Repairable or hopeless?

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Col. Harrumph

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Gotta say, I’ve never heard of anyone running into this problem before. The project gun here is complete, but unshootable: the cylinder binds up partway through rotation to the next charge hole. I believe I finally understand why… but fixing it is gonna go way beyond my skills!

US Revolver 47519 (after).jpg

Here’s the scenario: the hand terminates in a sharp chisel point, and over the years has gouged channels in the not-hard-enough extractor star’s ratchet, so as the hand pushes on the ratchet its tip digs into a channel and jams there, so progress stops. I’ve examined the ratchet under magnification and can see the gouges, but there’s no way I can get a photo of something so tiny, so here’s an attempt at a drawing; the gouges are at the arrow:

Ratchet.jpg

This is true of all five charge holes. Of course I’ve looked for a replacement extractor but they’re made of unobtanium and would require hand fitting besides. So either I don’t shoot this old girl or I find some help.

The fix, it appears to me, would be to weld new metal into the gouges and then resurface. And then surface harden of course. The filing and hardening I’m willing try, but the weld job would be a nightmare, unless there’s a way to lay down a bead a tenth of a millimeter wide.

Or, I could round off the corners of the chisel point and hope for the best. Ugh.

Your suggestions would be most welcome!
 
It's an Iver Johnson 5 shot .32 top break revolver. US Revolver was a Trade name. There are lots of them around, you can probably buy a whole parts gun at a gunshow for $50 or less. Here's your part, complete with cylinder, in stock at Numrich, for $44.10. https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/490170A
Unobtanium. Harrumph.

These things or something very nearly the exact same thing appear like some sort of fungus at the local pawn shops around here.

I've been tempted to get one but they all look so janky and the price kinda screams ''No!"
Everyone seems to ask very nearly new gun prices on even the crappiest things but these are pretty consistently cheap so it kinda spooks me. Too bad a top Break revolver is one of those things that sounds like fun.

But back on topic I have no trouble believing you could find a donor to Frankenstein together a workable solution.
 
I have quite a bit of experience repairing and rebuilding old Ivers, H&Rs, Meridens and trade names there of. I've seen them function fine with pretty worn ratchets. I doubt the ratchet is your issue; more likely, someone tried to built up a worn cylinder stop lug and went too far, causing the lug to bind the cylinder.

More importantly, that's a black powder gun, so even if made functional, not especially safe to shoot with modern ammunition. There is a way to graft a smokeless upper to it, but it's very involved, not worth it when you can buy a smokeless powder 3rd model Iver or smokeless H&R auto ejector for around $100
 
Yes it's probably black powder, although information on that is contradictory. I have Goforth's book on the way, perhaps that'll clear things up. But black my reloads shall be. Safety first.

To Entropy, OrangeCat and others: yes whole cylinder assemblies are available, but all I need is the extractor. Seems kind of a waste to toss the cylinder, when some future fellow who may need that cylinder will almost certainly need its extractor too. But if I see a hopeless cylinder with a maybe-OK extractor, I'll bid on it.
 
...more likely, someone tried to built up a worn cylinder stop lug and went too far, causing the lug to bind the cylinder.

Thanks MachIV, I hadn't thought of that, and just now a little work with a smoky candle is showing bright deep drag marks right when the round thingy begins to bind. (The trigger is a replacement BTW.) And just before, and once helped past that point, it turns freely with the hand still in contact.
 
Yes it's probably black powder, although information on that is contradictory. I have Goforth's book on the way, perhaps that'll clear things up. But black my reloads shall be. Safety first.

The stop notch cuts are the giveaway on the Iver guns. The smokeless models have smaller, two-feature cuts, and the lug is not part of the trigger. Smokeless models also have a coil main spring.
 
The stop notch cuts are the giveaway on the Iver guns. The smokeless models have smaller, two-feature cuts, and the lug is not part of the trigger. Smokeless models also have a coil main spring.

Are these things true of the US Revolver substitutes? I've read elsewhere that IJ didn't start the USR brand until 1910 and that all USR's are smokeless. I've also read that IJ used up old BP parts in making USRs. That's why I said, "contradictory."
 
Since the US Revolver top break line was made of Safety Hammer 2nd model parts, and the 2nd model was a BP gun, I find the internet claims that all USRs are smokeless rated to be dubious. A safe bet for solid frame models, but I have always treated the top breaks as IJ Second Model guns.

Of course, tens of thousands of BP top breaks have been subjected to smokeless loads over the last century & change, including higher pressure .32 ACP, and we really don't hear of them blowing up. I have a bunch of these critters, and I do shoot very light smokeless loads even through my First Model guns, but I have worked all of mine to ensure proper timing & lock up, and I know & accept the risk of what I'm doing.
 
Anything is repairable, my fix for that one would be to put in into a nice deep glass covered frame and hang it on a wall.

The cost to have someone knowledgeable repair it would be more than it’s value. In other words you could go buy a working one for less than the repair would cost.

Here is a nice one with at $89.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/807617134
 
Thanks MachIV, I hadn't thought of that, and just now a little work with a smoky candle is showing bright deep drag marks right when the round thingy begins to bind. (The trigger is a replacement BTW.) And just before, and once helped past that point, it turns freely with the hand still in contact.

UPDATE: A little work with a diamond hone this AM took about 12 thousandths off the stop lug and freed things up nicely. Thanks to MachIV for setting me on the right path! Now if I am ever accosted by an angry duck I'll be able to defend home & country. :p
 
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