Nipple Help

[jvasshotmail.ca]

I am still new to black powder shooting and am in need of some information.

I ordered a set of Treso nipples for my Uberti 1860 Army. I ordered the M5.5 x .9 Th. x .501 long nipples as this was what I understood would fit my revolver. But when I went to install them today they do not seem to fit. It seems like it is not the correct thread because as soon as you start to thread them in they bind. I didn't try too hard because I don't want to damage the threads in my cylinder. Did I order the wrong nipples?

 

[nhmoose]

I would say maybe. Are they in fact what was ordered?

What do the originals measure?

 

[jvasshotmail.ca]

Everything I could find online said this was the correct nipple and thread for the Uberti 1860. I ordered:

"Revolver-M5.5 x .9 Th. x .501 Long
Fits Reproduction Colt & Uberti Pistols".

And according to the package that's what I received.

 

[Flintfan69]

Italian revolvers are notorious for having undersized nipple threads. You might very well have the correct nipple, with the correct thread, but the female cylinder threads may be undersized.

You should be able to compare the new nipple to the originals. Hold the threaded portion of each nipple next to each other, and they should nest together perfectly. If they don't, then the pitch is off and the new nipple does not have the correct thread.

If the threads do align, and they still don't fit, the female threads in the cylinder are probably undersized. Lube the threads of the new nipple with some anti-seize and firmly try to turn them in with a good nipple wrench.

Don't over do it, but be firm. If it is obvious that it just isn't the right thread, stop, and other avenues will have to be explored. Such as sending an original nipple to a supplier so they can match one up.

Good luck.

 

[Zonie]

A older (2008) Dixie Gunworks catalog I have says the M5.5 X .9 threaded nipple is for,
Uberti 1851 & 1861 Navy, 1860 Army, 1862 Police and 1849 Pocket, Baby Dragoon and Remington .36 & .44.

A larger M6 X .75 nipple is for almost all of the other Italian made Cap & Ball revolvers except for the Walker and Colt Dragoons.

If your new nipples seem to be too large for the threaded holes in the cylinder I'd bet they sent you the M6 X .75 nipples by mistake.

This M6 X .75 is a fairly common metric thread so a trip to the local hardware store might be in order.
Select one of their M6 X .75 threaded nuts and try screwing the new nipples into it.
If it goes, you've found the problem.

If it seems the nipples you received are too small it's possible the cylinder came from another brand of pistol that uses the M6 size.

In any case, do not try to force the new nipples into the cylinder.

 

[1860 Army]

I too have a Uberti 1860 Colt and replaced the nipples with Treso. They are a little snugger than the factory nipples. They start ok but then tighten up as I screw them in. The caps now blow apart and don't have enough left to seriously jam the cylinder.

 

[Capt. Thomas]

Well first question is how old is your Uberti? The older models have a different nipple size than the later guns. The m5.5 is the correct later / smaller nipple. Somewhere on the gun is a proof date, it's a square with letters or roman numerals. Call VTI Gun Parts or google it? Also you can call Treso as well, they are GREAT nipples but you really need a thread pitch gauge to measure it for sure.

Capt. Thomas

 

[hawkeye2]

The M5.5 X 9 which is identical to 12-28 US size is correct at least for any Uberti from the early '90s up. I can't speak for any earlier than that as I have no experience with them. I recently put new nipples in a Uberti .44 Remington and a Uberti Remington carbine and in both cases the replacement nipples were a very snug fit in that they required some force on a standard "T" nipple wrench even with anti-seize on them.

 

[jvasshotmail.ca]

When I get home I'll give it another go. I thought maybe they were a tight fit but I was a little chicken of going any further.

Thanks everyone.

 

[jvasshotmail.ca]

Okay, I installed the nipples. They go in hard, almost like they are designed as an interference thread so they don't back out on their own. But those were the right ones.

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[Mean Gene]

Something I noticed that wasn't mentioned I thought should is to use anti seize or grease on the threads. Just thought it should be mentioned.

 

[Zonie]

IMO, using anti-seize or grease on the nipple threads is an excellent idea.

For reasons that escape me, most of the Cap & Ball revolvers I've owned have nipples that always try to seize up after a few shots are fired. They become much harder to remove than they were to screw in if no lube is used.

I've also noticed, if I don't tighten up the nipples enough to seal them, powder fouling seems to blow back thru the threads making them even more difficult to unscrew.

It doesn't take much so just lightly tightening the nipple so it fully seats out against its shoulder should always be done but don't over-do it.

 

[FishDFly]

"For reasons that escape me, most of the Cap & Ball revolvers I've owned have nipples that always try to seize up after a few shots are fired. They become much harder to remove than they were to screw in if no lube is used."



If you take a screw driver and put it into the head a screw and tap on it with a hammer, it will get tighter the more it is tapped by the hammer.

Same thing when the hammer hits the nipple, the force from the hammer causes the nipple to rotate and get tighter.

 

[azmntman]

I have always just used Gorrila grease on nipples, seems to work real well, easy to apply with a q-tip.

 

[FishDFly]

I use Anti-seize and like it, also have heard good things about Teflon tape, Anit-seize is easier to get on the threads.

As long as a person is happy with the results is all that matters.