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455 Webleys


Ramblin Gambler

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1 hour ago, Ramblin Gambler said:

Numrich has some that it says are for "32 hand eject (I Frame)".  Is that the same hammer for all calibers

I don't believe so.

 

The top gun is a 32 hand ejector I frame.

 

The bottom gun is a 1917.

 

As you can see there is a massive difference in size. Not just in the frames - the hammers aren't the same size either.

32HE and 1917.jpg

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You need a pre-war N frame hammer. a 1917 or 1937 Brazilian will be the closest ones for your gun's era.

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18 hours ago, Ramblin Gambler said:

 

I dug up my feeler gauges to see how much room there was between the cylinder and the recoil shield.  I'm not great with feeler gauges so these might be off a little.  The S&W was somewhere between .085 and .088.  .089 definitely did not fit and I don't think it was dragging on anything.  This is probably why the cylinder won't close when loaded with full moon clips.  The Webley measured .109. 

 

Then I grabbed my mic to see how far the 45 colt was hanging out of the cylinders.  On the S&W it was .282".  On the Webley it was .310". 

 

 

 

I just realized I wrote those numbers down wrong for the smith.  They were between .085 and .088 inches.  Not .85 and .88. 

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15 hours ago, Ramblin Gambler said:

Numrich has some that it says are for "32 hand eject (I Frame)".  Is that the same hammer for all calibers? 

 

No.

 

The I frame was much smaller than the N frame, which is what your 455HE is built on. I doubt that hammer will fit.

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Hammers for N frame are specific to that size. Also, differences in Pre-war, Post-war and current. Just checked my parts box and can't help there.

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I don't know the cost one way or the other but...

 

If you could find a "junk" hammer that has notch issues & have someone graft the spur onto your hammer might be an idea.

 

If your gun is smooth & in time etc you would be saving all the time, money & heartache of trying to get everything back to "just right' .

 

I would think fitting etc on a used unknown hammer could be pricey, not to mention, yours is smooth?

 

People have been cutting & welding hammers for higher-lower etc for a long time.

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On 9/16/2020 at 2:58 PM, Ramblin Gambler said:

Here's my questions

1.  How can I know if they were really converted?  My thought is that I'd see what fit.  If I understand the process correctly; when converted, 455 webley ammo will no longer fit flush with the cylinder face, and if it wasn't converted, then 45 ACP in a clip won't fit because the cylinder won't close.  The only ammo I have right now is 45 ACP and it fits in the Webley in the clips.  The cylinder on the S&W won't close with full moon clips, but it will close with the half moon clips. 

 

 

 

 

After years of searching, I found an unaltered Mark VI .455 Webley.  On the back of the cylinder it has a crown and an arrowhead or triangle as proof/acceptance marks. On the side of the cylinder it has numbers that match the serial number on my gun.  Shaving the cylinder takes off the bottom of these numbers and eliminates the proof marks.  Hope this helps.

 

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One more minor update.  Based on someone (probably driftwood) saying that some of these guns were converted to 45 schofield, I decided to get a box and see.  No joy, they're too long for both pistols.  I figured it was unlikely, but hey, now I have a reason to buy a 45 schofield.  worst case, I can always shoot that ammo in one of my 45 colt revolvers. 

 

Next week I'll be taking them to the range.  I have some 45 AR for the webley and hopefully soon I will have some low pressure 45 ACP.  The smith will work with regular 45 acp as long as it's in half moon clips.  I might try some 45 AR in it too. 

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Just another note about my as-issued Webley Mark VI .455.  The club I belong to in Frederick, MD has twice a year what it calls the "Great Wars" match.  The permitted arms are military handguns used by any armed force from World War I through the end of World War II, or their replicas and clones.  I was at the club practicing for the match with the Webley and another fellow was also shooting there.  He was rather interested in the Webley so I handed him the Webley and 5 shells so he could try it out.  I'm not the world's best pistol shot so I'm always interested in how someone else shoots my guns.  Shooting one-handed offhand, the other fellow put 5 shots into a group that went around 2 1/2  to 3 inches.   That was impressive for a 102 year old gun.

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