Pietta 1851 Navy, now much play should the cylinder have when fully cocked?

[Geofois]

I have an abused 1851 that someone must have played with like a toy and fanned it a lot. There are deep scratches on the cylinder. It seems to function fine but I can grab the cylinder and wiggle it a little. My brother's Uberti Remington 1858 won't move at all when fully cocked. Does anyone have a replica 1851 and does it move side to side a little or is it tight?

Just read a discussion to check alignment. Used a flashlight and watched the cylinder move while looking down the barrel and it looks perfectly aligned when it comes to a rest.

[aolis110]

I have a Pietta 1851 and a Pietta Dance Brothers. The cylinders have hardly any travel up and down and side ways when cocked.How much is a little wiggle? If the travel is excessive, the bolt is probably worn out. I get my replacement parts from EMF. Their prices can’t be beat.

[Geofois]

Thank you, so far it's just a tiny bit of side to side. I notices if I rotate it the tiny bit counter clockwise, when I drop the hammer(not letting it slam on the new nipples) that the cylinder corrects itself and becomes perfectly centered. The bolt is crisp and sharp. It's just the cylinder with the gouges. It seems to be working fine then if yours also slightly moves. I'll check out EMF, thank you

[k1dude]

I checked a friend's Uberti 1860, and it had zero play.

[Geofois]

I'll ask on the cap n ball forum and see if I can find anyone with a pietta 1851 to see if it's a pietta thing or a me thing. Thanks for checking.

[MajorSideburns]

There might be a small amount of play but in general it should not have much movement. Check the fit of the bolt to the cylinder. It's the rectangular piece on the bottom of the frame under the cylinder that locks into the grooves of the cylinder. If the bolt is too narrow, or the grooves in the cylinder are too wide, it will have side to side play. It can also have play if the bolt is too wide for the channel and not locking in. If it doesn't look like someone has messed with widening the grooves on the cylinder, you can try replacing the bolt. Buy a new one and file it down slowly to fit.

[Geofois]

Thanks MajorSideburns,
If you see the picture I attached the wear on the cylinder is probably causing the play. I was just wondering if others had some play so I would know the damage wasn't causing it but many with 1851 Piettas said they didn't have play so it seems like the damage is the cause. I'll see if it shoots accurate. It does rotate and rest exactly where it needs to be. When the powder goes bang I wonder if the cylinder will shake before the ball leaves the cylinder and go out of alignment.

[ojisan]

Those stop notches aren't looking good.
The peening over at the edge is probably keeping the stop from engaging the notches correctly or fully engaging.
That's a tough spot to clean up, possibly a curved jeweler's file or if you are good with a dremel, you could get in there to clean up the edges but it won't be pretty when done.

Plenty of cylinders are on eBay for about $75, you might want to consider replacing your current one.

[Geofois]

Yeah that's probably what I'll have to do. My brother got ripped off when he bought it since he doesn't know to check things. He should have paid $100 less. Maybe even a crisp punch to roll the edge back since the abuse pushed metal into the cavity area where the bolt sits. I found them for $55 on a couple websites. I'm sure taxes and shipping will be $75

[ojisan]

Keep us posted.

[MajorSideburns]

Take the bolt and cylinder out and test their fit in your hands. You can put the bolt in the cylinder notch and confirm it can actually fit in there or not, and you will better understand what the issue is. It might be like edge of the notch is peened like noted above and might need to be cleaned up. It could also be the bolt or cylinder is a replacement job a previous owner installed but never fitted. It could have also just never been fitted properly at the factory. Unfortunately because of the different manufacturers and tolerances most of these parts require hand fitting and will only work best in the particular gun they are fitted in. A good gunsmith can do all of this for you but the labor would probably cost as much as the gun.