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August 8, 2016
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So a quick backstory, I had a case head separation last month in my Palmer 744.
23.5 gr H110
.431" 240 gr Zero JSP
Remington brass that has been fired many times. Unsure of the amount.
The chambers are very rough which didn’t help. The brass gets stuck in the chamber and cannot move back against the frame.
So I decided to send it to Bob for reaming/honing. Just got off the phone with Bob. "Is this Andrew? I got some bad news with your revolver"
Apparently he cannot salvage my cylinder. He says the cylinders are already oversized and if he were to ream/hone them, it would be even worse.
He thinks someone previously reamed the cylinders and didn't do the best job. He also said the throats on a couple of the cylinders were slightly oversized. Says these all could play a role in the case head separation.
So the bad news was that he said with parts (not just the cylinder needs to be replaced) labor and shipping I'm looking at $310!!! OUCH. This is the worst time to be spending that kind of money. He said the only good news is that it will be 4+ weeks before he gets around to it so that might give me time to save up some $. Ugh.
I'm actually surprised he said it was oversized and not undersized. I had a hell of a time hammering a bullet through the cylinder a couple months ago when I was trying to figure out if a jacketed .431" would work in this gun. Hopefully Bob isn't lying to try and get some quick money out of me....
I've shot probably 1,000+ rounds without any problems aside from that one separation.
He says he replaces probably a dozen cylinders a year. Damn this sucks especially near Christmas...
February 16, 2016
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Andrew1220 said
Hopefully Bob isn't lying to try and get some quick money out of me....
With 4+ weeks of backlog service work, I seriously doubt it very much. The integrity of the Dan Wesson factory and their employees have been exemplary in all my dealings. CZ not so much.
August 8, 2016
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Stinger said
Andrew1220 said
Hopefully Bob isn't lying to try and get some quick money out of me....With 4+ weeks of backlog service work, I seriously doubt it very much. The integrity of the Dan Wesson factory and their employees have been exemplary in all my dealings. CZ not so much.
Yeah I doubt it too. I guess I'm just a little sour/frustrated after hearing the news...
Doesn't seem like a common problem from what I can gather on the interwebs.
February 16, 2016
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Andrew1220 said
Doesn't seem like a common problem from what I can gather on the interwebs.
It isn't a common problem, because it was caused by a previous owner or gunsmith, which is probably why it was sold. You yourself said "the chambers are very rough" and Bob said "the cylinders are already oversized".
Maybe you could bore the cylinder out for a .45 Long Colt and buy a new .45 caliber barrel tube?
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Dans Club
March 25, 2013
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Stinger, that is a great idea! May even be able to recoup the value of repairs. DW large frame can handle those Buffalo Bore loads. Or shoot cowboy loads. Have it cut for moon clips and have more options. Rowland 460, 45 Super, 45 Win Mag, 45 acp.
Get an unmarked shroud from EWK or have it marked 45 Colt.
August 8, 2016
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Stinger said
It isn't a common problem, because it was caused by a previous owner or gunsmith, which is probably why it was sold. You yourself said "the chambers are very rough" and Bob said "the cylinders are already oversized".
Maybe you could bore the cylinder out for a .45 Long Colt and buy a new .45 caliber barrel tube?
Doh! That’s right 
It shoots well so hopefully all it needs is a fresh cylinder and it’s good for a long long time!
Did DW ever have 45 cal revolvers? Just reminded me, I should definitely tell Bob to ship the old parts with the gun so I can maybe sell them and recoup some bit of money.
August 8, 2016
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While it’s with Bob I told him to take a look at the action. It’s fairly hard to cock the hammer. Almost like it hits a wall just before it cocks completely. Bob said it may be really dirty inside or it may need new springs. He hasn’t taken a good look at the internals yet. I’ll find out next month when he works on it.
I have a Monson 715 that’s really easy to cock the hammer. Wasn’t sure with the large frame guns, if the larger moving parts creates more resistance? Thoughts?
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Dans Club
December 4, 2011
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DW did make a 45 long Colt as well as the 460 Rowland, both not super common.
Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
My father
If a man designed it, and a man built it, then a man can fix it.
My grandfather
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February 22, 2009
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They look like:
Got as close to duplicate SN#s as I could...
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
August 8, 2016
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I just sent an email to Bob asking if I can get the cylinder unfluted. That would be nice if I could since I’m spending all this money. It would look really cool I think.
August 8, 2016
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rwsem said
They look like:
Got as close to duplicate SN#s as I could...
Damn that is cool! That’s got to be quite rare. Had no idea they made them in 45LC.
February 16, 2016
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Andrew1220 said
Had no idea they made them in 45LC.
That is why I made the suggestion .. they got the skills and the parts. Spare Parts may even have a correctly etched shroud. Would be a cool upgrade.
August 8, 2016
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Stinger said
That is why I made the suggestion .. they got the skills and the parts. Spare Parts may even have a correctly etched shroud. Would be a cool upgrade.
Would be cool but I have no desire to get into 45LC. Money is super tight as well.
August 8, 2016
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Bob just confirmed with me that he has unfluted cylinders in stock! He asked me if I wanted one and I said YESS! of course!
That will help ease the pain
February 16, 2016
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June 8, 2009
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As to changing the caliber from 44 to 45LC: I thought in the small frames the barrel/frame connection, threads/shank size?, is different between calibers so folks can not install a wrong barrel tube onto a frame. Is this not true of the large frames?
August 8, 2016
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LeonardC said
As to changing the caliber from 44 to 45LC: I thought in the small frames the barrel/frame connection, threads/shank size?, is different between calibers so folks can not install a wrong barrel tube onto a frame. Is this not true of the large frames?
Good point. I'm not sure about that.
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May 11, 2011
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February 16, 2016
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LeonardC said
As to changing the caliber from 44 to 45LC: I thought in the small frames the barrel/frame connection, threads/shank size?, is different between calibers so folks can not install a wrong barrel tube onto a frame. Is this not true of the large frames?
Correct .. that is a 'gotcha' with my idea and somewhat problematic, for the end user.
Not for the factory.
August 8, 2016
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Just got my tracking number for the revolver. Be here Thursday! Can't wait!
Also just got off the phone with Bob and he said they have less than 30 of these unfluted cylinders left and once they're gone and they're gone forever. He says it would be a big undertaking to get a dedicated CNC machine and write a new program etc just for these cylinders. Pretty cool to get one of these.
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