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nipple won't come off

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steelerfan

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I have a CVA percussion & I can't get the nipple off. I tried a nipple wrench & a small wrench set I have but can't get it to budge.
Anyone run into this problem ?
Any ideas ?
 
Mix half atf to half acetone. Put a little on the threads and let it soak in. Most of the time an hour later is fine. I have ran into a few that were rusted in and still wouldn't come out the next day. Just added more penetrating oil and let them sit another day and they came out. Make sure to clean any rust out if it's present and get the atf out before putting powder in it.
 
Auto Zone carries PB Blaster and it's even faster!
I plug the nipple and go from the inside.


Geo. T.
 
I fell in love with PB Blaster at least 20 years ago when I first saw it melt a styrofoam cup. Its unstuck rust welded nuts and bolts better than anything. Its a part of my cleaning ritual, after the hot soapy water plunger routine, I blow high pressure air in every nook and cranny, then blast down the barrel. I then give the nipple hole a good shot of PB Blaster and let it run down the inside of the barrel, giving it a shot of air from oustide the nipple hole. I then take the barrel over and stick the air nozzle in the barrel, seal the barrel off with a shop rag and blast the PB Blaster out the barrel via the nipple hole, cleaning off the excess with air pressure. Then I run a dry patch down the barrel and finish with the cleaning of the nipple and return to the basement where I pull that dry patch which has the residue of PB Blaster on it and often a few streaks of dark substance. I run another dry patch and follow it up with couple of Ballistol saturated patches, wipe down the barrel with those patches and reassemble the rifle. When at the range next time I will run a dry patch down the barrel, snap a cap, flip the patch over and run it down again, load the rifle and shoot the first "fouler" of the day. Oddly enough the first "fouler" is a 10X with the rest of the day spent chasing it around the target.
 
Sprayed inside & out with PB Blaster, plugged the nipple with a toothpick so it wouldn't run out, let it sit for 6 hours & tried to remove nipple but still won't budge PLUS the barrel bumped something as I was moving it & the toothpick snapped off inside the nipple, now I REALLY need to get that nipple off. Sprayed it inside again & filled a small cup with enough PB Blaster to submerge the nipple & I'll let it sit overnight.
This is turning into a big problem, at least I was able to shoot it with the stuck nipple, now the nipple's plugged up so I can't even do that. Any ideas ???
 
It sounds like your dealing with a severely corroded nipple, about the only thing that hasn't been mentioned that may work as a solution is a very judiciously applied form of heat, in the form of a propane torch, you are not going to want to get the area heated enough to alter its temper or disfigure the blueing/browning just hot enough to possibly break the corrosion and allow you to spray the nipple with PB Blaster while the area is still hot, which under many situations will allow the solution to suck up into the area and after allowing to cool enough to be held in your hand should loosen up the nipple. Beyond that it sounds like you are looking at more drastic measures regarding drilling out. If you are using a proper fitting nipple wrench you may have the ability to use a cheater bar to allow you put a little more pressure on the nipple besides the short handle provided, like a small nutdriver wrench, they usually have a hollow in the driver portion to allow for the threaded portion of the bolt or screw. I had some trouble getting one nipple out of the cylinder of a repop Remington Old Army pistol, I cussed the "special" nipple wrench that came with the pistol and ended up buying a "proper" fitting wrench that I believe was made by T. Cash and uses the same wrench as my Chapman tools. Most of the "el cheapo" type nipple wrenches on the market are made of really soft steel and you are likely to destroy the tool before you strip out the nipple which is usually of a higher temper of steel or alloy like an Ampco. I ruined a cheap nipple wrench on that one nipple and after getting the right tool for the job it was still a bear to get that offending nipple out. Another example of how corrosive the use of pyrodex can be, the previous owner only used pyrodex and was sloppy in his cleaning.
 
Yeah thanks, I was wondering about putting a little heat on it but didn't want to do that until I heard if anyone else has tried it before trying it myself. If it still doesn't budge tomorrow morning the propane torch is coming out
 
Not knocking anyone else,s method. All are fine. Thought I'd copy and paste a test they did on the penetrating oils. I mix half atf to acetone in a spray bottle. I like that the cheapest one works the best.

A study done by Machinist's Workshop magazine in their April 2007 issue looked at different penetrating oils to see which one did the best job of removing a rusted bolt by measuring the pounds of torque required to loosen the bolt once treated. If the study was scientifically accurate, it turns out a home brew works best!
Here's the summary of the test results:

Penetrating oil ..... Average load

None ...................... 516 pounds
WD-40 ................... 238 pounds
PB Blaster .............. 214 pounds
Liquid Wrench ...... 127 pounds
Kano Kroil ............. 106 pounds
ATF-Acetone mix....53 pounds
 
It will be necessary for you to spend the money and buy a good nipple wrench. You will end up destroying one of the cheap wrenches. They make one that is like a socket wrench but I don't know where you can buy one. I found mine at Friendship so I know they are available. Try some of the suppliers such as Track of The Wolf, Dixie Gun Works, etc.
 
Thanks, if the PB Blaster doesn't come through for me I will certainly try the acetone/ATF mix. Thanks for including the chart, very informative
 
Thanks for the info, I may need to get that, I already broke my mini-Craftsman wrench on it, hopefully my nipple wrench won't do the same but I may order one in advance, just in case
 

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