[jojosdad]

I have an 1858 Pietta Remington.
Last week I was putting it back together after cleaning and discovered that one of the nipples wouldn't seat in the cylinder. I swapped nipples and had the same result. The nipples start fine, thread in smoothly about 3/4 of the way, and then seize up. I tried soaking the hole in Kroil for a few days and brushed it with a .22 brass brush.
Both my gunsmith and I tried unsuccessfully to see if there was any thread damage, although it seems obvious that there is.
I have 2 questions.
What happened? I lightly greased the nipples after cleaning the last time, and all of them seated just fine.
Does anyone know where I can get a tap sized for the nipple hole? According to the Thunder Ridge website, 6x75mm is the size I need. Neither Brownell's or Dixie have 6x75mm taps, and I don't know anywhere else to try. Google hasn't helped either.
thanks
Peter

[Seancass]

i'd like to be the first to laugh at your title. HAHA!

[jlbraun]

The nipples start fine, thread in smoothly about 3/4 of the way, and then seize up.

Is there a category at THR called "Double Entendres"? Seancass, at least the title wasn't "Help! Need a nipple wrench!"

Try McMaster-Carr. If they don't have it, it doesn't exist.

http://www.mcmaster.com/

EDIT: Are you sure you're looking for a 6x75mm tap, and not a 6x0.75mm tap?

Found one. I trust that you meant M6x0.75mm, not M6x75mm. Go to the site above, search for "taps" and go to the "Tap Thread Size" pulldown in the right pane. There are eight M6x0.75mm taps.

A google search on "M6x0.75 tap" also yields a lot more than "M6x75 tap"

[jojosdad]

Are you sure you're looking for a 6x75mm tap, and not a 6x0.75mm tap?

That's the way it's listed at Thunder Ridge, but 6x0.75 makes a whole lot more sense.
Thanks a lot for the McMaster's link, just placed an order.

[Popov]

:what:

VERY misleading title... :neener:

[Bad Flynch]

It almost seems as if your nipple wrench is in a bind with the cylinder. About 3/4 of the way in is just about where the wrench starts to enter the nipple recess. Only reason that I mention this is that I have had to thin down my nipple wrench for an occasional revolver, as the recesses were not evenly cut.

Be very careful chasing the threads; you could botch the cylinder up for good.

[Jim K]

Good point. I have often had to grind down a nipple wrench so it would fit into the nipple cutout in the cylinder. But, yes, M6x0.75 is the tap you want.

Metric screw sizes are the major diameter in millimeters and the number of millimeters between thread tops. So that would be 6mm diameter, with .75mm between threads. An M8x1.0 would be an 8mm with 1mm between threads. An M6x75 would be, well, interesting.

Jim

[jojosdad]

Nope - my nipple wrench is the same diameter as the nipple. I've had he gun totally disassembled for cleaning before and didn't have this problem.
Thanks for the warning about chasing the threads. I always go slow when cutting things.
As my uncle used to say - "I cut it twice and it's still too short".:neener:






"People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite of a civilized society." Marko http://munchkinwrangler.blogspot.com/

[nicholst55]

Try Track of the Wolf for all things black powder.

[jojosdad]

Got the tap today (!!!) from Mcmaster and Carr, ran it through the bad threads and everything works fine now. I just wish I knew what caused this to happen.

[gunboat57]

Just wondering, how did you clean out the chambers before the threads got messed up? If you were using a bore brush maybe the twisted wire that extends beyond the bristles might have gouged the threads a bit? Just a thought.

[Old Dragoon]

Sounds to me like someone cross threaded the nipple once or maybe twice.:cuss: :fire:

[jojosdad]

using a bore brush maybe the twisted wire that extends beyond the bristles might have gouged the threads a bit?
I always clean the cylinder with hot soapy water and a bore mop. I use bore butter soaked wads under the slugs so the cylinder stays relatively clean.
Sounds to me like someone cross threaded the nipple once or maybe twice
Nope - the binding all came at the last 1-2 mm of threading. The nipple went in nice and easy till then.

[Old Dragoon]

Then it sounds like the tap die was about used up when they tapped the cylinder or had gunk in the threads? Who'd a thunk it!

[DixieTexian]

I think I have a problem with my nipples too...

[K.A.T.]

I was looking in Track of The Wolf catalog they have alot of taps,nipples and slightly oversize nipples for worn holes.

[jojosdad]

Thanks K.A.T., and welcome to THR. I already got a tap at http://www.mcmaster.com/ , and the problem is fixed now. Thanks to all for your help.