Puzzle

Mak, do you have access to pin gauges or even a caliper to measure the sticky chamber area? It should be readily apparent if the extractor section is slightly larger causing a sticking case. The length of the chamber to the throat may be a touch shorter than the other five since it was rebored. It may be possible to measure this using the end of the caliper that extends and compare it to the other chambers. Does an empty case chamber freely or is it just loaded rounds? The calipers can give a rough approximation of the chamber diameter but the best way would be with some pin gauges or an inside micrometer, since it may be tight just in one spot somewhere in the chamber. If you know a machinist it would be an easy job. Is the chamber possibly bulged or dented, even a little bit that isn't readily noticeable could be a problem. Just some suggestions, hope they help. Chris 

No, Chris, I don't have pin gauges or an inside mic. Would doubtless help a lot if I did!
Empty sized brass has the same snag/hang up as loaded brass. Factory ammunition exhibits the same tendencies, including Black Hills, and Winchester Super X, with the exception of the new 45 Colt Leverevolution from Hornady, which will not fully seat at all-period, and the Remington 225 SWC, which slips in without effort. As an aside, Leverrev. rounds chamber easily in a .45 Colt cylinder that was chambered for such from the factory.

I do have a factory crimp die, and was considering finish sizing with this to see if brass could be squeezed small enough to fit.
455 Eley, which is essentially identical to 455 Webley, and 475 Enfield, has a larger diameter bullet at .456"than the Colt at .452"-.454", but actually sits in a smaller diameter brass case than the 45 Colt. The Eley rim is larger in diameter than the Colt, but MUCH thinner. Colt brass sitting in the recut cylinder is actually somewhat recessed. I do not wish to sacrifice positive ejection for ease in loading. With the Lyman 454190 over 8.0 grs of Unique with a Winchester primer this load will outshoot any factory ammo tried thus far-superior in both power and accuracy.

Ultimately, I would like for all six chambers to behave with equal aplomb.  I suppose I should find some money to invest in new tools!

Mak, sorry, I am an old machinist and sometimes forget not everyone has the tools that I have accumulated over the years. I forgot to ask, what type of gun is this and can the cylinder be removed? If so it might be worth having someone who works on cylinders to check it and ream it as needed. I seem to remember the name "Cylindersmith" as someone doing that type of work but I am sure there are many smiths who do also. I understand your reluctance to mess up a great old gun but perhaps it may be an easy job, who knows? Anyway, I hope you can get someone to help. Chris

I went and took a good long look, and lo and behold-the extractor is not set-it will turn independent of the cylinder. There is no obvious method I can see to eliminating this movement, but it-the extractor-has turned just enough that it was increasingly difficult to chamber cartridges. Chris, if you, or anyone else has any idea of how to keep a star extractor from turning, I'd love to hear it!
Anyhow, after locating the extractor carefully, it even chambers those high tech leverevolution rounds!

Mak, glad you figured out the problem. Now a cure. I still don't know what kind of gun you have but in my limited experience (standard disclaimer so no one thinks I'm an expert) on most double action revolvers the extractor is screwed to the ejector rod and it is usually hard to unscrew if it has never been disassembled before. Possibly your extractor is loose and it needs to be screwed in tighter or maybe it should be unscrewed and checked for damage or stripped threads then reassembled until it is properly lined up and tight. If you are unsure try the schematics at Gun Parts and see if you can determine how your gun's extractor is put together. this shouldn't be too difficult a problem to fix but may need some care trying to take it apart or put it back together. If it is threaded, loctite is always a solution but it may make it real difficult to take apart in the future, I would only do that in a last resort situation. Let me know what you find out. Chris

Chris,You are right!
I kept looking at my rather primitive schematic, and was convinced that the ejector plate-the one the stars are set onto, that actually physically ejects the cartridges, was moving due to a loosening of the pins that hold the stars onto the plate. Ha! Wrong! You are correct, the entire assembly is threaded into the ejector shaft. Hats off to you, my friend.
Now, a question, which loctite is the lighter duty-red, or blue? I don't want to fuse the thing together-in fact, I will attempt to avoid loctite entirely, but if I need to resort to it, would prefer the lighter duty formula.

Blue is supposed to be removable with hand pressure while red is supposed to be only removable with heat applied. I don't use it much but I think the last tube I used was blue. It should say on the package if you are buying it.  Usually if the threads are clean and not stripped it should tighten nicely and not loosen for some time, I would only caution to be careful to not strip the threads by overtightening. On the spring loaded extractors the spring sometimes gets in the way and prevents proper tightening so it has to be assembeld carefully and then tightened. Glad that is the solution to your puzzle. Hope you get it fixed and show some pics of the gun and how it shoots. Chris

...forms a very hard crystal for a permanent assembly. A regular old heat gun is plenty hot enough for red removal, my friend Gunter suggested on of those laser temp readers, 650 deg F to avoid overheating if using a propane torch. The blue remains a soft powdery crystal and makes for easy disassembly. I have used red several time to "glue" parts together that have a friction fit (or slightly less ) when to lazy to sweat them.  But I digress. Try blue first, as Chris suggests.
Al

Here she is...

Very nice Mak! How does it shoot now? Chris

That's a great looking old Colt.  Looks like fun.
Brian

Hi Mak, was referring to the extractor and cylinder now if you fixed it, not how accurate it is. Chris

Will provide pertinent details as time allows.

First time out of using Loctite did not hold, sooo-took a very special, technical tool (a clean Q-Tip) and really went over the threads to clean all the goo out of there, before resorting to a healthy drop of Loctite Red.

Relying on another Q-Tip or two to control the overflow, I threaded the plate to what seemed to be the best position , checked once more for overspill, and let her set all weekend.
The good news is that for once I guessed right, and the extractor alignment seems pretty darn close to perfect. Did have to resort to very light filing on the extractor of the problem chamber. Did so by first smoking two resized brass cases, and following where the smudge was scraped off. Both showed significant scraping along the cylinder wall-opposite of the extractor. I figured that this meant the extractor was pushing the brass against the outside of the chamber. About 20 min. of careful filing, to evenly remove just a little metal at a time, and then hand fit has resulted in the chamber happily accepting resized brass without a hiccup.
Checking just a little while ago, everything is green for an actual shoot-as soon as I get the time.

Mak, that sounds good and I'm glad you got it where it seems like it will work now. Good shooting from now on, that's a nice gun. Chris

MAK;
I had a New Service that I bought in Maine when I was going to university there in the '60's. I got it in a second hand store in Lincoln for $40. It said 455 Eley on the barrel and NWMP on the frame. It was  an old Mountie revolver. It had been rechambered to 45 Colt also. Shot great. I bought it instead of the S&W 1950 next to it because I had a ton of black powder 45 Colt cartridges but the S&W was in 44 Special.
Anyway, to the question at hand. As I remember, the extractor plate was held in location by a pin tha protruded from the rear of the cylinder. Look under the extractor and see if there isn't the remains of a pin there. Otherwise, perhaps the cylinder and/or the extractor may be a replacement. Anyway, it's a great piece if big iron.
Mike
 

MW-yep, you are right, but the pin did not work loose. Most likely, the gun just had a long rough haul through the trenches in France, and the extractor plate no longer tightened at the correct alignment. Never really noticed it until time came for a thorough cleaning-and side plate removal. So far, loctite red has solved the problem, and the extractor is cemented in place. I am wishing to set aside some time to squeeze off a few rounds, but life has me too busy!
Have been chided by people for actually doting over a gun that was rechambered. Last comment was, gosh, it'd probably be worth more if it was still in its original caliber. Frankly, I don't care what its worth, because to me, personally, it means one Hell of a lot just as it is. Without getting too personal, we both share a number of similar attributes, not the least of which are the scars from some tight spots. Anyhow, will report here when she gets a chance to go boom again.

MAK;
I think too many people get het up about altered guns. Heck, that was the thing to do from the '20's to the 80's. Think of all the Springfields that were made beautiful. I have one in 338-06 that I love. I chose the 03 action because it's light and sleek. I have a Mannlicher-Schoenauer that was made from a Greek in the 20's. It has a classic bolt mounted receiver sight and a Griffin and Howe side mounted scope. It's so light and handy, I would never give it up. I think most of the 'kids' today don't remember all the great guns made by alteration. I loved my old New Service 45 Colt. It shot well and had the fabulous Colt trigger. As happens too often, I sold it. Oh well, enjoy.
Mike

Well, here it is.
Squeezed in a little time after cutting a load of firewood to shoot 3 cylinders full-18 rounds, of some very old handloads. My hands are beat to pieces, so my less than stellar shooting was far worse than normal-a torso size target-a torn chunk of rotted old cardboard, one handed double action, at 22 + some, long paces. No bragging rights, but the repair worked fine. The Old Warrior is booming again.
It does somewhat amaze me, even today, that the 45 Colt with such humble stats, is such an authoritative round. The boom echoed up and down the canyon, and the bullets struck the backstop-an old stump, with pieces of wood and dust flying into the air.  Snow flurries and rolling clouds were the only witness today.

Mak, getting out to shoot is just plain fun, no matter what the circumstance! And I love the 45 Colt too, even though I tend to shoot mild loads. Glad it is working well for you. Chris

I guess I'm pretty much like everyone else here in that I love gettin out and just shootin. Life really seems to hem me in, and I don't have all that much time, but there are few things better than making an old can scream for mercy. My last shoot was again with the .45 Colt, this time with my Ruger. Sixgunner has for years it seems published a load of H4227 over a 250, and it is one that I really have come to like. It is powerful, without being too heavy in the recoil or muzzle blast arena. Don't use it in weaker guns, but in anything made with American steel that I have tried, it works fine. This time I was able to stand about 20 paces aft on the washed out road. I had changed out the grips, and this was my first crack at it. Took me a couple cylinders to get the feel, but by then I has one single round left. Chambering it, I pulled back the hammer, took aim, and ppprrrreeeesssssseeeedd the trigger. Crack! the old tin can, full of mud fell over just like a deader, with a big ol hole right through it. Dang that felt good!