First off, I'm here because CockedandLocked is running around replying to every post on AR15 with a link to this board.  I give up.  I'm here.

Okay, this is a good site that was needed.
I just acquired a Mitchell Arms SAA 1873 'Peacemaker' in 45LC.
I know they're out of business and I think that they are Uberti except for the grips.

Where can I get any info on these guns?  I want to tart learning about the innards so that I can work on them.  I'm fairly advanced and understand all the issues...safety, reliablity, etc.
Any good diagrams, blow-ups, how-to's on these modern SAA's?

For now, I'm mostly interested in the cylinder stop timing.

By the way, this gun shoots a four-leaf clover @10 yards (with four shots, hehehe).  THey're over to the left, but that's a problem for another day.

Your in luck!  I hear that Jerry Kunhausen's new book Gunsmithing the Colt Single Actions, is either out or will be shortly.  Like all his books, this will be the best reference possible.
Check Brownell's or Midway for availability.

Quoted: First off, I'm here because CockedandLocked is running around replying to every post on AR15 with a link to this board.  I give up.  I'm here.

He is diligent, isn't he!  Glad you finally made it.

THey're over to the left, but that's a problem for another day.

You need to ask Striker about this.  He cured me of the leftest problem!

Update:

Faris, an excellent suggestion.  I scoped out all the books I could find and the Kuhnhausen book is amazing!  Absolutely complete about the Colt SAA AND clones.

After some homework I found out that Mitchell Arms, like Cimmaron and Uberti USA, are ALL distibutors for Uberti, ITALY(the manufacturer). (no direct link between Uberti USA & Uberti Italy)
So, all parts I need come from Uberti, USA.
I have had a great time taking apart my gun, studying it, and putting it back together.
My new questions are why my springs are all breaking.  My gun was NIB, but could be 10 or more years old.  My hand spring broke after the first 40 rounds, and now the bolt spring broke while in my hands fitting the new bolt.  I'm fitting a new bolt because the ne that was in there was timed completely wrong.On inspection, it was either a real butcher job or it was that worn down.  But my gun is New?  Time to call the local pistol licensing and do a search on this serial number to make sure it is a NEW gun.
Uberti says that this (the bolt spring) is the most common part to be ordered, but Kuhnhausen sayd that these springs, when properly made & tunes, hould last indefinitely.
What gives?  I need some more education here.
Ufortunatley, Uberti is backordered about 3 mos. for these springs.  Maybe Brownel's will have one in stock.
I just love a new adventure.  I cant wait to get y second SAA now.

Right now, Uberti is out of them and Brownell's gets theirs from Uberti.
If I knew who else makes a spring for Colt SAA's and/or their clones, I would appreciate the source.  I would gladly pay more to have a better spring.
I'm even thnking of starting to make my own.  The learning curve on leaf spring making shouldn't be too bad. The stock is easily available from Brownell's.
So, a source of good springs or any articles on spring making will do me just fine.  I'm OK in either direction.  I enjoy the hard road...it's usually the most rewarding.

Gee, there's an idea.
No, I actually didn;t think of that because I wasn't sure if the Colt & the Uberti bolt springs were the same dimension.  Some parts are the same, some are not.  I'm still feeling my way through this learning process.

I did, however, get a couple of them from Wolf.  The Wolfs are the same for both Colt & Uberti.
When I actually get them I will be able to tell if there are any dimensional differences.

I now want to make my own as my next adventure/hobby.

Okay, got my spring & other parts.
Time to go to work.
History:
Gun was NIB, Mitchel (Uberti) 1873 SAA, 4.75" barrel in 45 LC.
Gun shot well but had a pronounced cylinder ring.  The bolt was not picking up far enough to clear the cylinder at 1/2 cock, so the cylinder was riding the bolt during ejection & reloading.  Also, the bolt was dropping as soon as the hammer was pulled back from half-cock to full cock.  Hence, a cylinder ring. Time to change the bolt.

I did my homework and here's what happened:
I fitted a new bolt to the gun.  Lock up was perfect with zero play.  I even  got better cyinder-bore alignment than I had before.
I proceeded to time the bolt to the hammer cam, a ittle at a time.  I got a full (below the frame) bolt pick-up @ half cock. I was very happy at this point.  I then started to shorten the bolt arm to time the bolt drop.
The bolt was dropping at exactly the same time as the hammer was clicking into the full cock position.  Everything was perfect except I was getting cylinder throw-by with fast action.
I changed the hand spring (with a new Wolf) but that did not fix the problem. It certinly didn't hurt, though.
I shortened the bolt arm a little at a time to get the bolt drop just before hammer full cock and that helped a lot, but it will still throw-by with hard & fast action.  Also, when I got the bolt timed perfectly, I no longer get as deep a bolt pick-up at 1/2 cock.  I am now slightly above flush with the frame. It doesn't ride the cylinder but it's only a couple of thousands away.  I think the bolt is soft where I did the filing and as I cycle the action it is being worn a bit.  A couple of thousandths seems to make a big difference on the cam and bolt arm. I am thinking along the lines of hardening this bolt before I cycle it anymore, but I feel that I shouldn't have to. Th e thought of starting over again with another bolt (yes, I have one) is demoralizing but acceptable.

Okay, hit me with questions & comments. I need both.  This is tough work.

Love the single actions. I have three of them, two that were made by J.P. Sauer & Sohns and an old one that was most likely made in the early 30's by a company named Herbert Schmidt. Before WWII, the Colt Single Actions were the rage all over Europe.

Here are my SAA's. Top two are sauers, a 45LC and 44MAG. The bottom is my Schmidt in 357MAG.

A good source for info on these types of guns is the forum over at www.sassnet.com

Royce,

Back when I was playing at the CAS game, I found an old gunsmith who had trained with Ed McGivern. This old guy (in his 70s) understood the SAA. To solve my problems with the cylinder running by the bolt, he deepened the notches and fitted an oversized bolt. Understand, the deepening was slight and I didn't try to make a magnum out of it. In fact I was a black powder cartridge shooter so over pressure loads were not a problem.

You sound like enough of a gunsmith that this approach might help the throw by problem you're having.

Good luck,
Dave

PS: On many of the old junker SAAs I had him rebuild he would weld up the cylinder notches then re-cut them. He said the weld was stronger then they parent cylinder material and held up better. Just some more info to consider.