Need help bringing a 1858 Remmy back to life

[ldlfh7]

I was at a flea market a couple weeks ago and saw an 1858 Remington (Pietta) for sale for 100$. I figured worse case scenario I only loose $100. I examined the gun and noticed rust and corrosion on it but it did not look terrible.
I have been able to get most of that under control but there is still one issue I have not resolved.
When I was looking at it the cylinder pin (not sure if this is the correct terminology aka the pin you slide out to pop the cylinder out) it would not budge. It is really stuck in place. I figured some penetrating oil would be the ticket but so far nothing really seems to work.
Any ideas on how to remove the pin? I broke the end off the pin trying to tap it with my rubber mallet but I can always weld it back on. Looked to be a cheap little weld to begin with.
Everything else on the pistol looks ok but ill be damned if I can't get that pin out of the cylinder.

 

[rodwha]

Maybe heat it up and try a punch from the other side of the recoil shield behind the hammer. Maybe soaking it in penetrating oil for a loooong time?

 

[Realist]

1858 disassembly

If you can get some Kroil into it along with an ultrasonic bath it may break free.

Otherwise gentle heat/cold [torch] cycles may help.
Be careful with the heat treat of the components.

 

[Dframe]

I'd remove the internals to get the hammer out of the way and and after soaking in kroil would use a blunt punch to tap on the back end of the cylinder base pin. Be patient and not brutal. I'd give it a couple of whacks then another drop of kroil wait a day and do it again. then repeat until the base pin breaks free. You don't want to cause any damage to the pin, but thats the most direct way to impact it. You can also use a plastic mallet to whack the wings on the front of the base pin alternating sides.

 

[ldlfh7]

Dframe -
We are on the same page.
It has soaked in kroil and while kroil has got me out of several situations it simply is not doing the trick here.
I had been thinking about punching it out from the hammer side with more time and kroil. Problem is I am not familiar with the internals of this revolver. Anyone know of a schema I could use as a guide? I assume there are some springs in the trigger assembly and would prefer to know how they go back together before hand.

 

[BCRider]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR0LwUjVMIQ

I just spot viewed it but it looks like it covers the whole thing.

And as you take your own apart use your own camera to take lots of pictures of how things are positioned just to double check. And spots of felt marker to indicate right, left or front and back can help if you are worried.

The only one tricky bit is when putting the trigger and bolt spring back in. If you're not watching the end of the finger that rests on the rather small shelf on the trigger won't sit right and it skips down. So the trigger won't feel right and won't return. Just loosen the screw for the spring and try again. But otherwise they are not hard to take apart and put together.

Of course the usual advice to buy a gunsmith screw driver set is now at hand. Wheeler makes a smaller size set which you can buy online or from most decent gun shops. It'll have tips that correctly fit the screws of your Remington.

And if they take two men and a boy to snap loose do NOT tighten that much when you put the gun back together. The sizes of screws on these guns only needs a firm pinch. The correct torque for these screws is measured in inch-pounds. And there isn't a screw on the gun which can't be torqued correctly with only one finger and a thumb on the driver handle other than the risk of the tip jumping out. So don't force the screws down like you're trying to weld the metal. Just a firm pinch is all that is needed. If one or more comes loose then re-tighten it a little harder.

Done right with the correct torque your screws and the threads in the frame will last indefinitely. Tightened too far and the threads and screw heads will deform a little more every time and finally snap or affect the threads in the frame.

 

[Hellgate]

On a Remington you have to push the hammer down below the frame in order to remove the hand & spring which is attached to the hammer by a small screw. Once the hand is removed then you can pull the hammer out the top.

 

[ldlfh7]

I was successful in my attempt to remove the cylinder pin.
Thanks for the tips.
Now to see if it actually works.

 

[Dframe]

Glad you were successful. Would you tell us how you did it? Also I'l like to hear a range report when you get it to the range. BP guns are just huge amounts of fun.

 

[BCRider]

Since you broke off the cross piece I'd want to roll the pin on a mirror or other known flat surface to see if you also managed to bend it at all. By hitting the wings of the cross piece you also put a lot of side loading into the pin. So it's worth checking it.

 

[ldlfh7]

BC - Will do.
The way I got it out was to take the gun apart.
Then I used a punch to dislodge the pin after a couple weeks of kroil treatments.
When the gun was dissembled I noticed lots of rust and fouling so I gave the gun a complete work over and tried to get it as clean as possible. Reassembly was less than smooth but after a while of severe frustration I was able to get it all back together.
Still need to weld the cross piece to the end of the pin (maybe a job for jb weld)?

 

[Hellgate]

It would be easier to just buy a replacement cylinder pin. Check with VTI parts. JB isn't gonna hold it. It is basically an epoxy glue. It doesn't weld. Either get it welded or replaced. If you get it welded you might want to sand it down a bit to smooth it and then grease the hell out of it before reinstalling.