maint1517
member
When reassembling after cleaning, how much force should I use replacing the wedge on my 1851's and 1860?
damoc is correct, thumb pressure only.
Samuel Colt died in 1862. That would give him roughly 11 years experience with his basic 1851 design. I've been shooting that same design for roughly 55 years. I say thumb pressure.
With Piettas, which virtually always have arbors that correctly bottom out in the barrel arbor slot, firm thumb pressure or a gentle tap is all that is necessary. Ubertis of course always suffer from short arbor syndrome and require a metal slug in the barrel arbor hole to take up the excess space and allow the gun to function as a single solid object with no slop.