Pietta 1851 Wedge Removal
- Thread starter ClemBert
- Start date
Smokin' gun
New member
Here is how to handle wedge removal on a pristine gun you just bought. Lay the gun on it's left side on blocks of wood and take a screw driver that's big enough but not too big for the wedge channel and knock it down with any kind of hammer. grease it. After shootin it rounds per day or a week or so - the wedge spring will finally break and you can just about pop it in or out w/ your palm. The plastic handle of your screw driver is a good tool for popping it in or out and tigtining barrel to cylinder. While all this is going on; order a spare wedge..so when you want to display or sell it--- your gun will still look pristine new again as long as you didn't bugger up the barrel. --
sundance44s
New member
I just noticed this purdy pistola is on sale at Cabelas for 239.00 ....was 299.00 I may have to order one for myself ...damn the wedge .
Sundance...the brass punch you posted a pic of....blade .083 in thick?
The stuck Pietta wedges I've encountered would ruin that punch first time out of the gate. You'll run across one of the "tough ones" to get out someday.....the steel punches you save for other things besides gunsmithing.....remember where you put them.
Anyone that isn't well versed in tool use....it would be best to take the gun back and exchange it before you might marr it if the wedge is stuck hard enough that a nylon punch can't get it out.
Anywhooo....I like that brass punch posted in Sundances link. I'll get one. The punch Smoking Gun made for me years ago from space age nylon is gettin a little ragged.
Sundance....you have a good point about steel can slip and marr the barrel. I wouldn't recommend a novice with the tools to use one. It is hard on the nerves if a barrel of a new gun gets scratched up. Especially if you get mad and beat the dang thing into a flat piece of scrap steel. That is how those really stuck wedges can make a guy feel. Mad Dog crazy mean and angry. That's not nice.
Better to get a gunsmith to get the wedge out or send the gun back where it came from.
If I could think of anything else to say I could put some more of those funny little faces in my post. Heck, may as well have some fun here.
Now take heed folks....steel punches can slip and can scratch the barrel. A coupla layers like three or four will help protect the area around the wedge some. Not completely though. Later Pards.
The stuck Pietta wedges I've encountered would ruin that punch first time out of the gate.
You'll run across one of the "tough ones" to get out someday.....the steel punches you save for other things besides gunsmithing.....remember where you put them.Anyone that isn't well versed in tool use....it would be best to take the gun back and exchange it before you might marr it if the wedge is stuck hard enough that a nylon punch can't get it out.
Anywhooo....I like that brass punch posted in Sundances link. I'll get one. The punch Smoking Gun made for me years ago from space age nylon is gettin a little ragged.
Sundance....you have a good point about steel can slip and marr the barrel. I wouldn't recommend a novice with the tools to use one. It is hard on the nerves if a barrel of a new gun gets scratched up.
Especially if you get mad and beat the dang thing into a flat piece of scrap steel. That is how those really stuck wedges can make a guy feel. Mad Dog crazy mean and angry. That's not nice. Better to get a gunsmith to get the wedge out or send the gun back where it came from.
If I could think of anything else to say I could put some more of those funny little faces in my post.
Heck, may as well have some fun here. Now take heed folks....steel punches can slip and can scratch the barrel. A coupla layers like three or four will help protect the area around the wedge some. Not completely though. Later Pards.
sundance44s
New member
Hey ya Wayner ...I didn`t know that was you ...no doubt if done with much care a steel punch could be used ...but for me not worth a slip on a purdy Italian made pistol ....evpecially this one with the engraveing ....
I`m not sure how thick the brass punch is I posted but I have wacked the hell out of it and only mushroomed the flat tip a little ..it has never bent .
You may already have one of these lyman hammers , nylon on one side brass on the other and the heads are replaceable ...these work well too if the wedge isn`t stuck too bad .http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=192310
The brass drift punch I posted earlyer works better with a heavy hammer for wedges that are factory new stuck .
I`m not sure how thick the brass punch is I posted but I have wacked the hell out of it and only mushroomed the flat tip a little ..it has never bent .
You may already have one of these lyman hammers , nylon on one side brass on the other and the heads are replaceable ...these work well too if the wedge isn`t stuck too bad .http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=192310
The brass drift punch I posted earlyer works better with a heavy hammer for wedges that are factory new stuck .
Sundance, when you convert yer Sharps to the Gremmer model that looks like a Hawken/Sharps with two wedge keys holding the new forearm with the nosecap that punch will come in handy.
How'd you know this was me,Wayner?
The Track of the Wolf link had the size of that punch. It must be the harder type brass. The yellow versas the white brass?
Yer right about that purty gun and the steel punch slippin on that engraved barrel. That would be crying time to put a big scratch on it. I have one just like it. Nice looking and nice shooter too. Doesn't shoot real high(niether of my Pietta Navy Colts do) and shoots straight. I'd hate to hit the engraving with a steel punch.
That tells the story. Drive the stuck wedges out carefully or run the risk of damage. Pietta should fit those wedges and then loosen them back up so people don't damage their new guns.
I don't understand the reasoning behind Piettas wedges being stuck. They must kinda form fit to seat them in conjunction to the bottomed arbors(which I love on those Peittas...the bottomed arbors)but why leave them stuck? Those stuck wedges are difficult for almost everyone to get out and.....I've never heard too many say they are not difficult.
Even if a person had one of those presses for pressing bearings and all it would be a chore to set up a jig or whatever to press out the stuck wedges.
I've just had to remove shrink fit collars and pressed fit bearings from my antique tractors rear axles. I drilled and chiseled the shrink fit collars and took a burning torch to the pressed fit bearings. Man, they were almost as hard to get off as a stuck Pietta wedges.
Your recomendation about a heavier hammer is the main stay of getting off a really stuck Pietta wedge. I'll tellya those wedges should be remedied at the factory before they are put in the boxes to ship to the US. Would someone please tell Alchimista to get his shop foreman to get that done??? Those Piettas are too nice to risk damage right off the bat because of a stuck wedge.
Anywhoooo....yous the man Sundance....with good advise.
How'd you know this was me,Wayner?
The Track of the Wolf link had the size of that punch. It must be the harder type brass. The yellow versas the white brass?
Yer right about that purty gun and the steel punch slippin on that engraved barrel. That would be crying time to put a big scratch on it. I have one just like it. Nice looking and nice shooter too. Doesn't shoot real high(niether of my Pietta Navy Colts do) and shoots straight. I'd hate to hit the engraving with a steel punch.
That tells the story. Drive the stuck wedges out carefully or run the risk of damage. Pietta should fit those wedges and then loosen them back up so people don't damage their new guns.
I don't understand the reasoning behind Piettas wedges being stuck. They must kinda form fit to seat them in conjunction to the bottomed arbors(which I love on those Peittas...the bottomed arbors)but why leave them stuck? Those stuck wedges are difficult for almost everyone to get out and.....I've never heard too many say they are not difficult.
Even if a person had one of those presses for pressing bearings and all it would be a chore to set up a jig or whatever to press out the stuck wedges.
I've just had to remove shrink fit collars and pressed fit bearings from my antique tractors rear axles. I drilled and chiseled the shrink fit collars and took a burning torch to the pressed fit bearings.
Man, they were almost as hard to get off as a stuck Pietta wedges.Your recomendation about a heavier hammer is the main stay of getting off a really stuck Pietta wedge. I'll tellya those wedges should be remedied at the factory before they are put in the boxes to ship to the US. Would someone please tell Alchimista to get his shop foreman to get that done???
Those Piettas are too nice to risk damage right off the bat because of a stuck wedge.Anywhoooo....yous the man Sundance....with good advise.
sundance44s
New member
Wayner , Shadow , lucky guess on my part I think I can pick your and Smokinguns posting out ......seen alot of them .
That brass drift is made out of a harder probally American made brass , ( may have a little more bronze ) or something in it .....but it won`t bend nor will it scratch the Italian made steel ...so far anyway . I have mushroomed the tip some what on mine , I need to dress it up before I use it again ...but it has seen alot of service .
I use the plastic head on my little lyman hammer once I get one broke free , and for the Hawken type barrel wedges ...........but no doubt a new Colt made by Pietta has a wedge installed by a guy with issues ...I think he must be the same guy tightening the screws on the Pietta Remingtons too .
For no other reason I always recomend some one start their black powder pistol experience with a new Remington , instead of the 1851 Navy .
See ya back at the camp fire at Voy Forum ..... (I`ll have to push Dick Dork out of my seat when I get back ) ...
That brass drift is made out of a harder probally American made brass , ( may have a little more bronze ) or something in it .....but it won`t bend nor will it scratch the Italian made steel ...so far anyway . I have mushroomed the tip some what on mine , I need to dress it up before I use it again ...but it has seen alot of service .
I use the plastic head on my little lyman hammer once I get one broke free , and for the Hawken type barrel wedges ...........but no doubt a new Colt made by Pietta has a wedge installed by a guy with issues ...I think he must be the same guy tightening the screws on the Pietta Remingtons too .
For no other reason I always recomend some one start their black powder pistol experience with a new Remington , instead of the 1851 Navy .
See ya back at the camp fire at Voy Forum ..... (I`ll have to push Dick Dork out of my seat when I get back ) ...
Smokin_Gun
New member
I'm not so sure a 19th Century Cowboy, Soldier, Farmer, or Indian carried a Vise with them ... the Colt wedge configuration was made to be tapped or hit out if need be . The mallet, hammer, piece if campfire wood, tree branch is how tha wedge was meant to be removed ... If you don't believe it, look it up on the internet... you won't see a vise listed.
Sorry but I have to disagree with you...
One good smack wil remove most any stubborn wedge.
But you have to know how to use a mallet.
It ain't Rocket Science :O)
Sorry but I have to disagree with you...
One good smack wil remove most any stubborn wedge.
But you have to know how to use a mallet.
It ain't Rocket Science :O)
Smokin' gun
New member
OK--I guess y'all think I'm dumb and crazy. Maybe you're right. My nightmare was removing the wedge from a 1851 Navy Pietta "Lawmaker" I used a nylon hammer--cloth---brass bolt----------To no success. It too only went flush to the barrel. After a day when my temper and nerves subsided---tried it again. Now I was mad! I did what I said in an earlier posting - just got a big ax screwdriver and hammer and knocked it out. The wedge went back in after greasing it and shot 12 rounds. It again was hard to remove. Finally after several weeks the spring broke off and the wedge is easy. Of course the wedge looks like hell. I think the wedge spring is there to catch on the screw so it doesn't fall completely out. It serves another purpose I 'm sure but not big time major! keeps it tight in the slot? Sam Colt would know that answer. I bet most of the cowboys and calvery soldiers had wedges w/broken off springs. The Uberties don't have wedges this tight. I have 2 more Lawmakers and don't know what to do w/um since I can't break um down for a customer. 36 c are easier than 44c on wedges and other parts;in my opinion.
Smokin' gun
New member
Wait--I think they might be called "Lawman"
Smokin_Gun
New member
Billy, once you smack the wedge flush to the barrel you make a tool like Enyaw mention I made him a few years ago, and like the Brass tool that Sundance posted. You had the right idea and did it right just use a strong but softer than a screwdiver material.
I still am usin' the one in the Pic ... ya gotta remember I'm a Remington Man that likes Colts too :O)
I still am usin' the one in the Pic ... ya gotta remember I'm a Remington Man that likes Colts too :O)
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Smokin' gun
New member
Great pics Smokin Gun!!!!!!
That brass framer is what everyone here in SC that decides to soot BP wants--no matter what anybody says bad about them they don't care. the most economical pietta brass frame 44 is what they shoot or your Remington 1858.
I still don't know what to do w/ those "Lawman" steel frame 44's that don't have great action atall. I was thinking about ordering a pietta box that fits 2--put in a flask and accessories and offer them like that. Do you think that's a good idea? Maybe $475 for the whole setw/accesso.. Or $400 or $500---dam I don't know about these boys. Suggested retail price on them are $249 a piece from Elletts. I don't like em. But they look good and got "Pallidin" Black grips. Anyone out there got one?
That brass framer is what everyone here in SC that decides to soot BP wants--no matter what anybody says bad about them they don't care. the most economical pietta brass frame 44 is what they shoot or your Remington 1858.
I still don't know what to do w/ those "Lawman" steel frame 44's that don't have great action atall. I was thinking about ordering a pietta box that fits 2--put in a flask and accessories and offer them like that. Do you think that's a good idea? Maybe $475 for the whole setw/accesso.. Or $400 or $500---dam I don't know about these boys. Suggested retail price on them are $249 a piece from Elletts. I don't like em. But they look good and got "Pallidin" Black grips. Anyone out there got one?
Smokin_Gun
New member
Billy that 1862 Navy Conversion ... let me know in a PM what you wanna get out of that ... I have no money but if it's a .38Colt and shoots BP loads I may have trading capabilites that you could make money on sellin'...
Jus' food for thought.
Jus' food for thought.
Smokin' gun
New member
I got me a big ole heavy iron chisle in one hand and a claw hammer in the other---that wedge is coming out of that LAWMAN---get a posse real quick and stop me. But yu betta hurry