About 15 years ago I bought a Gun-Ho box. I didn't
like the idea of the separate, big, spring clamp
others were using to keep their pistol boxes open,
so I designed a strut that stays with the box. I've
had zero problems with the strut over that period of
time, so I thought I'd share it. The strut is thick
on one side so that it rotates by gravity into place.
To release it, just push in.
The upper cantilever is thinned out to make it
springy in case the box cover gets bumped. You
can connect the strut to the upper cantilever using
either a standard .250 shoulder screw or you can make
a bushing for a pivot. Ditto the lower cantilever.
I made aluminum bronze bushings, but obviously
virtually any material will do.
The first PDF below gives the rough dimensions of
the strut parts.
Some people ask where the strut disappears to. That's
what the second PDF shows. As you can see from the
frames in the center of the page, the end of the strut
nearly runs into the upper rib on the sidewall of the
pistol box. You might consider changing some dimensions
if you think that could be a problem on your box.
I recommend putting the strut on the side of the box
which is away from you when you are at your shooting
bench. That will keep you from accidentally bumping
it in and causing the lid to fall down on you. You
could also redesign the strut so you have to pull it
out to release it.
Civil War revolvers
During the Civil War, the most common Union revolver
was the 1860 Colt army, the next most common was the
Remington New army, and the next most common was the
Starr single action army. There were many other makes
and models used in lesser quantities.
Below are some data from Norm Flayderman's guide and
from various other sources.
Colt Model 1851 Navy revolver 36 cal
manufactured 1850-1873
~215,000 made
Colt Model 1860 Army revolver 44 cal
manufactured 1860-1873
~200,000 made
Remington New Model Army revolver 44 cal
manufactured 1863-1875 (but 1858 patent line on barrel)
~122,000 made
Starr Single Action 1863 Army revolver 44 cal
1863-1865
~32,000 made
The Starr Arms Co. Double Action 1858 Army revolver
preceded the 1863, but was not reliable and so was
not suitable for military use.
The advantage of the Colts was that they were relatively
immune to fouling of the works due to a better cylinder
arbor. The Remington was more accurate and it was easier
to change a cylinder if a spare charged cylinder was on hand.
They were also much cheaper for the government to buy than
the Colts. The Starr had strength and mechanical reliability
problems, but had an easy system for changing cylinders.
The Starr was not alone in strength problems as some early
Colt revolvers also had a tendency to burst. An example
would be the model 1860 which was a 44 caliber revolver
designed on a small frame. The problem was mostly with
the steels of time. It is hard to imagine now that there
was a time when steel made in the US and other countries
was not flawless as it is now. At that time, only English
steel was made well enough for reliable guns.
Useful Civil War revolver links
Single-shot Percussion Pistols
