Check hammer/nipple clearence.

[Desmond]

So, after years without the smell of black powder smoke I bought a Uberti 1851 Navy from Dixie. Beautiful gun, smooth and tight.

In the process of removing a couple of burrs from the hammer channel that were marking the hammer I got to wondering how I could check and see if the hammer was making contact with the nipples. I know you don't want the hammer to physically touch the nipple, just almost. I took a piece of paper and held it over a nipple and the hammer cut a nice little hole in the paper. So, I'm open for suggestions, replace the nipples ? Shorten them ? I doubt I could be that accurate.

Thanks for the information.

Des547

 

[Zonie]

If it bothers you a lot you could remove the nipples and then grind the top of the cone.

Do this with a whet stone and hand pressure because you really don't want to remove much.
Just enough so the hammer won't try to cut thru the piece of paper.

Leaving the nipples like they are shouldn't hurt anything as long as the gun is not 'dry fired' without a cap on the nipple.

The soft copper cap will cushion the hammer blow.

 

[necchi]

Leaving the nipples like they are shouldn't hurt anything as long as the gun is not 'dry fired' without a cap on the nipple.

The soft copper cap will cushion the hammer blow.

I'm with that, If it ain't broke don't fix it.

If you see any difficulties after 144 shot's you can make adjustments.
I have that gun, and the only thing I've done is plug the hole in the hammer with JB Weld like many advise,
but I just checked and mine does not, cut a piece of printer paper, :idunno: it leaves an impression but doesn't cut.

 

[George T.]

I agree that shooting the revolver will probably show -there is no problem. I bet that this pretty common. If the high nnipple flattens out you may need to remove the flange. Enjoy that Navy aren't they pretty! Geo. T.

 

[pargent]

That is perfectly normal DONOT touch the nipples, if you do or have already there will be fail to fire issues down the road .

 

[Desmond]

Thanks gentlemen. I plan to order a set of Treco nipples in the next few weeks and soon as the weather warms up a bit I'll see how this '51 shoots.

Des

 

[M. De Land]

I have found that most of the nipples that come on the guns need to be tuned up a bit on the lathe but work as well as any of the after market ones afterwords. MD

 

And ifn you don't have a lathe handy, try this:

You will need masking tape, a power drill, a fine grain knife sharpening stone, dishsoap, a percussion cap and a small amount of water. I generally do this job at the kitchen sink when the little lady isn't home.

First wrap the threads of the nipple to be honed with masking tape. Two to three wraps should do the trick. Once that is done, chuck the threaded end of the nipple in the power drill. Now put a small amount of dishsoap, mixed with a couple of drops of water, on your stone. Making sure you match the original angle of the cone and with the drill on low, careful not to overheat your nipple, slowly turn the cone side of the nipple on your stone. Don't over do it, keep stopping every so often to use the cap as a guage to ensure a proper fit.

Once you are sure that you have a proper fit, be sure to clean the nipple thoroughly and that the vent is clear of debris. Remove masking tape, dry, oil and install on your gun. I use a little plumber's teflon tape to install mine. If you try this, make sure you don't cover the vent hole.

Repeat five times.

Like I said, it entails a little effort to get it right