Dark Horse Charlie Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Howdy all, I have a 72 open top and kniw that I can swap barrels and cylinders with it. But can I use RM barrels and cylinders on an opentop frame? Are the interchangeable? Thanks Dark Horse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas B. Wolfson, SASS #11104 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 I have not tried switching the cylinders but I have put the barrels from '51 conversions on '72 open tops with no problems. Chas B 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 It depends. Within the Open Top Family, ALL the Cylinder/Barrel combinations can be changed around. The Only R/M Barrel I know of that will swap to the Open Top is the .38. In the past, the 44 R/M and 45 R/M would NOT swap to the Open Top. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Horse Charlie Posted March 17 Author Share Posted March 17 3 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said: It depends. Within the Open Top Family, ALL the Cylinder/Barrel combinations can be changed around. The Only R/M Barrel I know of that will swap to the Open Top is the .38. In the past, the 44 R/M and 45 R/M would NOT swap to the Open Top. Thanks. I have a 45 currently and I wanted to get a 38 spcl RM octagon barrel and cylinder to use on the frame I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas B. Wolfson, SASS #11104 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 (edited) Some thing else to consider: The diameter of the cylinders can be somewhat different. The .38spl/colt pair of pistols have cylinders that are 1.611 OD. Two of my .44spl/russian have cylinders that are 1.634 OD. My third .44spl/russian is 1.612 OD. The pistol frames that use the cylinders that are 1.634 have a larger dimension between the arbor and the area of the frame the bolt protrudes through. I am by no means a gunsmith but I would be concerned regarding the bolt protrusion/lockup into the notches on the cylinder being the bolt will not have an overall height that is the same as in a frame made to fit a smaller diameter cylinder. I put one of the smaller diameter cylinders onto the frame of a larger diameter cylinder. The bolt did engage the notches but not with the authority that occurs when installed on correct frame. Yes, what you want to do is feasible but obtaining cylinders that match the original diameter would be important to me. The locating pins in the frame engage all the barrel assembly the same. Regards, Chas B Edited March 17 by Chas B. Wolfson, SASS #11104 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Horse Charlie Posted March 17 Author Share Posted March 17 @Chas B. Wolfson, SASS #11104 thanks for the info. Something I would never think about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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