Removing "frozen" revolver nipples

[gjkershul]

Sometime ago I was given an old replica 1858 Remington New Model Army .44 cylinder. It sat on my desk as paper weight until I happened to have my Pietta 1858 on the desk for some reason. I tried the paper weight cylinder in the the 1858 and it fit! In fact it shoots better than the original cylinder. It takes # 10 caps.

However, the nipples are "frozen", from corrosion and cannot be removed with a nipple wrench. This is not some thing I want to live with.

So far I have tried soaking the cylinder in break-free(4 days), soaking in penetrating oil (4 days),and applying propane torch heat . So far nothing has worked to loosen the nipples.

Plan D in the absence of any good advice from the list is to drill out the nipple holes and try a broken screw exractor.

Thank you for your observations and advice on getting the nipples out.

 

[jtmattison]

Sounds to me like you have already tried everything possible shy of the extractor. You've got nothing to lose. Try the extractor. Worse case you'll strip it out. At that point you could probably re-tap the cylinder and install oversize nipples.

HD

 

[Dphar]

Sometime ago I was given an old replica 1858 Remington New Model Army .44 cylinder. It sat on my desk as paper weight until I happened to have my Pietta 1858 on the desk for some reason. I tried the paper weight cylinder in the the 1858 and it fit! In fact it shoots better than the original cylinder. It takes # 10 caps.

However, the nipples are "frozen", from corrosion and cannot be removed with a nipple wrench. This is not some thing I want to live with.

So far I have tried soaking the cylinder in break-free(4 days), soaking in penetrating oil (4 days),and applying propane torch heat . So far nothing has worked to loosen the nipples.

Plan D in the absence of any good advice from the list is to drill out the nipple holes and try a broken screw exractor.

Thank you for your observations and advice on getting the nipples out.

Soak in Diesel fuel or in one of the high tech penetrating oils like PB blaster for a week at least with the oil at least an inch over the top of the part. If its been a paper weight that long a week or two is not gonna matter much.
If it has corrosion in the chambers I would just pitch it since its likely been shot with perchlorate powders. Threads in the ting may be damaged anyway.

Dan

 

[RADeO]

Try soaking your cylinder in a 50/50 mixture of automatic transmission fluid and acetone for about a week or so prior to using a wrench. If you have to drill out the nipples, do it from the inside of the cylinder using the flash hole as a starting point for a pilot hole. As you enlarge the pilot hole, the drill point may grab in the nipple body and break the threads loose. Just go slowly and carefully.

 

[Long Johns Wolf]

Hamkiller: the trick to remove "uncooperative" nipples is the pressure you apply on top of the wrench.I have removed a number of such frozen nipples form 1860 type C&B revolvers (!) using the method described in the Gunsmithing page of www.1960nma.org. However, these 1860 nipples are screwed in at a proper 90 ° angle!
I guess the same method can be used for the Remmies but you have to place the cylinder in the drillpress in such a way that the nipple to be removed is in a proper straight up, i. e. 90 ° angle position.
Long Johns Wolf

 

[Zonie]

Hamkiller
One of the first problems with trying to remove stuck nipples in a revolver cylinder is getting a good grip on the cylinder.

Rather than buggering up the outside by clamping it in a vise, get two 3/8 diameter steel or brass rods about 2 inches long. Insert these in two of the furthest apart chambers and clamp the protruding ends in a vise. Now you have a good grip.
If you don't have a vise you can apply a coating of grease to the front of the cylinder and then place it on the wide face of a 2 X 4. Remove it and determine where the center of the two widely spaced chambers are and drill two holes for the metal rods. Press the rods into the holes and use this "tool" to hold the cylinder while you try to unscrew the nipples.

A gun repair book I have says that if you need to drill out the nipples, using a drill that is smaller than the nipple thread size, drill them out from the inside. That is to say, insert the drill from the chambers mouth and use the nipples thru hole to locate the drill bit.
Getting a moderatly large drill bit started exactly in the middle of the nipples thru hole can be a problem because the center of the larger drill bit may be larger than the .028 diameter nipple hole.
To help to keep the larger drill bit centered, first use a small drill bit like a 5/64 (.078) diameter bit to enlarge the thru hole. You don't need to drill very deeply with this bit. Just enough to make a larger hole for the big drill to pick up and follow.

Drilling from the inside will exert a force on the nipple in the direction that will unscrew the nipple and often just trying to drill the nipple out will unscrew it. If it doesn't you will still end up with a hole that is centered with the threads for the easy out.
Also, by drilling from the inside you won't have to deal with the drill bit jumping out of the center hole as it removes the nipples cone.
If you use an easy out, be sure to insert it from the outside of the cylinder because screwing it into the hole from the chamber side would tighten the nipple, not loosen it.

Dixie Gunworks says the smallest nipple thread in reproduction guns is a M5,5 X 0.9 (Uberti 1861).
My Metric thread charts don't list this thread but they do tell me that if you use a 5/32 (.156) diameter drill bit you shouldn't be touching the minor diameter of the threads but you should end up with a hole that is large enough for an easy-out.

Good luck with your project.

 

[LeMat1856]

.
. june 30 / 10:30am

wikipedia impact wench types

this might be a little over-kill, but my impact wrench saved the day many a time when working on older motorcycles.. i had a manual one that required a pretty good 'whack' with a rubber mallet and bit that was sized for the the nut.. don't know if you could adapt a nipple wrench to one of these, but they generate lots and lots of torque.. see any hardware / automotive store for a quality set ($5-10).

~d~

 

[Mulebrain]

I have broken more than one pistol nipple wrench! :cursing:

I would drill out as others have said, and use an easy out bit, that should get them out and you can install a new set.

Drilling and tapping, would be a big pain in the you know what!

I swear by PB blaster, but it sure does stink awful!

 

[1911nutjob]

I'm new here and any of these guys have more experience than me. That being said, I wonder if maybe a firing session might provide some shock/vibration that would be helpful in breaking that nipple loose. Back in my automotive days, we would free a stubborn nut that an impact gun couldn't break free even after a soak or heat, by hitting it with an air hammer. If that didn't do it, the fastener wasn't going to let go before the part did-we were prepared with the necessary replacement and dies before proceeding further. On a related topic, I coat the nipple threads with anti-sieze following a good cleaning-is this a no-no?

 

[mykeal]

Rather than buggering up the outside by clamping it in a vise, get two 3/8 diameter steel or brass rods about 2 inches long. Insert these in two of the furthest apart chambers and clamp the protruding ends in a vise. Now you have a good grip.
...
Dixie Gunworks says the smallest nipple thread in reproduction guns is a M5,5 X 0.9 (Uberti 1861).
My Metric thread charts don't list this thread but they do tell me that if you use a 5/32 (.156) diameter drill bit you shouldn't be touching the minor diameter of the threads but you should end up with a hole that is large enough for an easy-out.

Zonie,

That's a great tip about the two rods inserted in the chambers.

M5.5x0.9 is indeed not a standard metric thread. It is the metric equivalent of the SAE 12x28: the MD of a No. 12 thread is 0.216", which is 5.5 mm, and a thread pitch of 0.9 mm very close to 28 threads per inch (exactly 28.2 tpi).

 

[Zonie]

Ah yes!
The old #12-28UNF thread! Why didn't I think of that?

For those who don't know, the #12-28UNF uses a #14 (.1820) diameter tap drill so even if the nipples are using this thread my recommended thru drill up above (.156) would leave about .013 of wall between it and the minor diameter of the thread.
That's enough for a easy-out to get ahold of and it wouldn't damage the existing nipple threads.

 

[pondoro]

I just copied all this advice and saved it, I have never had problems but you never know when they will strike.

 

[single shot]

i was told by a gunsmith to remove the nipples when done shooting. I know this dosnt help the people trying to remove a frozen nipple but i thought it was good pre-vent maintance. just my 2 cents

 

[LeMat1856]

.
. july 6 / 03:50am


...well, did any of the above ever work ? after all this, i've got to hear the ending - ha!

~d~