PotatoJudge
Member
First off, sorry about the long, detailed description.
I have a Colt Police Positive in 38 special that has a couple of minor timing issues. The bolt falls in the cylinder ramps in the last 1/3 instead of the middle and the cylinder doesn't rotate enough for it to fall in place until the trigger is pulled. I've looked at all the threads I could find here and on TFL (thanks Dfariswheel) and there is nothing about how to fix these problems. I'd be okay with the timing issues if:
1. They won't accelerate the wear of parts, that is, if shooting it like this won't just make it worse fast.
2. If the cylinder locks in place before the primer is hit. I've looked and really can't tell which happens first- the hand pushes the cylinder in place as the hammer falls, both of which are dependent on the same trigger pull.
3. If the reliability issues it has are not caused by the timing. It might just be picky about ammo, but shooting some stuff fouls the face of the cylinder binding the gun up and blows residue back into the cylinder making it very hard to unload and reload. It seems like #2 could cause this if the round ignites before the cylinder rotates fully.
I've never had any problems with throw-by, so the bolt falling late doesn't bother me so much (though it does return to the up position in two distinct stages, one where it comes just above flush with the frame and the other where it comes fully up to the cylinder). As to the other problem, it seems like the hand is just a touch too short, but it also doesn't have burrs on the edges or any other signs of hard wear.
I paid $125 for the gun, which locks up tight, has about no finish remaining (though it is smooth and has crisp markings), has a very smooth DA trigger, and has a good bore. Its really not worth the money to ship it anywhere. If anyone here in Houston is going to work on it, it'd be me. Somebody mentioned "stretching" the hand, which I don't know anything about and don't know that I'm up for. I would be willing to buy another hand and fit it to the exact dimensions of the old one except for the notch, which would be left longer. If I were to order a hand from Numerich (they show that they can still be had in the d-frame tune up kit) would it be a new part never fit to a gun? The bolt falling is probably too complicated for me to mess with, as it appears to involve the rebound lever and bolt with some geometry I shouldn't tackle.
A few added bits of info, the ratchet is in good shape and the innards are clean (that is, I cleaned them, paying particular attention to the gun's problem areas and without altering any parts). The gap between the barrel and cylinder is extremely small, but the gap is even and the cylinder rotates smoothly when clean.
I'd really like to keep the gun, but I'm leaning toward getting rid of it. Any advice on how to fix it or if I should keep it would be greatly appreciated.
I have a Colt Police Positive in 38 special that has a couple of minor timing issues. The bolt falls in the cylinder ramps in the last 1/3 instead of the middle and the cylinder doesn't rotate enough for it to fall in place until the trigger is pulled. I've looked at all the threads I could find here and on TFL (thanks Dfariswheel) and there is nothing about how to fix these problems. I'd be okay with the timing issues if:
1. They won't accelerate the wear of parts, that is, if shooting it like this won't just make it worse fast.
2. If the cylinder locks in place before the primer is hit. I've looked and really can't tell which happens first- the hand pushes the cylinder in place as the hammer falls, both of which are dependent on the same trigger pull.
3. If the reliability issues it has are not caused by the timing. It might just be picky about ammo, but shooting some stuff fouls the face of the cylinder binding the gun up and blows residue back into the cylinder making it very hard to unload and reload. It seems like #2 could cause this if the round ignites before the cylinder rotates fully.
I've never had any problems with throw-by, so the bolt falling late doesn't bother me so much (though it does return to the up position in two distinct stages, one where it comes just above flush with the frame and the other where it comes fully up to the cylinder). As to the other problem, it seems like the hand is just a touch too short, but it also doesn't have burrs on the edges or any other signs of hard wear.
I paid $125 for the gun, which locks up tight, has about no finish remaining (though it is smooth and has crisp markings), has a very smooth DA trigger, and has a good bore. Its really not worth the money to ship it anywhere. If anyone here in Houston is going to work on it, it'd be me. Somebody mentioned "stretching" the hand, which I don't know anything about and don't know that I'm up for. I would be willing to buy another hand and fit it to the exact dimensions of the old one except for the notch, which would be left longer. If I were to order a hand from Numerich (they show that they can still be had in the d-frame tune up kit) would it be a new part never fit to a gun? The bolt falling is probably too complicated for me to mess with, as it appears to involve the rebound lever and bolt with some geometry I shouldn't tackle.
A few added bits of info, the ratchet is in good shape and the innards are clean (that is, I cleaned them, paying particular attention to the gun's problem areas and without altering any parts). The gap between the barrel and cylinder is extremely small, but the gap is even and the cylinder rotates smoothly when clean.
I'd really like to keep the gun, but I'm leaning toward getting rid of it. Any advice on how to fix it or if I should keep it would be greatly appreciated.