Stuck nipples

[Kansas Jake]

I got a brass framed reproduction 1851 Colt (never really made Pietta) as part of a deal for a couple of other cap and ball revolvers. It is 44 cal. It has been bobbed to a 5 inch barrel with no loading lever. I had to replace the mainspring, and with that done it shoots okay except for one thing. I can only get two of the nipples loose. I've tried Gumout and soaking the cylinder in auto transmission fluid. Any other ideas. sooner or later I will need to pull those nipples.

BTW the deal included a 1858 Remington replica and a 1860 Colt replica and the guy also threw in a 45 caliber flintlock pistol. All guns are probably 1970's vintage.

 

[necchi]

soaking the cylinder in auto transmission fluid.

The true rusty bolt buster is a 50/50 mix of Acetone and tranny fluid. Tranny fluid alone isn't the trick.

 

[ccmountainman]

well you will likely need to make a better nipple wrench from a socket or buy one like it.
then pad the cylinder and put in a vise.
use a nut driver handle to twist the socket as you rap it with a hammer.
This will normally break it loose.

If not you might have to get a microtorch. apply direct heat to the cylinder around the nipple threads, but not the nipple itself.
The heat will normally spread the cylinder threads away from the nipple threads.
It don't take much heat either.
Break nipple loose leave in place let air cool.

 

[Zonie]

I would not suggest putting the cylinder in a vise.

It is too easy to crush the thin walls.

I think a better way to keep the cylinder from turning is to buy a length of 3/8 inch brass or steel rod and cut it into two pieces.
If a rod isn't available, buy a couple 3/8" bolts with at least a 3 inch long end below the head.

Place the pieces of rod or the bolts into 2 of the cylinders chambers. Place them as far apart as possible.

With the mouth of the chambers pointed down, place the exposed part of the rods or bolts below the cylinder into the vise and clamp on both of them at the same time.

Now, the nipple wrench can be used to unscrew the nipples.

 

[slumlord44]

I would try heating it with a heat gun before I used a torch. Got a tight barrel off of a Stevens 44 that way.

 

[wayne terry]

Soak it in Liquid Wrench or WD-40 for several days that should take care of it.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Kano Kroil has removed every rusted bolt I've had...Worst case scenario would be to run it through a hot caustic cleaning tank but that would remove the bluing....

 

[Kansas Jake]

Thanks guys for the suggestions. I've got a bunch of stuff going on right now so it may be a while before I get back to this. I'll let you know what happens when I get them pull out. I have a good T wrench for the nipples, not the cheapie that comes as part of a kit. I can also make socket work with a few minutes with the dremel.

 

[Artificer]

I spent 23 years of working Spring and Fall National Championships at the North South Shooters Association between 1974 and 2005 (when the Marine Corps did not have me in other parts of the world). Getting rusted nipples out of Muskets and Revolvers was a VERY common thing I did at each shoot.

I could not agree with Zonie more that one ABSOLUTELY NEEDS a pair of "pieces" or "lengths" of brass rod to place in opposing cylinder holes and that is what you tighten in the vise - to hold the cylinder securely and get stuck nipples out. DO NOT try to pad the cylinder and hold it in the vise. It either won't hold and then slip loose or you will crush/damage the cylinder.

I just went to the shop and measured the two pair of brass rods that I have used for every kind of revolver cylinder made in .36 and 44 cal. in all those years. 3/8" Brass Rod is perfect for .36 caliber revolver cylinder holes and you just cut them to length from that size rod, but that diameter is too small for .44 caliber cylinders. I took 1/2 inch brass rod and turned the ends to .440 inch on a lathe and never had a problem with them fitting any .44 cal. cylinder. However, most folks don't own a lathe and you don't have to go to that much precision for personal use.

A 7/16 inch diameter rod is .4375" and just .0025" (two and a half thousandths of an inch) under the .440" size I use. What that means is you use a 7/16 inch rod and don't have to worry about turning it down on a lathe to fit .44 Cal. revolver cylinder holes. This diameter of rod will hold the cylinder better and it won't twist as much on you as with a 3/8" diameter. You just cut off a couple of pieces. I made the lengths of my brass rod 5 inches long to make it more handy, but as Zonie mentioned, you can get away with pieces at least 3 inches long.

Perhaps the easiest way to get two lengths of brass rod is to call a machine shop near you and see if they will cut a 7/16" brass rod into two 4 or 5 inch long pieces and sell them to you. If that doesn't work, you can usually get Brass 7/16" bolts from Marine Boat Shops like West Marine or other shops. As Zonie mentioned, just make sure there is at least 3" of bolt below the head. I would advise cutting the heads off the bolts with a hack saw.

In a pinch, I have used pieces of 7/16" hardwood ramrods to hold .44 Cal. cylinders in vises, though they are not strong enough to remove ALL stuck nipples in cylinders. Still, they are handy to have when doing normal nipple removal/replacement for normal cleaning. If every revolver shooter had two pieces of hardwood ramrod (sized to fit his/her cylinder) to hold the cylinder in a vise and occasionally remove and grease the threads of the nipples, there would be a LOT less rusted/stuck nipples that gunsmiths have to get out.

If the nipples won't come loose by using the hardwood or brass rods to hold the cylinder, then as others mentioned you have to soak the cylinder in penetrating oil. The easiest way to do that is cut the top off an aluminum soda pop or beer can as the cylinder fits nicely down inside the can. Put the cylinder down in the can nipple end first and that leaves the chamber holes upward. Fill each cylinder with oil a little above the front end of the nipples and also around the cylinder to that height. Let it soak overnight. Save the oil by pouring it into another container, get your rods out to hold the cylinder in the vise and now see if the nipples come loose. If not, then put the cylinder back in the can, pour the oil back in and soak for another day and try again. I think the longest I ever had to soak a cylinder in Kano's Kroil Oil was three or four days.

If you are not familiar with Kroil Oil, you can get it at almost every auto parts store. An 8 oz. can is all you need. Here is a link: http://www.kanolabs.com/

I have also used a mixture Tranny Fluid and Acetone as the penetrating oil. BUT, if you don't normally have them at home separately, the Kroil is usually easier to buy and use.

I would very much advise AGAINST using a Propane or other Torch to heat the nipples to loosen them for most people. WAY TOO EASY to heat the cylinder too much, unless you are good with such a torch. A heat gun is the most I would advise trying. Still, it is better to soak the cylinder in oil and keep trying it every day until the nipples come loose and there is almost no possibility of damage to the cylinder that way when using the hardwood or brass rods.

For most people, if you get the really RARE cylinder with rusted stuck nipples that won't come out by soaking with penetrating oil for days and using these techniques, then my advice is to take it to a gunsmith or machinist who is experienced with this work.

Gus

 

[Mulebrain]

I would use PB blaster, and let it soak for a few days. Be sure to use a good nipple wrench.

 

[Artificer]

I like PB Blaster as well, but found that SOME times it can take some bluing off some guns. So I use Kroil first and PB Blaster if Kroil doesn't work.

Gus

 

[Irish lad]

After soaking in AT fluid, I would put it in a plastic bag and throw it in the freezer for a few days.
The steel contacts and it makes it alot easier to get the nipples out.
Irish

 

[Kansas Jake]

Thanks guys for the additional good suggestions.

 

[Tinker2]

Depends on why they are stuck, if rust, then all of the above.
If it’s from not rust, boil it in water 10 min





William Alexander

 

[Kansas Jake]

I would guess the nipples have some rust. The two I was able to pull had some rust on the threads, but they were in good shape otherwise. The barrel, cylinder etc. were rust free. I think the gun is probably 30+ years old. The nipples may not have ever been removed before. I don't think it was shot much before I got it as it had a bad main spring and would not lock up correctly. After I replaced the spring the timing was fine and it shot fine. Actually with the short barrel it is a fun gun and a bit unusual.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Glad you're working on a solution. Good luck & remember to pull all of the nipples & clean the gun prior to loading it. New or used, it don't matter.

 

[Zonie]

I know it sounds foolish but sometimes, trying to first tighten a stuck nipple will help to unstick it.
After trying to tighten the nipple, then, try to remove it.

This method works best on threads which have been left tightened for a long period of time and I have no idea why it works.

I learned this method from an old plumber while working on trying to loosen valves and nipples and on tapered NPT pipe threads it works great.
On bolt threads like a nipple uses it sometimes helps too.

 

[andles]

Here's a trick I've used many times. Sounds complicated but does get the job done. You do need to have access to a drill press and a vise.
Get a small piece of 2x4 and drill a hole that is slightly larger than the diameter of the cylinder.
Cut the 2/4 in half along the grain.
Wrap the cylinder with a piece of rubber inner tube to make it larger than the hole you drilled.
Unplug the drill press.
Put a small nail into the nipple that is stuck and put the wrapped cylinder into the wood block and the block into the vise.
Use the nail to ensure the nipple in the cylinder is straight up (very important)and tighten the vise.
Place the vice with the cylinder installed onto the drill press table.
Lower the chuck to the cylinder and ensure the chuck is aligned with the nail.
Remove the nail.
Install your nipple wrench into the chuck. If you don't have a wrench that will fit the chuck you can make one with a small socket wrench and a file. Use an extension if necessary.
Fasten the vise to the table using bolts, hold down clamps, C-clamps, etc.
Lower the drill down to fit the wrench over the nipple.
Apply downward pressure on the drill using the up/down handles of the press. This will ensure the wrench does not slip up off the nipple buggering (technical term) the edge of the nipple and making removal difficult. Don't skimp on the downward pressure.
Using your free hand turn the drill chuck while holding down the pressure.
It has always removed nipples, screws, nuts, bolts etc without messing up the said nipple, nut, bolt, or screw.
Good luck.

 

[Marc Adamchek]

I'm having similar troubles with 2 Uberti cylinders I bought. About an hour ago I thought I'd use the time to take off the nipples. On one cylinder I got 5 off, on the other only 2. The thing that I'm concerned with is the possibility that I might have stripped them somehow and there doesn't seem to be any purchase when I use the TOTW wrench.

So I guess, from reading this, I should soak them in Kroil for awhile(?)

And what is PB BLaster? I need bigtime help, you have no idea how frustrated I am. Well, of course you do, what the hell was I thinking!

 

[hawkeye2]

PB Blaster is a penetrant, WD-40 on steroids. You can buy it in the automotive dept. at Wally World right next to the WD-40. It costs more but it's the best OTC penetrating oil you can buy. If you have acetone, ATF and kero on hand you can make an excellent penetrant too.

Andles has given excellent advise! You can also use that method to remove stubborn screws. Take a top quality hollow ground hex screwdriver bit and secure it in the chuck jaws, follow the procedure outlined in his post.

Another way to hold a cylinder is to take two dowels that will go into the chambers. Lay out a strip of wood, drill and glue the dowels into it. Grip the wood in a vise and drop the cylinder over the dowels.