1861 Navy Advice

[VoyPescado]

Hey guys,
   I was actually encouraged to post this here at Cas City by the folks at another forum.  They were able to offer some advice but I'd like to get yall's take.  I'm am hoping to get some advice from a knowledgeable forum member on the correct Treso nipple size for a 2nd Gen. Colt 1861 Navy. I have scoured the internet for hours trying to find the answer to this one. I even went so far as to order a set of replacement nipples from a very reputable online supplier per their sizing recommendations. Well, the threads fit but the cones are just a HAIR to long. Consequently, the hammer face contacts the new Treso nipple cones when lowered. This also seems to prohibit the hammer from fully seating. I contacted the company again and was essentially told not to sweat it. The representative told me that he ran that same size Tresos in his 2nd Gen 1851Navy with no issues. However, I'm a little concerned about the hammer face damage, chain fires and timing issues associated with this sort of malfunction. Oh, and the hammer is still splitting the caps causing the shards to drop into the action (you know, the sort of thing I was trying to remedy with the new nips). Anyway, my question is, has anyone had any success replacing the nipples in their 2nd Gen 1861 Navy and if so, with which products?
    Thanks,
    Adam

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

A question.  What caps are you using?  I find that Remington #10s fit my Treso's.  Does the capped cylinder, as you now have it set up, rotate as it should?

Welcome to cascity.com.  My Spanish was learned on one trip to Mexico almost 50 years ago, so I opologize. My guess is that your screen name means "Gone Fishing"?

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Senor VoyPescado,

My esteemed colleague Sir Chas. brings up a good point.  I have 2 different sets of TRESO nips and both work best for me with Remington #11s.

It is my understanding that these nipples are made at or near and for "The Possibles Shop" in Roswell, New Mexico.  http://www.possibleshop.com/s-s-nipples.html  For my 2nd set of nips, I couldn't find the right ones.  This was for use on my 1860 Army Colt (repro) made in the early/mid 1970s by Uberti and by Iver Johnson, who was under contract with Colt to assemble and manufacture parts that became the 2nd Generation Colt C&B guns.  Mine did NOT have the Uberti sized nips of today.  When I talked to the fellow at the Possibles Shop - or the actual manufacturer they get them from, he had me send in the cylinder and he fit or made plieces that fit.  When it came back, all was perfect. 

And I think the guy You spoke to is mistaken.  From true experts (not sales folks) the word is that the hammer face should just miss "kissing" the face of the cones (old term for nipples.)  If the hammer keeps hitting them, they WILL mushroom the end of the cones and batter the face of the hammer.  NOT GOOD, I say.  .003"-.005" should be about the space needed between the face of the hammer and the tip of the nip.

By the way - my 1860 nips DID touch the hammer (before) I replaced the original nips with Uncle Mike's Stainless Steel nipples and now I have a nipple-sized indent on the face of the hammer.  I have heard of splits and chips damage to the hammer as well as the nipple deformation and breakage because of contact between the parts.

If (as so many of these old repros are) the pistol is hardly ever fired, mis-fitted nipples/hammer face dimensions are likely no real problem, but if you are a competitor, you can put more use on one of these guns in a year than most get in a lifetime.  Originals, too!

Have fun!!
(Your mileage may vary ... )

[Fingers McGee]

Hey guys,
   I was actually encouraged to post this here at Cas City by the folks at another forum.  They were able to offer some advice but I'd like to get yall's take.  I'm am hoping to get some advice from a knowledgeable forum member on the correct Treso nipple size for a 2nd Gen. Colt 1861 Navy. I have scoured the internet for hours trying to find the answer to this one. I even went so far as to order a set of replacement nipples from a very reputable online supplier per their sizing recommendations. Well, the threads fit but the cones are just a HAIR to long. Consequently, the hammer face contacts the new Treso nipple cones when lowered. This also seems to prohibit the hammer from fully seating. I contacted the company again and was essentially told not to sweat it. The representative told me that he ran that same size Tresos in his 2nd Gen 1851Navy with no issues. However, I'm a little concerned about the hammer face damage, chain fires and timing issues associated with this sort of malfunction. Oh, and the hammer is still splitting the caps causing the shards to drop into the action (you know, the sort of thing I was trying to remedy with the new nips). Anyway, my question is, has anyone had any success replacing the nipples in their 2nd Gen 1861 Navy and if so, with which products?
    Thanks,
    Adam 

Here's the answer I posted to the Colt Forum:

I use these nipples from the Possible Shop  on my 2nd Gen '51s and '61s as well as my Uberti Colt's:

M5.5 x .9 Th. x .501 Long  Fits Reproduction Colt & Uberti Pistols (6 Per Package) 11-50-166

If the hammer is hitting the nipple using these, you could try these shorter ones ; although I've never had to use the shorter ones.

5.5 x .9mm Th. x .485 Long .31 Cal. Italian Revolver -(6 Per Package) 11-50-306

[hellgate]

If the shorter ones are too short it is no big deal to shim them up a bit to get the right distance. Email me for instructions if needed.

[VoyPescado]

Thanks for all the replies,
         I am leaning towards the purchase of the shorter nipples but as I've already burned $32.00 on nipples that don't seem to fit properly, I'm a little reluctant to do it again.  I've never used anything but Rem #10's in my '61.  I don't shoot competitively but I plink around 3 or 4 days a week with all my handguns and really don't want to have to base the longevity of the Navy on frequency of use.  It seems that the hammer repeatedly contacting the nipples will, inevitably, create some issues.  With the factory nipples, Ive noticed no damage to the hammer face and I can usually get through 4 or 5 Cylinders before the cap fragments start to impede normal function.  I'm assuming that shimming the shorter Treso's involves using a washer at the base of the threads?
  -Adam

[rifle]

I ordered nips from Treso directly. He sent me some fer the smaller Uberti pistol and they worked fer me. The shorter ones.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

I have an Uberti 1861 year-marked  XXIV, so 1968. It takes cones with the current Pietta threads but TRESO's are too long.

I believe this revolver pre-dates the second generation Colts. Is there a stock TRESO or Slix-shot that will fit?

I also need cones for an Uberti 1862 Police. it is threaded for the modern cones, but there is less clearance around the cones. Recommendations?

[Fingers McGee]

I have an Uberti 1861 year-marked  XXIV, so 1968. It takes cones with the current Pietta threads but TRESO's are too long.

I believe this revolver pre-dates the second generation Colts. Is there a stock TRESO or Slix-shot that will fit?

I also need cones for an Uberti 1862 Police. it is threaded for the modern cones, but there is less clearance around the cones. Recommendations?

The M6 x .75 x .500 Long Tresso nipples that fit Euroarms Revolvers - (6 Per Package) Item # 11-50-146 from The Possible Shop (http://possibleshop.com/s-s-nipples-cb.html) are the correct nipples for the pre 1980 Uberti Navies.  I have a 1973 model L&R that they work perfectly on.

The 5.5 x .9mm Th. x .485 Long  .31 Cal. Italian Revolver - (5-Per Pack) 11-50-305 work on the pocket models

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Thanks Fingers. I will be ordering.

[pony express]

Fingers, as long as you're solving Tresso problems, I have an 1862 Pocket Police marked Lyman, I believe made by Uberti, but the nipples are different thread, more like Pietta's. But the standard Pietta ones are too long, is there one that will fit?

[Fingers McGee]

The short ones for the Euroarms (M6 x .75 x .500 Long Item # 11-50-146) are the right ones.  The Lymans were made by Armi San Paolo (Euroarms ).  There will probably be a DGG in a circle on the bottom of the barrel under the loading lever, or possibly on the bottom of the frame.

[rifle]

When push comes to shove ,kike when the shotolla hits the fan and you buy a revolver with stripped nipple threads, there is something to do. Even if yer cones/nips/nipples are too long or the base toowide or whatever things can be remedied.

Long cones can be shortened on a drill press,with a level table,by chucking the nips bythe threads and touching them down on a hard stone or better yet a diamond stone or flat diamond file. The cap end needs the inside of the beginning beveled some at times or the sharp corners rounded a little on he outside.

I fixed some bad stripped nipples threads in some revolver cylinders in the past that were pretty bad where people had literally damaged the threads way beyound fixin. Drilled and tapped fer a rifle nipple and shaped it down to match the other original nipples and that was fixed. Way oversized rifle nipple worked down to be the size of a revolver nipple. Just with way bigger threads. Saved an old cylinder more than once that way rer Folks or when I found a good revolver worth fixin on that had some nipple threads stripped out.

In the old days,like the eighties, new revolvers could come with ill threaded nipple holes and would need fixin on. Howthe factory or Folks could cross thread a nipple into it's hole and ruin the threads is a mystery to me but with ill threaded holes from the factory it was possible to do.

Anywhooooo.......diamond files can shape nipples and hammer noses. Got a nipple that's peened to look like a mushroom? Chuck it in a drill and use a diamond file on it to make it nice again.
Hammer nose beat to crap? Use a diamond file to straighten it out and make a "dry fire safe" hammer out of it. Just reharden the hammer. Kasinet hardening compound or the same in another brand name works well to harden hammers after the face is fixed up nice again.

Anywhooo.... it'spossible at times to have to adjust the right nipple replacement fer a gun so the hammer isn't beat up or whatever.

It's not a bad idea to get a spare set of cones fer yer shootin iron since they can get lost or whatever.

[Flint]

Uberti uses the same nipples as the Colt 2nd and 3rd Gen, as Uberti made the cylinders.  Before the Colts, Uberti used a Metric nipple.  The current, and 2nd/3rd Colt is a 12-24, (which is also the RugerOA thread), and Ruger nipples fit, and are a bit shorter than Uberti's.  Treso makes nipples for the Ruger, you might try them.  I had very good luck with the new Slix-Shot nipples, and like them better than Treso, which is a surprise.