Cylinder removal questions

[twaits]

When removing the extractor rod from a colt revolver is this tool necessary:

ADJUSTABLE EXTRACTOR SUPPORT - Brownells

or can you just put some empty cases in the cylinder to do the same thing?

Also, this tool is also mentioned:

COLT CRANE BUSHING TOOL - Brownells

I'm assuming this tool is also needed when removing the cylinder from the crane.
Never done it before so I don't know.

[dfariswheel]

I always just used some cut off cases for a support. I always used three. I cut off three fired de-primed .38 cases to about half length and painted the heads red.

The bushing tool is mostly needed on the older type Colt cylinder assembly. On the old style, you have to unscrew the ejector from the rod, and this leaves the rod in the crane.
The only way to get the ejector spring out is to use the bushing tool that fits over the rod and into the slots on type bushing.
You can also use it on the new style assembly.

On the newer style rods in which you unscrew the ejector rod, the rod is out so you can use a standard gunsmith's screwdriver to unscrew the bushing.
I recommend using a Brownell's Magna-Tip that fits the slot in the bushing and fits inside the crane barrel.
Use a stone to round off the edges of the sides of the driver to prevent damaging the inner sides of the crane barrel.

NOTE: The forum is still screwing up and duplicating words for some reason. This time it put in more than one word and won't allow fixing it.
It should read that I used three cut off de-primed .38 cases

[twaits]

Thanks dfaris,

At some point down the road I'm looking to cut down an older Police Positive Special (1908-1923 or so) then tear it down for plating. I don't think I will have the extractor star plated. So is the bushing present on these years of PPS?

Also I was concerned about the thickness of the plating and the sideplate. Another forum member said he replated a gun and left the sideplate and screws in and that worked just fine. What do you think about this?
I had a .45 auto parts gun nickel plated by a company here in Maine called Silvex. It was a while ago but I think they asked me how thick to go with the plating. I had no idea so I went with whatever they recommended. I had to hone the frame rail down slightly to get the slide to work properly but it wasn't too bad. A revolver is a whole different animal though.

Thanks for all your help.

[twaits]

Dfaris,

I have Dave Chicoines antique firearms disassembly book and I see that I do need the little bushing removal tool, so disregard that question above. Thanks again!

[rhmc24]

Here are a couple tools I made to disassemble my NS project. The star tool is on a piece of angle iron about 7" long. The nut spanner is mostly a lathe job took about 45 min.

[A1A]

When attempting to remove the crane bushing, do so with care. If it is tight or corroded, it is easy to damage the rather fragile tool and/or the slots in the bushing. Do not use much force before backing off and soaking the crane in solvent or Kroil. Actually, it is not a bad idea to just do it. It is also possible that you might not be able to remove the bushing at all if it is badly corroded.

[twaits]

Thanks all!

[dfariswheel]

The most risky part of disassembly of the older style cylinder assemblies is the ejector.
The threads were often stressed during assembly, and the rod was staked in the rear of the ejector. This makes for a risk of cross threading or just refusing to screw back on straight because of the stressed and staked rod and ejector.

I had a few that just refused to screw back on correctly no matter how careful I was.
In those cases, I cleaned up the threads in the ejector with a tap and the threads on the ejector with a die.
Even then I had to be careful about getting the tap or die on straight.
One trick is to insert the tap into the rear of the ejector where the threads are usually okay to get it started.
On the rod it's take your best shot.

For plating the side plate there's some tricks. One is to mask the edges of the side plate and the frame recess and not plate them at all.
This may leave exposed bare metal that you can see, depending on how carefully the masking job was done.
Another it to install the side plate, which more or less serves the same purpose and usually works better then masking.
Still another is to go ahead and plate everything then use light abrasives to carefully thin the plating on the plate edges until it'll seat.
I suspect this is how Colt did it.

[twaits]

Another thing I just noticed is that I need this to get the ratchet off:

COLT WRENCH - Brownells

[A1A]

A six point socket also works.