Rillito Red Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 I picked up a brand new 1851 in .44, ran one cylinder full of caps through it to see how bad it would cap jam It jammed a lot. The wedge is harder to remove than my 1862's. I stoned the rough surfaces, put in a cap rake, added a thin washer under the bolt spring, and installed Treso nipples. With the cylinder out the bolt drops and I get the right number of clicks. The same with the cylinder in but without caps. With caps on: I take the cylinder off of half cock and it sets against a cap normally (putting caps on all cylinders for the function tests). The gun is then locked up tight. Nothing moves and the wedge is even harder to remove. Cylinder gap when locked up goes from .006" to 0". If I push the hammer forward it unlocks. If I cock and fire I can get through all six chambers normally. If I just cock the hammer back and set it down, it will lock up again. I cannot find anything behind the cylinder to cause the jam. I put a stock nipple back on and it was no different than the Treso's. I did nothing to change the curve of the hammer and frame. Suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 The bolt is not resetting. See the following thread. I posted a photo in there. Cylinder gap goes to zero because the hand and the hammer resting on the caps is pushing the cylinder forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 Also, the wedge will get looser as the gun is SHOT. Do not remove material from the wedge now or it might wind up to loose when it breaks in. The gun I just looked at for the guy having the same problem had virtually no clearance between the hammer cam and the bolt leg. Since yours is also new it may be Pietta has made a batch that needs to have a couple of thousands of clearance added to the bolt/cam fit as part of the tuning process. When caps are put on (are you using a cap seater?) it spaces the hammer back because there is compound in the cap. When you fire it the compound explodes and the hammer can move further forward so the bolt resets as it should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rillito Red Posted July 23, 2021 Author Share Posted July 23, 2021 Thanks! Cap seater - yes. Now for the nerve wracking "removing material". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 I would not remove anything until you have a couple of hundred rounds through it unless you really know what you are looking for. Removing material is easy. Putting it back on is tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rillito Red Posted July 23, 2021 Author Share Posted July 23, 2021 Are you saying the bolt leg might break in with use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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