAT SIZE BRASS DRIFT AND WHERE TO BUY?

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Brownells lists a couple of base pin pullers ....

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/handgun-tools/takedown-tools/colt-saa-base-pin-puller-prod10997.aspx

... but ...

If you removed the grip frame, trigger guard and dropped the hammer out you could get at it from the rear and help it out (if you are gonna clean it you were probably planning on doing that anyhow).

 

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9 minutes ago, Dollar Bill Charlie said:

I can get the base pin out, it's the removable bushing that is stuck.  I was thinking a brass drift might help get it out, but don't know the size of the brass drift or where to buy one.

I have not read all the replies to your post so I don't know if it has been suggested already, but may I suggest you heat it and try after you heat it up. Maybe someone prior to you put some Loctite in it or something, you never know.

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50 minutes ago, Dollar Bill Charlie said:

I can get the base pin out, it's the removable bushing that is stuck.  I was thinking a brass drift might help get it out, but don't know the size of the brass drift or where to buy one.

Sorry ... my bad ... not paying attention again ... :(

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A 1/4" brass drift that is tapered is what I use to remove snug fitting cylinder bushings. A steel drift will work also just be careful. Many revolvers come from the factory with cylinder bushings that do not just fall out. I have seen Piettas quite snug and a USFA rodeo the same way. Seems like Uberties just fall out.

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On 2/4/2019 at 8:12 PM, Warden Callaway said:

Try inserting the base pin in through the back end of the cylinder bushighg.  It wall bump up against the larger diameter of the pin. Tap base pin with plastic hammer or wood.  If it ain't gowd-awful tight, it should come loose.

 

Have you tried using the base pin?

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www.midwayusa.com

 

Type in brass punch to the search bar.  They have a good set by Grace for about $35.00.  I would attach the link, but my work computer firewall won't let me pull up the site. 

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You said penetrating oil but did you use Kroil?  Kroil is THE KING of penetrating oils and worth buying. If you cannot find Kroil then use a 50/50 mix of ATF and Acetone.

Put the cylinder in a 1 quart paint can and fill the can till the cylinder is fully submerged  and let sit for a couple of days. Gently shake the can 2 or 3 times a day. 

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Sometimes I wish my bushings would stick to the cylinders.  They always seem to pop loose when I'm cleaning my pistols, then the bushings roll all over the floor and it takes forever to find them.

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There are simple ways to snug a bushing so it will not just fall out. Use a small wheel type pipe or tube cutter. Very, very lightly turn the bushing against the cutter wheel and guide rollers to raise a tinny ring around the bushing. Do it to both ends just enough so you can feel it drag in the cylinder as you push it in. Now it will stay put but can be removed with ease.

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On 3/4/2019 at 7:42 PM, Dollar Bill Charlie said:

 LONG HUNTER SAID DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. 

 

On 3/4/2019 at 9:48 PM, Lead Monger said:

 I have seen Piettas quite snug and a USFA rodeo the same way. Seems like Uberties just fall out.

Yep, I took a pair of Piettas to my gunsmith to have the bushing removed. He asked me "why?? they were put in with a press just like Colts.....but if you want them out I have a press to remove them and I'll polish them for you." I had them removed anyhow cause I shoot BP and was worried about fouling getting in there.  He told me I worry to much:wacko:, keep 'em clean and lubed and they'll be fine.;) Good Luck:)

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Jefro your smith is wrong they were NOT press fit.......

they allow free spin if the cylinder pin bushing fitment becomes “frozen” the cylinder will also spin on the bushing...... it allows 2 points for the cylinders to rotate on....... 

especially helpful with gummy black powder loads

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Solved the problem with a local gun smith.  I had cylinders in BP solvent for three days each.  Brought both guns to him yesterday.  He sprayed with Kroil and had the correct brass drift and added heat.  Had rust in the bushing - they are both now free and lubricated.  I always take out the bushings clean and oil on my Smoke Wagons.  

Thank all of you for your information.

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As for the size of the drift I bought a cheap set of drifts from Harbor Freight. I picked one from the set that was bigger than the hole for the pin and smaller than the diameter of the bushing. Tap tap tap. Problem solved.

 

YMMV.

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Howdy

 

Sorry boys, I guess I am a little late to the party.

 

I suspect this may be the tool the OP was referring to. Here you can see how I used it to persuade the bushing out of a Colt Bisley. The bushing was just stuck a little bit from corrosion, it did not require much persuasion to remove it. No penetrating fluid was needed, just a few gentle taps on the rear of the tool.

 

Bisleyandcylinderandtool_zpse331aa95.jpg

 

 

 

 

Here is another view of the tool.

 

bushingtool_zps052bef51.jpg

 

 

 

 

I did not buy this tool, I had a machine shop make it up for me a long time ago. I just turned the basement upside down looking for it. Finally found it with a bunch of other brass punches and a partially disassembled revolver on my bench. That will teach me to put things away where they belong.

 

Anyway, in case any body wants one of their own, it is made of brass. Here are the dimensions.

 

Overall Length is 3 inches. The large diameter is .330. That allows enough clearance for the shoulder to butt up against the back of the bushing, and clear the hole drilled through the cylinder, which usually runs around .350. The length of the narrow part of the tool is .750. The diameter of the narrower part is .250. Say .250 +.000/-.002. That allows it to slip inside the bushing. Colt cylinder pins usually run .250, right on the money. The hole running through the bushing I have in hand right now is .252, so .250 for the small diameter of the tool will work fine.

 

Tell your machinist to keep the shoulder between the two diameters nice and square. That is where the tool does its work.

 

Regarding driving the bushing out with a steel punch, don't do it. Using a steel punch is why a lot of bushings are deformed at the rear.

 

Regarding stuck bushings that refuse to come out, My favorite 2nd Gen Colt has such a bushing. I have tried everything, including Kroil and my bushing tool to remove it. No, I have not tried heat. The bushing is meant to be a sacrificial part. If it wears out it is easier to replace than replacing the entire cylinder. With the stuck bushing in my Colt, so far so good after thousands of Black Powder rounds through it. As my favorite gunsmith once told me, if we have to we will drill it out and replace it with a new bushing.

 

PS: Those dimensions work well with a Colt. I cannot guarantee they will work with a copy of a Colt.

 

PPS: Tell your gunsmith it was only the early 3rd Gen Colts that had the bushing pressed in place. It is a nice slip fit in all others, including the later 3rd Gens.

 

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9 hours ago, Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 said:

 

 

PPS: Tell your gunsmith it was only the early 3rd Gen Colts that had the bushing pressed in place. It is a nice slip fit in all others, including the later 3rd Gens.

  

 

Does that mean that the bushing in an early 3rd Generation cylinder can be somehow removed?   If so, what would it be replaced with?

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On 3/7/2019 at 8:43 PM, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

 

Does that mean that the bushing in an early 3rd Generation cylinder can be somehow removed?   If so, what would it be replaced with?

 

It's my understanding that the early 3rd generation Colt SAA used a short pressed in bushing not ment to be removed for normal maintenance.   The way it can be removed involves threading the bushing and screwing in a bolt.  Then take a punch and drive it out from the ratchet end.  The bushing is distroyed in the process.  Then there are two options.  1) Press in a new short bushing. Or 2)  machine the cylinder hole to take a regular slide in bushing.   

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2 hours ago, Warden Callaway said:

 

It's my understanding that the early 3rd generation Colt SAA used a short pressed in bushing not ment to be removed for normal maintenance.   The way it can be removed involves threading the bushing and screwing in a bolt.  Then take a punch and drive it out from the ratchet end.  The bushing is distroyed in the process.  Then there are two options.  1) Press in a new short bushing. Or 2)  machine the cylinder hole to take a regular slide in bushing.   

 

Okay, that makes sense.   So in other words, no.  :)

 

I own a few 3rd gen Colts, all but one of them have the "early" style bushing.  It never even occurred to me that there was any way to take them out.

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On 3/6/2019 at 5:46 PM, Dollar Bill Charlie said:

Solved the problem with a local gun smith.  I had cylinders in BP solvent for three days each.  Brought both guns to him yesterday.  He sprayed with Kroil and had the correct brass drift and added heat.  Had rust in the bushing - they are both now free and lubricated.  I always take out the bushings clean and oil on my Smoke Wagons.  

Thank all of you for your information.

Coat the cyl bushing with copper anti-seize. ;)

OLG

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