Ruger single six frustrations...

[revho]

Loooong story short: My dad and I finally got my uncle to register a Ruger single six (his only pistol) that he forgot he inherited in oh...1974? So now that it is legal, I picked it up for its first ever cleaning. It was originally owned and shot by my great great uncle Rube who purchased it new, then died a couple years after buying it. It has since been stored in its leather holster in the original box. There is obviously some surface rust through the bluing on the high spots that I am woking on, but is turning out ok so far. Problem is the cylinder base pin is frozen, so I cant get the cylinder out to even start cleaning it. The slide to release the base pin is free and does push in. Ive sprayed it down with break free and now oil for the last 8 hours, but no luck. Ive searched and one person on the Ruger forum said use kroil and let it soak. Ive also tapped using a non marring mallet on the base pin. I am not going to use a vice grips or anything on it, so don't worry. Am I just being impatient and need to let it do its thing? Is it so rusted up that it wont come out?

I have piece of junk Heritage rough rider so I do know how the cylinder comes out.

Is it a Super single six? It is a three screw..

Serial 540xxx

Thanks everyone

Kevin

 

[arjay]

Looks good in the photos.I'd pull the grips,lay the gun in a shallow pan,drench it in oil and come back to it in a few days.Good luck.

 

[mkk41]

Don't know what tools ya got handy , but you just might have to take the guns apart from the other end. Hopefully ya have a manual. Relieve tension on the mainspring Remove grip frame. Remove hammer/trigger pivot screws. Pull internals . Remove hammer pivot screw. Remove hammer. Then ya can use a 3/16 long brass punch and gently tap it out from the other end. Assemble in reverse order.

 

[Snapping Twig]

In marine applications, salt water corrosion on bolts and spark plugs and other such items is overcome with hydrogen peroxide.

Trying to remember if there's a soak time or other details, but its been a while since we discussed it.

Worth a try if you run up against a wall.

 

[Maximumbob54]

If the oil used in the past on it was anything like WD40 then there is always the chance that the oil has dried to a near varnish like substance. I learned this the hard way years ago with a couple of my grandfather's BAR's. He loved WD40 and used it on everything. He had one so gummed up that I couldn't pull the bolt back. His answer? Spray the action with some WD40 and let it set a while... The scary thing is it worked... I learned how to detail clean a Browning BAR that afternoon. And that rifle never saw a drop of WD40 ever again. I must admit though there wasn't a spot of rust on that or any of his guns.

 

[2152hq]

Take the cylinder cross pin/plunger right off the gun to get it out of the way. You won't have to wonder if it's interfering with the cylinder pin trying to come forward & out of the frame that way while working on it.

It's just two opposing screws,,put a screwdriver in the slot on one side and hold it there while turning the screw on the other and unwind them. A small coil spring between them will come free, so don't loose that.

Now take the ejector rod, spring & housing off the bbl also to get that out of the way for later. One screw, pull it down and off the bbl.

Then cock the hammer back to full cock. You should be able to see the back end of the cylinder pin in the frame. It'll be at an angle to you, but carefully and with a brass drift it's usually possible to place a few decent taps to that end of it to drive it forward a little.
It may take a few back&forth pushes & taps on the pin from the front and back of it to get it loose enough to finally be able to be pulled free.

Keep adding some oil to the pin as it frees up to help the situation. Once it's loose you can grip onto the pin carefully! in a padded vise with a thin cardboard shim between it and the bbl itself to avoid any marks.
Pull back on the entire gun to pull the pin out of the frame.
The ejector housing being off the bbl allows the pin to grasped carefully in the protected vise jaws.
You can even help the situation at that point with a few gentle taps to the very end of the bbl with a rawhide or plastic head mallet to drive the gun backwards off the pin.
Don't strike it with a steel or even a brass hammer.

 

[HotRoderX]

This is a extremely worse case fix. Call Ruger something tells me they have no issue fixing the gun up for yea. Most likely it wouldn't cost you a dime or would be extremely cheap.

 

[2152hq]

If you send a 3-screw S/A to Ruger for anything,,it'll come back converted to a transfer bar system and you will not get the old parts back.

That may make no difference to you. It does to the vast majority of Old Model Ruger S/A owners. It does decrease the value significantly.
Your decision of course.

A stuck center pin is not the end of the world. It happens alot on Colts too. They even sell a small 'puller' tool to yank the thing out straight from the front to avoid people using a pliers on them. Brownells probably sells them.
You can buy trinket tools if you like, send it off to the factory at overnite express rates,,, or just punch the thing out.

It's not the Space Shuttle you're working on..

 

[revho]

Found the puller tool as mentioned above this morning on Brownells. That might be the direction for me if soaking yields nothing. $22.67 plus shipping is fine by me for a trinket tool if it works. Thanks everyone for the insight/comments/feedback thus far.

Kevin

 

[DGNY]

Good advice here, as always. If you have some handy, half ATF and half acetone makes a deep penetrant, and you wouldn't need much to drizzle. A soak would be better yet.

Kroil also VG.

Good luck,

Dyson

 

[Raider]

Soak it in Kroil. Kroil is your friend.

Charlie

 

[Terry C]

I'm not sure about the three-screw, but on the New Model the base pin can be tapped out from the rear with the grip frame and internal parts removed.

It woule be easy enough to tell if the hammer can be cocked, if the base pin hole is drilled all the way through the rear.

 

[LouisianaJoe]

I have a 58 vintage 3 screw. One thing that I noticed is that if I cock the gun, I can push the release button an push the pin from the front until it hits the cocked hammer. It may be possible for you to cock the hammer. push the release button in and tap the pin to the rear with a wooden dowel. that should let you see if there is rust on the back of the pin or varnish in the case of WD-40 usage.

I also am a believer in using Kroil to free stuff up. You can apply the Kroil to the rear of the pin with the gun cocked.

 

[bloo]

Something you didn't ask for but your Single Six shows made in 1967


Ted

 

[johnjohn]

I'd pull the grips and soak in a bucket od diesel.

 

[dant]

No need to buy any "gimmick tools or special equipment" soak it in kroil, and as noted above either remove the base pin latch (two screws and a spring) and a gentle tap on either end of the pin ( have to have the hammer cocked to hit the pin on the BACK ( rear ) end.)..once the pin "moves" it will come out ,,,,NO pliers, NO vise grips, NO "special tooling".............if the cylinder turns ( spins) and the pin does NOT "move" then the "stuck" issue is in the frame, either in front , or in the back,,,quite simple and very easy.....if the cylinder AND the pins trun together at the same time, it is "stuck" ,frozen, in the cylinder center pin hole.....just a bit tougher to get out, but the same principles apply.......

 

[Alpo]

If you send a 3-screw S/A to Ruger for anything,,it'll come back converted to a transfer bar system and you will not get the old parts back.

That may make no difference to you. It does to the vast majority of Old Model Ruger S/A owners. It does decrease the value significantly.
Your decision of course.

A stuck center pin is not the end of the world. It happens alot on Colts too. They even sell a small 'puller' tool to yank the thing out straight from the front to avoid people using a pliers on them. Brownells probably sells them.
You can buy trinket tools if you like, send it off to the factory at overnite express rates,,, or just punch the thing out.

It's not the Space Shuttle you're working on..

You sure about that? They sent my parts back, but then, they worked on my gun in 1981.

Howsomever, according to their website

http://www.ruger.com/pdf/safetyOfferAd.pdf Last line of the second paragraph.

>The value of the gun will not be impaired, and we will return your original parts for collector’s purposes<

 

[revho]

Something you didn't ask for but your Single Six shows made in 1967


Ted

Thanks Ted,

That is interesting as the gun was purchased in 1971 in the state of Wyoming. Must have sat on the shelf for a couple years. My Great Great Uncle purchased it out there on one of his many hunting trips. He was big into mule deer If I remember correctly.

My wife ended up dropping the gun off at my LGS this afternoon as they had the brass drift punch & had the pin removed and ready to be picked up within a couple hours of dropping it of. Will pick it up soon and put a few rounds through it before bringing it back to my uncle.

I do appreciate all the helpful comments but felt I was over my head and didn't want to screw anything up on it trying to get the pin out.

Thanks

Kevin

 

[2152hq]

They used to send the old parts back all nicely packed in a little 'Ruger' marked bag. They were a good re-sale item and most went right back into Ruger 3-screw revolvers again. '81 you'd get them back no problem.

Many that have been sent in lately have come back w/o the old parts. Wether it's a new policy, or doing a dance by saying the old part(s) are worn and unsafe so we dispose of them,,I don't know.
A call to Ruger by one customer says he was told the old parts were not being returned any more.
It could entirely depend on who's working that day for all I know.

It would seem logical that if you were sued for that design causing death and injurys and part of the settlement was for you to elliminate all 3-screw working Rugers from the planet,,that you wouldn't hand the old parts back to the customer who is just going to re-install them or sell them to someone else that will do the same. No one wants to be an enabler..!

I know they won't do anything to your Ruger when sent there for work w/o first doing the conversion.
I guess getting the parts back is still a question in my mind from what I've experienced. They certainly advertise that they do return them, which I think they should.
Thank you for the link to the website

I know if you send them a 357Maximum Ruger SA (remember those) for anything they will keep the revolver and offer you a new mfg'r 'suitable replacement' free of charge. You will not get that one back.

One of their missions is to rid the planet of all 3-screw actions (& 357 Maximum revolvers). Even if it takes forever! Or at least they have to try as long as the company is alive according to the court settlement.

 

[A10]

Kroil
Kroil
Kroil
Kroil
Kroil

Get the aerosol and cock the hammer, then shoot the pin from the back of the frame. Let it soak a bit then you should be able to tap it free.