Colt 1892 with Loose Lock Up/Crane Help

[Glockfu]

I was taking a look at one of my Colt 1892's today and was trying to figure out why the lock up on this one was so loose. I think the majority of the problem is that the Crane which holds the cylinder is fitting a bit loose. When I have the clylinder in the closed position and wiggle the cylinder, I can see the Crane seperate from the frame. I think this is what is causing 50% or more of the play in the cylinder. This happens also when I cock the revolver and when I hold the trigger down putting the revolver in the firing position.

All numbers match on this revolver so I don't want to try replacing the crane. Is there a way to fix this?

[trap4570]

Yes it can be fixed. There are some gunsmiths around that specialize in older guns and have the knowledge to fix the problem. I will not venture to guess the past of this Colt, but I have repaired many in the past that were damaged by flipping the cylinder back into the frame as was common on television years back. I would do a search on the net to see who repairs older revolvers or ask a local gunsmith their opinion. Re-tweaking the crane alone may not fix the problem since their may be some wear in both the hand and cylinder lock. I would be sure to choose a person who knows these older guns since re-timing the action is not for the beginner. Once repaired and proper loads used - it is a real pleasure to shoot.

[A1A]

prices

[Glockfu]

I know of a local gunsmith that can definitely do this but I wanted to give it a go myself. I always wanted to learn how to work on these things and the only way learn is to try it!

If I completely screw it up then I'll bring it to him but if I'm going to bring it to him I might as well try and fix it myself since I would like to learn anyways. Does anyone know exactly what I would do to fix this? My first assumption would be to make the crane fit tighter to take out the slop but I don't know how one would go about doing this.

[trap4570]

Tall order since the cause of the problem is unknown IE. bent or worn. The best place to start is measuring all the parts and look for wear. New parts have to be stone honed to fit correctly. In most cases special jigs were used to be certain of proper alignment of crane to frame and to ensure one or both were not bent. Some internal parts need to be hardened after fitting if they are new - if used they have to be annealed and re-hardened. I hate to sound like the fly in the ointment, but it took me a long time to learn how to properly do it. You might get lucky tinkering with it and tweek it just right to get it back - hard to say. If you are intent on attempting it I would take the frame and crane to a machine shop and have them measure the alignment if they can. A special pin will need to be turned to go through the crane to the lockup to check that part. The list just goes on. To have a gunsmith that specializes in these older guns the cost runs from 50 to 200 bucks depending on what is needed.