MAS 1873 Revolver

[Patrick Chadwick]

Well, provided you don't tell anybody else, I'll let you into a little secret: I have used silver solder 1) to repair a hammer, where the striker was FUBAR and 2) to build up a pawl that was only about 1/2 mm short.


In no 2) I reckoned that adding such a tiny piece of steel was going to be extremely fiddly, so in a fit of creative laziness I just popped a blob of silver solder onto the end of the pawl and filed it to shape.

Yes I know that's not the correct thing to do, worthy of Ali Bubba, and truly guys, I will do it properly ... some day ... In the meantime, the provisional solution is still working. It is visibly wearing and was only intended to last long enough to test out the revolver and then do the job properly ... but an old German saying is that nothing lasts as long as a provisional solution. Very true in this case. Definitely good enough for a try-out.


BTW, silver solder is quite strong enough. In this application it is only subjected to a light pressure. It is more elastic than a weld, and is easier to dismantle and redo if you get it wrong. Just keep the bottom end of the pawl in a heat sink so that the bearing pin is not softened.


As for the "finger" of the pawl: as mentioned previously, such parts were made of carbon steel (not carbon tool steel - which would be too brittle - but nevertheless hardenable) as when it has cooled down, the pawl will still be hard enough for its job.


And there is a very good reason why the pawl should be a bit malleable - but I am on holiday in the Internet backwoods, and you will just have to watch this space for further explanations.