Recutting the cone in a revolver barrel

[CAGerringer]

A question for you Pistoleros...
To cut a "Target" cone in a standard Uberti 1858 Remington revolver barrel, what degree of cut do you need? What is the standard cut and what should the angle be increased to?
Respectfully,
Charlie Gerringer
Old Dominion Dragoons

[Robert Murphy]

11 degrees from most sources.

[sfoster]

Does the barrel need to be removed to do this?

[Ron Showacre]

Nope.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRis0_vM8FA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Etu6xf8rUzs

[Maillemaker]

It's absurdly easy to do. I used the Brownell's kit to do the job on a Spiller and Burr. Sadly, I think it shot worse after I did it than before. But, it didn't shoot good to start with.

Hardest part is measuring your progress (the maximum cone diameter) while cutting.

Steve

[Joseph Plakis Jr, 00302V]

One of the things that ALL of the videos on U tube and others is that they don't tell you you can go too deep or not deep enough re-cutting the cone in a revolver barrel.
I was taught to place one of the balls that you are using put it in the end you re-cutting - see how much above 1/2 way it is. You want to re-cut where 50% is what you see (1/2 of the ball is in the chamber & 1/2 is sticking above the chamber). If you cut too deep you will have blow-by and potential problems. What you are doing by re-cutting the cone is centering the ball in the rifling. Another problem is some reproduction revolvers don't have the bore of the barrel aligned with the chambers. That is why unless you know what you are doing leave it for the professionals.
I did a Starr repro revolver for my son. Starr revolvers are an adventure to time an re-cut the forcing cone. I will never do another one!!!

Joe Plakis jr.
Hampton Legion
00302V

[Ron The Old Reb]

The maine problem with repro revolvers is not the forcing cone. The main problem is the cylinder. The cylinders are usely reamed several thousand under barrle diamter. Therefor when you seat the ball in the clynder your squeezing it down smaller the the barrel diameter. That is why Tom Ball reamed all the cylinders on the pistols he built to 547 diameter. Putting a new forsing does help but that is not the main issue.



.

[Muley Gil]

The maine problem with repro revolvers is not the forcing cone. The main problem is the cylinder. The cylinders are usely reamed several thousand under barrle diamter. Therefor when you seat the ball in the clynder your squeezing it down smaller the the barrel diameter. That is why Tom Ball reamed all the cylinders on the pistols he built to 547 diameter. Putting a new forsing does help but that is not the main issue.



.


Isn't .547 a little large for a .44 revolver? :D

[Ron Showacre]

The maine problem with repro revolvers ... is the cylinder. The cylinders are usely reamed several thousand under barrle diamter. .

This isn't a problem of only the reproduction revolvers. Most commercial/production revolvers can have issues. The second referenced Youtube video even points out the Ruger he was working on (57 seconds in) could have a cylinder throat issue because they are turning out cylinders fast (production line) and the reamer can get worn and various other machining processes may affect the diameter of the finished cylinder chamber during the production line processes. Unless you purchase a custom made revolver or have a smith 'accurize' your revolver most if not all commercial revolvers will have variations (tolerances) that are acceptable. Some shooters, when trying to extract the maximum accuracy out of a revolver (like when testing reloads for accuracy) will mark one chamber and fire all the rounds out of that cylinder chamber. This ensures there are minimal variations (size of chamber, alignment of the cylinder to the bore of the barrel, cylinder gap is identical, etc.) which, hopefully, render the least number of variables and improve consistency and thus promote the best accuracy.


...That is why Tom Ball reamed all the cylinders on the pistols he built to 547 diameter.
I think you inverted two numbers, though even .457 might be a bit large for a true .44 cal revolver. Although my Ruger Old Army uses 0.457 diameter balls and while I think Ruger may have marketed them as '.44' they always said to use a 0.457" diameter ball ( 0.454" if conical bullet). I am not sure what the Uberti Remington revolver, in fact, uses.

Good luck in what ever you decide to do CAGarringer!

[Dheisey#7003]

There is a gentleman online that "rents" forcing cone cutting tools. His name is reamer guy on you tube. Buying a reamer kit can get expensive. Renting one seems like a decent deal. I had mine cut by Tom Ball years ago. It helped my 1858 Remington, I had to have my cylinders trued in my one Rogers and Spencer. It shot better for Tom than it ever did for me though. But cylinder/bore alignment is the key. Without good line up it is a crap shoot.

[Mike McDaniel]

I think you inverted two numbers, though even .457 might be a bit large for a true .44 cal revolver. Although my Ruger Old Army uses 0.457 diameter balls and while I think Ruger may have marketed them as '.44' they always said to use a 0.457" diameter ball ( 0.454" if conical bullet).

FWIW, the original Remingtons use .457 round balls. I feed my Hege-Remington .457s when at Worlds (I can use .457s for four events that way).

[Ron Showacre]

FWIW, the original Remingtons use .457 round balls. I feed my Hege-Remington .457s when at Worlds (I can use .457s for four events that way).

Thanks for the info. Good to know.

[Ron The Old Reb]

"That is why Tom Ball reamed all the cylinders on the pistols he built to 547 diameter"

Tipeo 547 should be 457 diameter Reason Fat fingers! Plus my keyboard doesn't like me.

[Maillemaker]

I was taught to place one of the balls that you are using put it in the end you re-cutting - see how much above 1/2 way it is. You want to re-cut where 50% is what you see (1/2 of the ball is in the chamber & 1/2 is sticking above the chamber).

Joe Plakis jr.
Hampton Legion
00302V

That is cool! I have never heard that way of using the ball as a gauge! I'm going to go check my Spiller and Burr and see how close I got!

Steve

[CAGerringer]

Thanks to everyone for the great advice. It looks like I'm getting a Chamfer kit from Brownells for Christmas. I'll try the "Target" cone first, and decide on the timing next.
I'll let you know how it turns out.
Respectfully,
Charlie Gerringer
Old Dominion Dragoons