Removing stuck nipples on Stainless cylinders

[Rattus58]

In retrospect, I wish I had videod this effort. I was given 6 stainless steel cylinders that actually work in my pietta Buffalo, but the problem was, as you all know, there is always one... in this case 4 nipples that were frozen in so tight that I broke two nipple wrenches even though they were soaking in a penetrant.

What I finally wound up doing was taking a drill bit slightly larger than the nipple flash hole and drilled all the way through. I then took a slightly larger bit and followed it through the nipple just taking care to be mindful of orientation. Once the second drill bit went through I then tapped in a craftsman extractor and it came out almost too easily.

This was followed by the other three just as easily. True, it took 24 hours of soaking for the first 32 and two broken wrenches and an additional 24 hours for the last 4 stainless nipples to be extracted, but I'm posting this because I'd been told that this was an almost impossible task. It is not. I think the drilling of the nipple weakens the walls of the nipple and the extractor is able to easily overcome what little corrosion remains.

If this is old hat to everyone, I apologize, but I kept hearing horror stories about trying to free stuck nipples and all kinds of remedies... heating, using sockets and all sorts of bad outcomes. This if you take care in your alignment of the nipple as you drill, is like peanut butter spread... I'm not sure why drilling isn't the first remedy considered.

Aloha...

 

[Noz]

Doesn't always work. I bought an 1860 a few years back that had two stuck nipples. One came out as you mentioned but with a second ez-out as the first broke off and it had to be removed first.
The other nipple would not come out.
All efforts failed including drilling ez-out and extreme heat.
I finally ruined the cylinder by trying a small chisel and trying to break the nipple away from the threads.
Total loss.

 

[Crawdad1]

Regardless of how much I shoot I always pull the nipples out and clean them. Considering how fine those threads are it doesn't take much for them to start rusting shut.

 

[4v50 Gary]

With firearms, try the least invasive (and expensive) method possible first. Then graduate up to more desperate measures.

 

[Rattus58]

Regardless of how much I shoot I always pull the nipples out and clean them. Considering how fine those threads are it doesn't take much for them to start rusting shut.

Yup... me too... I use hi temp grease or anti-seize on all my nipples after shooting. These were given me and even though stainless... there is always something... I soaked all of these with a penetrant for 24 hours then started the removal process.

Aloha... Tom

 

[Rattus58]

With firearms, try the least invasive (and expensive) method possible first. Then graduate up to more desperate measures.

With a revolver cylinder, what actually would those steps include?

Aloha..

 

[4v50 Gary]

You did it right.

1) Soak or ultrasonically treat it. Try wrench.
2) Heat it with a propane torch. Try wrench.
3) Clamp it in a drill vise and use the drill to hold the wrench and hand turn it.
4) If all comes to worse, drill.

 

[Crawdad1]

Yup... me too... I use hi temp grease or anti-seize on all my nipples after shooting. These were given me and even though stainless... there is always something... I soaked all of these with a penetrant for 24 hours then started the removal process.

I know what you mean Tom, I've had to drill a few out myself. Sometimes there's nothing else you can do.

 

[Jim K]

My "last resort" is to clamp the cylinder in the drill press vise with good padding.

Then drill, starting with the center of the nipple with a drill that will just remove the inside of the cone. Keep moving the bit up in size until the threads of the nipple are just barely hanging in the female threads of the cylinder. Then pick the threads out using a steel pick. At some point, a tap just a bit smaller than the threads can be inserted in the hole and the old threads started out, or picked out with the pick.

I have never found a nipple yet that can't be removed that way with hard enough drill bits. The hardest are the old military (Springfield Armory) nipples; modern nipples are usually pretty soft.

Jim

 

[Rattus58]

My "last resort" is to clamp the cylinder in the drill press vise with good padding.

Then drill, starting with the center of the nipple with a drill that will just remove the inside of the cone. Keep moving the bit up in size until the threads of the nipple are just barely hanging in the female threads of the cylinder. Then pick the threads out using a steel pick. At some point, a tap just a bit smaller than the threads can be inserted in the hole and the old threads started out, or picked out with the pick.

I have never found a nipple yet that can't be removed that way with hard enough drill bits. The hardest are the old military (Springfield Armory) nipples; modern nipples are usually pretty soft.

Jim

These nipples I think were also stainless, but you remind me of how surprised I was at how easy it was to drill through the material at really slow speed even...

Aloha... Tom

 

[AbitNutz]

Man...as a motorhead I have always used antiseize religiously. On stainless, you always use nickel based antiseize...not copper based.