H&R American double action center pin removal

T

tangolima

New member
Friend has this little pocket revolver in 32 s&w. He never could strip the gun for cleaning. The center pin didn't want to come out.

I gave it a crack. The revolver is in good condition but dirty. Perhaps it hasn't never been stripped for cleaning since it was bought long ago. I managed to disassemble everything, except the center pin. It feels it has been fused solid with the cylinder. Weeks of soaking in kroil has produced no effect. It is still royally stuck as on day one.

Your suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

-TL
 
Did you take the center pin catch out of it?

If so, then it should come out. Try driving it out from the rear, as I think the pin hole goes into the hammer recess.
 
Is the cylinder loose on the pin, and does it have much play in it? I'm wondering if the cylinder may have cut a notch into the pin, probably on the top of it, and that is hitting the rim of the cylinder's pin hole.

Another thing you might try, is to heat the pin, so it will expand, then let it cool, which might help break it loose. You would have to keep the heat off the barrel.

Last, if you have some nylon or aluminum flats, put them on either side of the pin, and put that in a vise. Then, try turning the frame around the pin. If you can get it to turn, then that might get it moving.
 
The cylinder is solid tight on the pin. They move together in each every way, and spin together in the cylinder window freely. I tried clamping the pin in pair of bench vises and turning the cylinder. Didn't try too hard as I was afraid the pin might break. Heat is what I'm going to try next. Reluctant as I don't want to screw up the tempering.

The cylinder may have rusted the pin together.

-TL
 
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Actually, you can heat the cylinder pretty hot, just as long as it doesn't get hot enough to start turning color, such as past a light-pale straw color. That would be where to stop for sure, which is around or lower than 350 degrees. The tempering temperature was actually higher than this, probably around 440-500 deg. F. If they had only took it to 350 deg. F., then it would have shattered under pressure, as it would have been brittle. 440-500 is about where all parts are tempered, such as gear teeth, etc, and most probably the cylinder and barrel. A little higher temp, and you have spring hardness at 540-590 deg. F. Just as long as you don't heat it past where they did, then it will keep its temper.

I would say, that the pin is probably rusted to the cylinders center hole, since they are stuck together. One other thing you may try, is let someone clean it in an ultrasound cleaning tank. The vibration can cause that to break loose, and allow a solvent to work its way between the two pieces.
 
Thanks for the suggestion.

I don't know anybody who has a ultrasonic tank. But what I have been doing is pretty much along the same line. I keep tapping on the center pin back and forth and adding a few drops of kroil. Repeating every night. Hoping one day it will budge.

Heat would be the next, and perhaps last, thing to try before giving up. The gun still shoots. It is just hard to clean.

-TL
 
I let a BP revolver rust up to where the cylinder and pin were one.
Soaking the gun in auto trans fluid got it loose enough to be able to move the pin forward with a punch from the rear.
It had to soak for a week before it would move, though.
ATF will get into just about anything, given enough time.
If you're not in a hurry, might as well give it a try before doing anything more drastic.
So far it's worked on everything I've tried it on.
 
Concern with heat treatment is misplaced, as those old guns didn't have any - they were cast iron, not steel.

Here are a couple of tricks that MIGHT free the pin or MIGHT wreck the gun. Using brass or copper vise jaws, clamp the center pin in a vise, hard. Then use a brass or copper pad (a penny will do) strike the muzzle with a hammer to drive the frame away from the pin.

Another way is to clamp the pin in the vise as described above, and wrap a brass or copper strip around the cylinder, then use a pipe wrench to try to turn the cylinder on the pin.

If neither of those works, just forget about removing the cylinder; it can be cleaned well enough through the loading slot in the cylinder boss.

Jim
 
tangolima,

If you have a friend who is a jeweler, they have ultrasonic tanks for cleaning jewelry and watches. Their tanks might be big enough to hold the frame with barrel. What they would charge, though, I'm not sure.

eBay is selling some decent sized ultrasonic tanks, pretty cheap, too. Though, the tank may cost more than the gun is worth, if you can't break it free.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-PRO-LARGE-60-Watts-1-4-Liters-ULTRASONIC-ULTRASOUND-CLEANER-JEWELRY-/380131255818?hash=item588196a60a

The 1.4 liter, above, has a large enough tank to hold the gun. However, it runs $50.00, not counting cleaner. That's actually pretty cheap, but if you only need it for one job, then it would be a waste.
 
Thanks guys for your suggestions. I have just submerged the gun in atf. Double ziplock bags work pretty good. I will give it a week or two. After that I will reassemble it and return it to my friend. Don't want to wreck the gun. Although it may not worth much, it is still a working gun.

-TL
 
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