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Gunsmithing the Belgian NOTE: This
information is intended as a resource only. Please have any modifications
checked by a reputable gunsmith before firing your Centaure. We can not and do not assume any responsibility or liability
for any modifications described on this site (Sorry - Judge Roy
Bean, Law West of the Pecos, made us say that). # Spare Parts &
Gunsmiths # Barrels # Bolt # Bolt/Trigger Spring # Cylinder # Grips # Hammer # Hand # Mainspring # Nipples # Trigger # Wedge |
“If the Belgian is together right it shoots real good” (respectfully
quoted from Rifle the Centaure Doc).
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Spare Parts & Gunsmiths:
many of those Belgian Colts offered these days at auctions or gun shows have
signs of many years of abuse in BP shooting. Often parts are worn and/or need
to be replaced. Since production of these pistols was terminated
1973 original spare parts are rare and would be a lucky find. Therefore,
sharing such information regarding sources for parts but also gunsmiths who
are experienced enough to make such parts or repair our Centennial Armies is
needed. On many occasions, however,
commercially available parts of Italian 1860 Army clones can be used with
little fitting. Waffenhaus am Bodensee GmbH Schanz Strasse 13 D-88045 Friedrichshafen Germany Telefon +49-75 41-37 71 66 Telefax +49-75 41-37 71 67 www.waffenhaus.de still has some
inventories of selected original Centaure spare parts. |
Consulting with gunsmiths very
knowledgeable with the repair, making or replacement of parts of the Belgians
is always a good idea. Below are a couple of suggestions from expert gunsmiths
and Centaure tinkerers from all around the globe. Most of these tricks of the
trade, however, are from this US expert C&B “hobbyist” gunsmith pictured
above (who happens to be an avid hunter, too). He goes by the alias of Rifle. Therefore, if
you have an issue with your Centaure and happen to be on the Western side of
the big pond then Rifle can supply some “advice”. Reach him by email rifleo@localnet.com
# Barrels: barrels of Uberti can
be used for replacements to Centaures but … a new arbor may have to be fitted
or some welds may need to be strategically placed on top of the original arbor
to tighten the fit of a replacement barrel to the smaller diameter Centaure
arbor.
The alignment of the bore of the barrel to the chambers is a thing to
check to properly fit a replacement barrel to a Centaure.
# Bolt: competent gunsmiths make
replacement bolts from scratch, or use bolts from Pietta and make them work
nicely in a Centaure.
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Bolt/Trigger Spring: Uberti springs for SAAs, Armies, Navies or OTs will usually work.
Aftermarket piano wire springs might work better if you wish to use your
Centaure in CAS activies.
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#8105 with fluted Italian replacement cylinder |
Replacement cylinder for #8105 marked 76
on breechside |
# Cylinder: if a functional replacement is
needed Uberti cylinders will work with some fitting but have a chamber diameter
that will be at least .005 inch bigger than the groove diameter of the Centaure
barrel. Since the guns fire round balls that have a short bearing surface in
contact with the barrel interior that can be done.
A Pietta cylinder is the right chamber diameter being only about .001
inch bigger than the barrel groove diameter and can be modified to fit a
Centaure. The ratchets at the rear have to be reduced in diameter to fit the
Centaure.
# Grips: to remove the
protective shellac from the grip applied by the Belgian factory but also to
clean old worn grips a good wipe with some steel wool soaked with ethyl alcohol
works for me.
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Once the wood has dried
I give it further treatment with dry steel wool before an application of
Schaftol or linseed oil as a protection and to enhance the grain structure.
Repeat application as needed, use steel wool between applications until the
surface has the desired level of smoothness and silkiness.
# Hammer: a Pietta hammer can be
fixed to work in a Centaure.
# Hand: a Pietta hand can be
used with some tinkering.
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Mainspring: the original factory mainsprings are of the heavy duty, stiff kind.
They were installed at the Belgian factory for good reasons:
·
positive ignition of the caps even under adverse conditions
·
not letting the hammer moving backwards some when the gases
came back through the nipples, to prevent
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chain-fires from badly fitting caps, but more important
·
misalignment of chamber and barrel if the bolt leg is close to the
hammer cam the cylinder can be moved by the hand upon firing. That would set
the chamber alignment off too much before the ball is out and make the pistol
shoot…”suboptimal” with hits spread all over the target.
Uberti mainsprings will usually work without fitting.
However, theirs is weaker than the original. That’s why the expert gunsmiths
rather “reanimate” a dead original spring, or work down a heavy
duty Dragoon spring and make it fit to the Centaure.
Please, consider these experiences of US master gunsmith
Rifle: “Revitalize” a weak or over-bent
original spring back to proper shape and function?”
“You can bend it if
you soften it by heating it red and letting it air cool slow. Then after it's
bent heat it red and throw it in water then polish it off some and heat it till
it turns blue and let it air cool.”
“If that doesn't work
on the type of spring steel then maybe you can file to size a Dragoon spring to
fit the Belgian unless it's as short as an Uberti 1860 spring then use the
Uberti.”
# Nipples: before you can replace
worn or burned out nipples you have to get them out of the cylinder pocket
which often is an issue. This wooden board with the 2 hardwood pins might be a
useful little helper in this process.
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However, even with the best nipple
wrench you are at a loss when the nipples are nicely baked into the threads
because this previous owner of your Centaure never cleaned that pistol
properly. And penetrating oil, application of heat and/or cold gets you only so
far when the nipples are really stubborn and uncooperative.
Here is what Rifle is
suggesting in such a situation:
"It's
the downward pressure that's the trick.”
“Use the drill press
to get out stuck nipples. The drill press is not turned on. The drill press is
used only to exert downward pressure on the nipple wrench so it doesn't slip
off the nipple.”
“The spindle or chuck
with the nipple wrench in it is turned by hand to loosen the nipple.”
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Doing
it Rifle’s way... |
…4 stubborn
nipples stuck in #4612 |
…tough job for Lucasia
FROCS #18 |
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3 nipples have surrendered, one to go |
The
deed is done! |
Great
job, thanks Lucasia |
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Not
all of us cowboys & cowgirls are lucky, own or have access to sophisticated
machinery in our gunsmith shop like Lucasia or Rifle. Or they are not
comfortable using such hightech equipment like me. Often it will be necessary
to do the job using available rudimental tools only. Here is what works well
for me.
I start with a Caveat, however: this
method is very functional but be aware that the fix of the wrench on the nipple
will be a fragile one!
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Step 1: fix the board to
your bench |
Tools recommended (left picture) are #1
the afore mentioned board with the 2 hardwood pins, #2 a solid C-clamp
(vise), #3 a perfect fitting, ideally flat headed quality nipple
wrench (round head will work, too but you have to be more careful that it is
not slipping from under the vise), #4 just in case a tube of some kind that
can be slipped over the handle of the nipple wrench as an extension of the
lever, to apply more torque if needed. Here we go: |
Step 2: position your cylinder on the guiding
pins of the board, breech side up
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Step 3: place your nipple wrench on the frozen
nipple |
Step 4: solidly fix the wrench with the C-clamp |
Particular
care must be taken that the wrench is in a straight upward 90° position all the
time!
Adjust counter-pressure of C-clamp as the
nipple is coming loose. As per Rifle’s recommendations the C-clamp is only
needed to exert the downward pressure on the nipple wrench.
Once the old nipple is out commercially
available nipples from Pietta are of the same thread size as the Centaures,
namely 6 mm-.75. Use lathe to turn shoulder of cones
to match the nipple rebate in cylinder. Cone threads are longer, may need to
use tap of same 6 mm-.75 threads to extend threads in cylinder, or shorten the threads
of the nipple if it is possible without enlarging the ignition hole in the
nipple. Shorten top of cones to match Centaure’s lengths for caps.
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Step 5: turn lever of wrench slowly and
carefully to loosen the frozen nipple, a tenth of a
mm or inch at the time. Use extension on handle of wrench as needed. |
Alternatively you may
want to consider installung newly fabricated beryllium nipples made for
Centaures. They are available from Vorderlader-Shop Jürgen Achenbach Bombergstraße 21 D-35713 Eschenburg Germany Phone/Telefon +49-2774-72122 Fax +49-2774-918810 www.vorderlader-shop.de |
# Removal of frozen screws: use same technique that worked to loosen the nipples!
Instead of the nipple wrench fix a bit of the right size and a proper fitting
spanner as lever. The removal of the uncooperative screw will probably require
some fixing and stabilizing to secure the 90° upright position of the bit!
# Trigger: can be made from a
Pietta (for cases where a long one is needed) or Uberti trigger (although
longer than the Centaure trigger, can be used if the long length is not needed)
with some fitting and contouring.
# Wedge: take the measurements of the hole for the wedge in
barrel lug and arbor. With these measurements
in mind get a replacement
wedge from Uberti (best fit: a hair
narrower at the rear, works good), or Pietta
(fit would work but rear narrower than Uberti).
~ASM (went through too easy)
and ASP/Euroarms (went right
through) cannot be recommended.
Re-contouring an oversized wedge to proper size
might be easier than fixing shim to an undersize wedge.
The front of the arbor’s slot can be welded and re-filed to make a slot
narrower so that a narrower than original wedge available from the factory made
replacement or another manufacturer can be used and providing available
replacements in the future.
This list will be amended as
additional gunsmithing trade tricks become available. You may also want to
check the Centaure Forum since further information might have been posted
there.
WDN/November
10, 2011
© 2007-11
Wolf D. Niederastroth