Preferred Nipplies for Stainlesss Steel Pieta 1858 Remington

[straightcut]

Gentlemen,

I just purchased a likely once fired BI date stamped (1999?) Pieta 1858 Remington. I noticed the nipples appear to have been ground shorter (dreaded Dremel job), but also appear somewhat mushroomed. The hammer has a slight blemish, but nothing significant.

I would like to replace the nipples mainly because these look so abused and often hear it advised to begin by discarding the factory nipples. I've watched the youtube videos where Dualist1954 recommends the Slixshot nipples, but later, they didn't really appear to solve the cap sucking problem (which I hope not to have b/c this isn't a Colt). I see Track of the Wolf carries a "new/improved Track design" with cones of THREE different lengths in both stainless steel and carbon steel.

Second, how critical will it be to fit the nipples to this revolver? I don't know of another place offering different length cones as TOW does, so does that make them the best option?

I have a decent stock of Remington #10 caps, so I would like whatever nipple choice I make be compatible with those caps.

Thanks in advance for your excellent advice!

 

[Zonie]

If the nipples look like they are mushroomed, I think your first task is to remove them from the cylinder and carefully file off any of the material that has "bulged" above the surface of the cone.

There are several ways of doing this. I chuck the nipple in a variable speed electric drill locating the jaws on the body of the nipple just below the cone. (Chucking on the threads can damage them).
Then, with the drill running slowly, I use a small flat file made for sharpening chain saws to just lightly "kiss" the outside of the cone.

Others have just held the nipple in a pair of locking pliers, clamping on the body of the nipple, to hold it while they file away the mushroom.

Have you tried firing the gun, unloaded, using just your #10 caps?

If you did, did all of the caps fire?


Until you know, your just guessing that the nipples need to be changed.

As for the length of the nipples, cap and ball pistols use they are shorter than the standard length used on the single shot guns.

If everything is correct, the hammer of the gun should never touch the end of the uncapped nipple when it is in the fired position.
The hammer stops on the frame leaving about .008-.015 clearance if everything is correct**.
Because the hammer never strikes the nipple, this makes mushrooming the nipple virtually impossible if the nipple is the right length.

That may explain why someone appearently tried to shorten the nipples in your gun.


** The copper body of a precussion cap is about .010 thick. The priming compound is about .020 thick making the upper end of the cap stand about .030 above the end of the nipple.
That .030 thickness will always be compressed when the hammer falls on a capped chamber.

 

[straightcut]

Hi Zonie,

Thank you for the reply!

I haven't tried to fire it, (loaded) or just with a cap. Would I use some inletting black to get the nipple length adjusted correctly?

One of the reasons I was thinking of replacing the nipples is that they were not cut or ground off straight. In short, they're a mess. I'm sure I could clean them up, file the tops straight (or perpendicular to the sides) and chamfer the edges and they'd look much better.

 

[straightcut]

This information above is not intended to stifle the recommendations on your opinions of the best currently available nipples...

Don't be shy, I'm interested in hearing your opinions! :bow:

 

[BigAl52]

I just bought an 1860 Uberti Army. I have also watched the duelist videos. I went ahead and bought some slix shot nipples for mine. I also watched his video about smoothing up the face of the hammer. I did notice on mine that the edges were sharp. I took a couple of files and smoothed up the area. I havent fired mine yet as I am having the short arbor problem addressed. Just thought I would add this for the hammer face. Zonie is far more knowledgeable about these than I. Al

 

[AZbpBurner]

For tough and long-lasting nipples, Ampco is the best material. It is an aluminum/bronze alloy, tougher than steel and less likely to mushroom.
They cost a bit more, but they've out performed all other nipples I've used over the past 40+ years.
https://www.jedediah-starr.com/search.asp

 

[hawkeye2]

+1 They are superior to stainless steel nipples.

 

[nkbj]

For tough and long-lasting nipples, Ampco is the best material. It is an aluminum/bronze alloy, tougher than steel and less likely to mushroom.
They cost a bit more, but they've out performed all other nipples I've used over the past 40+ years.
https://www.jedediah-starr.com/search.asp[/quote]


And they're purty too!