Hello,
A buddy brought me an fie 1851 navy .36 that was displayed in a bathroom for years. It looked fine except the cylinder was frozen. I soaked it in penetrating oil for a few days but it would not budge. I used wooden wedges but it was really stuck. I settled for a brass drift and a hammer. Really had to whack it to get it separated. It came apart, cleaned up real nice and looks great. I am wondering if we cracked the cylinder with the force it took to get it apart? It looks just fine but we want to shoot it. I can not see any cracks or damage. How should we go about test firing it? Should he just hang it on the wall?
A buddy brought me an fie 1851 navy .36 that was displayed in a bathroom for years. It looked fine except the cylinder was frozen. I soaked it in penetrating oil for a few days but it would not budge. I used wooden wedges but it was really stuck. I settled for a brass drift and a hammer. Really had to whack it to get it separated. It came apart, cleaned up real nice and looks great. I am wondering if we cracked the cylinder with the force it took to get it apart? It looks just fine but we want to shoot it. I can not see any cracks or damage. How should we go about test firing it? Should he just hang it on the wall?