I recently purchased a Cimmaron / Uberti 1858 Remington replica with the intention of making it convertible from C&B to cartridge. As I received it, the bolt timing was such that it dropped about .025 to .030 before the cylinder locking slot in the cylinder. After firing about 25 or 30 shots, the cylinder locking slots were peened enough to prevent the bolt from locking the cylinder. I corrected this issue by taking a small amount off the bolt leg and now the bolt drops a little over one bolt width before the locking slot.
When I received the Howell 5 shot conversion cylinder, I found that the hand was too long by about .025 preventing it from engaging the cylinder ratchet. After shortening the hand, the 5 shot cylinder operates like it should. After removing the burrs on the C&B cylinder locking slots, it now cycles great with both cylinders.
I discovered that the bolt width is about .004 -.005 less than the locking slots in both cylinders. Will this create any problems ? Opinions
Thanks, GeezerD