Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Howdy Don't really know, as I always remove the nipples first and make sure to clean and oil the threads. The idea is you want to break the nipples loose and give them a little rust proofing before start shooting anything. The last set of revolvers I did this to were my Pietta 1860 Colts. The nipples came right out when I used a nipple wrench, they were not overtightened at the factory. It was simple then to give the threads a very light coat of Ballistol and reinstall the nipples. I suspect you will be OK if you go ahead and shoot them without first removing the nipples but I cannot say for sure. Regarding redoing the mineral spirits cleaning: You only have to do that once. The idea is to remove the heavy oil the factory coats the parts with before shipping. If you have already stripped all the oil out of the chambers and brought them down to bare metal, you don't have to do it again. Once the chambers have been degreased give them a very light coating of Ballistol or some other BP compatible oil. I mean really light. With a cartridge revolver I give the chambers a good dousing, but with the powder sitting against the steel in a C&B chamber you don't want any residual oil in the chambers contaminating the powder. That's why you fire a cap on each chamber, to burn out any oil still in the chamber. If you go ahead and degrease the cylinder without removing the nipples, when you get your nipple wrench just remove the nipples and degrease the nipple threads and apply a light coating of Ballistol to the threads. You don't have to mess with the rest of the chambers or the whole cylinder again. If you have already fired the revolver, you probably degreased the nipples pretty well anyway. I would apply a light coating of Ballistol to their threads and reinstall them. By the way, I stole a small tea strainer from my wife to use as a parts basket when I clean the nipples. One of those ball type affairs that opens up and you place loose tea leaves inside. Dunking the nipples into a cup of solvent this way helps prevent dropping them individually down the drain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.J. Helms Posted March 4, 2011 Author Share Posted March 4, 2011 Thanks SB & DJ! Prairie Dawg also provided a helpful PM. Think I'll wait until the nipple wrench comes in and get it right the first time. As mentioned earlier, I feel pretty lousy today...I'll just keep hanging on the couch, trying to get well, and watching old westerns. Thanks again for all the help and suggestions! J.J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Well, I hope you feel better. There's a lot of yukkie stuff going around right now. I've been hacking for about two weeks now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.J. Helms Posted March 4, 2011 Author Share Posted March 4, 2011 Well, I checked the possibles shop and their ratcheting nipple wrench is out-of-stock. They seem to offer at least a couple of wrist turners that are available. Any reason why one of those wouldn't work just fine? In particular, one has a screw driver end I 'assume' would be useful in the field should I need to take the grips off. Granted, I didn't see enough info to know this application is a definite possibility. If it will successfully work as a nipple wrench, at least, I may as well order the thing plus tresos for both Remmies. Right? J.J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brasspounder, SASS #9076 Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Quote "With a C&B cylinder you cannot run a bore brush through it because the holes don't go all the way through. You can poke the brush in, but it does not clean as effectively if you cannot run it through. Plus, there are more nooks and crannies in a C&B chamber to hold fouling than a straight bored cartridge chamber. Plus you have to take off the nipples, clean them without loosing them down the drain, and wipe the chambers clean of all the solvent before oiling the chambers very lightly. Then, like I said earlier, you have to fire some caps to dry out the oil when it comes time for loading powder." Unquote This is not true. Nipples don't have to be removed from the cylinder every time you clean a C&B revolver...it just wears the threads and the nipple wrench flats unnecissarily. Remove them once each year and put anti-sieze compound on the threads and put them back in. If you soak the dirty cylinders in some hot water, then let them drain "mouth down" and then use a short piece of cotton rope to twirl around in there and wipe them dry down in the bottoms, they come out squeaky clean. If you wind a few turns of soft copper wire around the end of the cotton rope to let just the end "fluff" a little without unraveling very much , it makes a really effective cylinder chamber brush. If you do this to both ends of a short piece of rope, you have two brushes, and you can wipe them on a rag to keep them fairly dry while you work on the cylinder chambrs. Then all you have to do is brush and blow the nipple cones dry so there ain't any water left in there, and you are good to go. You don't ever put any oil in or around the chambers and nipples after cleaning if not storing the revolver for a long period. This also eliminates the need to waste expensive (and sometimes hard to obtain) percussion caps, "popping" them off on each nipple before loading...which in fact can actually foul a nipple instead of clearing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Well, I checked the possibles shop and their ratcheting nipple wrench is out-of-stock. Ratcheting nipple wrench? Sheesh, what will they think of next? All you need the wrench for is to snug the nipple tight after running it all the way in, or unsnug it to remove it. You can run it all the way in or out by twirling the wrench with your fingers. The tricky part is finding a wrench that is small enough to fit into the hollow where the nipple sits, and also fits around the nipple properly. Brasspounder: I have been shooting C&B since 1968, but I guess it's never too late to teach an old dog new tricks. Thanks for the info about the 'twirly' brush made from a piece of rope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brasspounder, SASS #9076 Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 (snip) Brasspounder: I have been shooting C&B since 1968, but I guess it's never too late to teach an old dog new tricks. Thanks for the info about the 'twirly' brush made from a piece of rope. Driftwood...Like you, I been shooting the old cap guns for a while, since about 1957 in my case...But new tricks come along all the time. I fooled around for years wiping the cylinder chambers with twisted newsprint, paper towels, and brushes (that never really got down into the nooks & crannies at the bottom)and all that. For some reason one day, I was cleaning one of my pistols, and spied the hunk of 3/8 inch cotton braided rope lying on the workbench....AHA! I chopped off a six inch hunk and put a few wraps of copper wire around the ends to keep it from unraveling more than a quarter inch or so... The thing worked like a dream to get down into the bottom of the chambers and wipe them clean and slick, so the nipple ends were peeking up at you... I keep one in my pouch all the time now. When they eventually get super dirty, I just slip them into my levi's hip pockets when the wife does the wash...they come out clean as new and ready to go again, although I rarely wash them that way anymore...Usually just wiping the damp ends on a rag after use will dry them and get them clean enough. They dry between uses, so they are ready to go next time. Bp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.J. Helms Posted March 5, 2011 Author Share Posted March 5, 2011 Thanks, DJ & Bp, for the additional information, thoughts, and advice! I'll try to pull together these last couple of important items and get these revolvers runnin' in short order. That is, once I've beaten this crud I'm currently enduring. It usually makes a run through the house and misses me...not so lucky this time! J.J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.J. Helms Posted March 5, 2011 Author Share Posted March 5, 2011 BTW DJ - Watched the better part of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid last night...kind of neat seeing your profile pic 'in action'! J.J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 J.J. yeah, it's right after Butch tells Sundance that if he gets killed in the knife fight, Sundance should kill Logan. Sundance gives Logan a friendly wave and tells Butch 'Love to'. We all know how the knife fight turned out. I'm just like Sundance, I'm better when I move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.J. Helms Posted March 5, 2011 Author Share Posted March 5, 2011 Yep...I was lying in bed, feeling poorly, and trying to enjoy the movie. Great scene (among many)...didn't realize Logan = Ted Cassidy = Lurch. Ah, the power of Wikipedia! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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