Fitting a new hand assembly

[ZVP]

 Errant cap debris got into my Pieitta .44 Colt and when I cocked the revolver for the next shot (I didn't see the debris) apparentlly the debris broke the hand spring.
 I ordered a new Hand from Dixie and to my suprise I need to "fit" the piece to my pistol.
 It appears that I need to grind an angle on one side and shorten the face in order to contact the cylinder rotation notches.
 Has anyone got any tips how to measure for this operation so I don't mess up my new part?
 How do you gauge the hand so the nose just rotates the cylinder and does not jam the cylinder,
 TIA
 ZVP

[kid buckskin]

i ll try to step by step this for you butfirst i like to compaire the two hands side by side look at the diffrence and angle of the old one after you have made shure it will work use an file and with both hands in a vice and file the hand not all the way now that you got it close install it in the gun and see if it will work the trick is to not take to much go slow if the hammer dose not cock then take the hand out and stone the filed surface when you get it to cock and i mean it will cock kinda hard go with the fine stone and work it tell it feals crisp and locks tight
if you go to far the cylender will shake so rember go slow it will take sevral tries to get it right

[ZVP]

Thanks Kid,
 This is my first repair and the way I look at it is that parts are less than 47  should I mess it up...
 Gonna go slow and try fitting many times.
 Still kind of worry as I want to get it right the first time since I like this bog old brass .44 it is a very good shooter and I want to keep it for some time to come!
 ZVP

[kid buckskin]

no prob sir glad i could help

[bubba.50]

you will also hafta harden the new part or it will wear right out in a couple cylinders full. for what it's worth and good luck neighbor, bubba.

[Flint]

If you harden it after getting it to fit and function, either remove the spring first, or protect the spring and just harden the nose.

[kid buckskin]

bubba and flint are compleaty right  sorry i missed a step when you file you will notce that the metal will hardly cut as you cut it the hard surface will ware off and you will end up with the top of the hand is soft and it will ware and fail( this is called case hardning as it is something like a case hard on the out side andsoft and ductail on the inside)
the solution is if you dont have a controled sorce of heat and the rite chemicals you cant do the case harding, if you had the money you could buy the rite stuff from brownells or dixie if not a reputable gun is your olny sorce of reprive
sorry i got all cault up in lala land i love working on guns so much so id start my own gunsmithing shop lol