Aguila Blanca

Still trying to make an odd-ball Pietta 1873 clone safe to shoot. VTI Gun Parts thought they had finally gotten some Pietta cylinders that would fit -- tried one, and it's still too short. Barrel-cylinder gap is huge.

For several reasons, I have decided against setting the barrel back. At this point I'm working on a .44 magnum cylinder that started out as both longer and larger in diameter than a .45 Colt cylinder. I have it cut down and fitted to the window.

What's left is enlarging the bores from .44 Magnum to .45 Colt, and recutting the locking notches. Can someone tell me what size cutter to use for the notches, or steer me to a Colt blueprint that shows that information? If anyone does custom cylinders, how do you set up the cylinder to cut the notches in the correct position?

Thanks.

dfariswheel

For highly specialized questions like this, you'd need to talk to a high end specialist who makes cylinders.
Among other, Hamilton Bowen makes conversion cylinders for single actions.
Whether he or another of these specialists would answer your questions. I don't know.

One of the most difficult tasks for a master revolver smith is getting the cylinder locking notches positioned EXACTLY right on all six chambers.
This requires some high end equipment and extensive knowledge and skills.
Since each notch directly affects alignment and timing, they have to be perfect.

Wild Bill Caldwell

I don't know about the frame You are usein....Cylinder notches were cut on outdated machinery [ compared to this day an age ] back when ? 1830s ? If the lockin bolt is dead center of the frame , will that make the lockin cut be dead centr of each chamber? If lockin bolt is offset I'm guessin cut will be off center somewhat...You might try gettin the cyl in the pistol , chamber lined up with barrel , then markin where the lockin bolt is touchin the cyl....all other notches should be in the same place on each chamber

Wild Bill