Relieving revolver cylinder

[mwmoore10261]

It seems that all my revolvers have undersized cylinders. My Uberti 1858 Remington has .456 rifling but about .451 for cylinder bore. My Pietta Remington Navy is also .004 undersized in the cylinder. My Euroarms Roger & Spencer is a little closer but still won't group due to undersized cylinder bore. Is there a home remedy or do I need to employ a gunsmith and spend about the same price of the weapon to semi-accurize these revolvers. Some have mentioned using emery cloth on a dowel with a drill press to open up the cylinders. Is this feasable or just a way to ruin a cylinder and force me to buy a replacement?
Mike Moore, 10261

[Lou Lou Lou]

I would seek out a professional. I believe Tri-L does this but only on remingtons

[Southron Sr.]

I had a Rogers & Spencer revolver that wouldn't group worth a darn. I remembered that some of the first Euroarm R & S's that were imported back in the 1970's had undersized chambers so I ordered a reamer and proceeded to ream out my chambers.

THE DRATTED THING STILL SHOT ALL OVER THE TARGET! I was really puzzled because I knew that the diameter of my chambers was definitely correct.

Then my son and teammate took the cylinder out of the revolver and looked at it. THE ARBOR HOLE IN THE CENTER OF THE CYLINDER WAS DRILLED SLIGHTLY "OFF CENTER!"

So, you might want to check and see if your arbor hole is "off center."

So you might want to have an experienced pistolsmith look at your gun.

[Ron/The Old Reb]

I reamed my Remington and Rodgers cylinders with a 457 reamer and a electric drill. A drill press would be better if you have one.

[Charlie Hahn]

If cylinder reaming is all you want I do this for about $15, (I have a fixture and milling machine for this). I would suggest you have the forcing cone looked at while doing this. That is another $10. These two things will help, but if the gun is way out of line you will not be getting 10 ring groups, but should be able to break clay birds.

I will be at the Nationals if you want me to take a look.

Charlie Hahn

[mwmoore10261]

Thanks for all the help guys. We are one of the host teams at the Nationals so I will have plenty of time to drop off my revolvers for cylinder reaming. I have Tri-L do my forcing cones anytime I buy a new or used weapon so that has been removed as a reason for the poor grouping patterns. The Euroarms R & S is a 1978 vintage but had to replace cylinder from S & S. The original cylinder had been cowboy spun so much that the hand wouldn't index due to a groove worn on the back. Charlie, do you bring your mill to the Nationals and if so what is turnaround time for a cylinder reaming? I just would like to break a few targets for my team, not looking to become a pistol champion. See you at the Nationals.
Mike Moore, 10261

[Ken Hansgen, 11094]

Hey Charlie Hahn, I'm considering having this done to a R&S. Sorry, but I don't know where to find you--you have a booth in the Sutler area don't you? Which is it?

[Charlie Hahn]

Currently I don't do gun work at the fort.

I share a booth with Ball Accuracy.

Charlie

[DAVE FRANCE]

I have used a reamer to change the cylinder diameter of two Uberti 1858 Remington revolvers. (The older one is kind of worn out, and has a couple errors in machining, and I got a terrific deal on the second one.)

I bought a reamer that was about midway between the original cylinder diameter (.449 I think) and the groove to groove diameter (.457) of the barrel.

Both cylinders work equally well in each revolver.

It probably is directionally correct to enlarge the cylinder diameter a bit, and use a .454 or .457 ball. But, I think the improvement must be very slight. If the original cylinder diameter Uberti uses was a major cause of inaccuracy, I think they would have changed it. I don't think some companies would, but I think Uberti would.

I also have a cylinder converter to use 45 Colt rounds for the same revolver, and a 0.451 bullet shoots well also.

David

[hp gregory, 9128]

i use a reamer that is made for single action colts. it has a floating pilot and reams the cylinder to .453 since its piloted it follows the existing hole perfectly. at .453 a .457 round ball fits the hole perfect. it takes the guess work of doing this. every hole lines up the same and every hole is cut to the same depth.

hp gregory