1875 Remington cylinder pin removal

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John_A
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2020 9:57 am

1875 Remington cylinder pin removal

Post by John_A »

Hello,
I just purchased a 1875 Remington revolver in .44 Remington CF serial number 14227. I'm having a difficult time removing the cylinder pin. I don't see any catch to release. For example my Colt single action has a screw on the frame which holds the pin in and must be removed.
What has to be done to remove the pin? Thanks.
aardq
Posts: 439
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2005 1:02 pm

Re: 1875 Remington cylinder pin removal

Post by aardq »

Hi John,

Hopefully the pic will get posted. The pic shows the underside of the tip of the cyl pin. You can see that a notch has been machined into the pin. The "arrow" points to the cyl pin retention spring. here's where the fun begins. If you can, put a couple of drops of gun oil around the spring so it flows down the sides of the pin, toward the cylinder.
[img][/img] [attachment=0]Cyl pin spring - 334-BW.jpg[/attachment]

The spring has to be depressed, not a lot, and then at the same time, push the pin forward. Use a non-marring material, a small piece of wood will work, or something similar. Be happy if the pin just moves a little bit. It may take several attempts. Once past the spot where the spring catches, you can then use the "tool" to move the pin forward all the way. The pic also shows the pin fully forward. Once in that position, the cyl can be removed.

Good luck,
Dan
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Cyl pin spring - 334-BW.jpg
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John_A
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2020 9:57 am

Re: 1875 Remington cylinder pin removal

Post by John_A »

Thanks Dan. I'm trying to soak the pin in penetrating oil wherever I can get access. The think it is just rusted in place. The gun looks to have had some hard useage and not a lot of maintenance. I appreciate your response.
John
aardq
Posts: 439
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2005 1:02 pm

Re: 1875 Remington cylinder pin removal

Post by aardq »

Hi John,

The pin should be relatively easy to remove. I just checked two 1890s, and two 1875, and 3 of the 4 pins can be moved with just a thumbnail. The 4th one moved easy when I use the rim of a cartridge case. It sure sounds like that gun has some serious corrosion issues.

Good luck with it.
Dan
aardq
Posts: 439
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2005 1:02 pm

Re: 1875 Remington cylinder pin removal

Post by aardq »

Hi John,

Bill T. just let me know that he has a record of your serial, in his list of 75s, and that it isn't a standard 75. His record shows the web removed and a substitute cyl pin installed. Has your gun been modified, or is it a standard 75?

Dan
aardq
Posts: 439
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2005 1:02 pm

Re: 1875 Remington cylinder pin removal

Post by aardq »

Hi John,

Is this your 75?

[img]John's 75.jpg [/img]
John_A
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2020 9:57 am

Re: 1875 Remington cylinder pin removal

Post by John_A »

Hello,
The pics didn't come through but yes the ejector assembly is missing and apparently someone jammed in a too large cylinder rod.
When the shut down is over I'm going to ask my gunsmith to remove it. I've found Uberti ejector assembly and lanyard ring fits perfectly. I'm going to install them and ask him his advice on the cylinder rod. I have no plans to try to shoot this. It's a historical artifact as far as I'm concerned. Plus it's 44 Remington CF. Where did you get the data on the revolver?
aardq
Posts: 439
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2005 1:02 pm

Re: 1875 Remington cylinder pin removal

Post by aardq »

Hi John,

Sorry to hear about your 75 problems. I no longer have that pic to re-post. You may want to post a WTB here. You never know when someone has a few parts laying around. Since you're not going to shoot it, if the Uberti ejector assembly fits, then why not? It will be obvious to any future buyer that the assembly isn't original. On the other hand, using ONLY black powder you might be able to shoot it. I don't know if any modern 44 brass can be formed to 44 Rem, but it would be fun to shoot!

The info 75s came from several articles, mostly by Don Ware. The info on your specific gun came from Bill T, who posts here. Bill collects info on 75s, including serials finish, grips, and other info about each gun. He has done this for years. He does an annual update early in the year, so the list is ready for the Balto Gun show in mid-March.

Good luck with your 75,
Dan
John_A
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2020 9:57 am

Re: 1875 Remington cylinder pin removal

Post by John_A »

Thanks Dan. I just replied to Bill. I hope he gets the message I can't see anything in my sent file. BTW I did find a company that sells 44 Remington brass from resized 44 Colt and they chamber perfectly. I have heeled bullets on back order and am going to make some dummies for display. I know this is 44Rem because my 44-40 cartridge only goes about halfway into the chamber. Also as I mentioned to Bill this gun started life a a nickel 7.5 inch barrel. You can still see some silver under the grips
orpington
Posts: 35
Joined: Sat Feb 14, 2015 11:24 am

Re: 1875 Remington cylinder pin removal

Post by orpington »

John_A wrote: Fri Feb 21, 2020 10:20 am Hello,
I just purchased a 1875 Remington revolver in .44 Remington CF serial number 14227. I'm having a difficult time removing the cylinder pin. I don't see any catch to release. For example my Colt single action has a screw on the frame which holds the pin in and must be removed.
What has to be done to remove the pin? Thanks.
Here is serial number 14227 as well, but in .44-40. As .44-40 was introduced around serial number 14,000, I am guessing that the same serial number may have been erroneously assigned to two guns at that time, each of a different calibre, as yours is in .44 Remington Centerfire.

https://www.morphyauctions.com/jamesdju ... 29-14-397/
aardq
Posts: 439
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2005 1:02 pm

Re: 1875 Remington cylinder pin removal

Post by aardq »

Hi,

I thought that Rem went to batch numbers about 16,000, when they were done with the Egyptian contract. Hopefully Bill T will join in and give us the straight info. The gun at Morphy's has the early trigger, and the ejector housing isn't rebated. Bill will have to tell us about this. The gun has an assembly number which means that the gun was converted from 44 Rem to 44-40.

Morphy got a few minor points wrong. The 1888 wasn't a redesign. All Rem Arms did, after acquiring the company, was to alter the web. They gathered parts left over from the 75s, and, changed the web, and the 1888 was born. There were far less than 1000 made. The 2 experts on the 88s believe that less than 300 were made. All with 5 3/4" barrels, and almost all in Nickel. It is generally believed that the 75s were made 1874 to 1886, when E Remington went bankrupt, and into receivership.

Now we wait for Bill T.
Dan
orpington
Posts: 35
Joined: Sat Feb 14, 2015 11:24 am

Re: 1875 Remington cylinder pin removal

Post by orpington »

The bottom of the left grip is stamped 44, which indicates it is chambered in .44 WCF. So, either the grip was stamped 44 when converted, which seems unlikely, but possible, or it was originally chambered in .44 WCF and stamped 44 at the time of production.
billt
Posts: 258
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2003 6:42 pm

Re: 1875 Remington cylinder pin removal

Post by billt »

The original run of 44 Remington caliber revolvers went from 1 to about 16000. These were all chambered in 44 Remington caliber. The highest serial number I have is 15294 but I believe I read somewhere that there was a revolver with a serial number 15820. The next run of approximately 2000 revolvers called the second serial set were again serialized from 1 on up. This is when I believe Remington started manufacturing 44-40 and 45 caliber revolvers. I believe in the second serial set they also manufactured some 44 Remington caliber revolvers. I say this because there are two 44 Remington caliber revolvers each bearing serial numbers of 1, 57 & 635. I don’t know why Remington started a second serial set. It may have been some changes to the revolver they wanted to make and wanted to differentiate the new revolvers from the old. My theory is Remington started the second serial set making 44 Remington caliber revolvers and then changed over to the 44-40 and 45 calibers later in the production run. After the second serial set was completed they started batch processing revolvers.

I believe the re-chambering process started toward the end of the second serial set because many have no caliber marks. I also believe Remington made changes to update the revolvers being re-chambered to current manufacturing parts when possible. They did re-stamp the grips of some of the revolvers being re-chambered with either “44”, “44W” or “45”. From this we can say any revolver with a serial number of over 2000 and chambered in anything but 44 Remington is a re-chambered revolver. I believe the re-chambering process ended about the time Remington changed the caliber mark from the grip to the frame. I say this because of the 99 grip marked revolvers in the database 17 are over 2000. Of the 135 frame marked revolvers there are only 2 with serial numbers over 2000 and there are no trigger guard marked revolvers with serial numbers over 2000. The characteristics of re-chambered revolvers also varies depending upon when they were re-chambered. I have three revolvers which I believe have been re-chambered.

Serial Number 3837. This is an Egyptian contract revolver re-chambered to 45 caliber. It has a flat top hammer with rectangular firing pin and no bevels. There is a slot in the frame to accommodate the firing pin. There is no frame rebate or bevels. It has an early trigger and trigger guard without the bevels. It has a pinched front sight, a left hand barrel address and a lanyard ring. There is a “45” stamped on the rear of the cylinder to denote caliber but no assembly numbers. There is no caliber mark.

Serial Number 15137. This is a 44 Remington re-chambered to 44-40 caliber. It has a flat top hammer with rectangular firing pin and no bevels. There is a slot in the frame to accommodate the firing pin. There is a frame rebate and bevels. It has an early trigger and trigger guard without the bevels. It has a pinched front sight, a left hand barrel address and a lanyard ring. It has the number “6” stamped on the heel of the left hand frame and the assembly number “37” stamped on the rear of the cylinder, the top of the ejector housing and the bottom of the barrel. There is no caliber mark.

Serial number 986. I believe this 44-40 caliber revolver may be re-chambered from the second serial number set because it has many characteristics of the later revolvers and also has assembly numbers.
It has a round top hammer with a cone firing pin and bevels. There is a hole in the frame to accommodate the firing pin. It has a frame rebate and bevels. It has an early trigger and a late trigger guard with bevels. It has a pinched front sight, a left hand barrel address and a lanyard ring. It has the number “19” stamped on the heel of the left frame, the rear of the cylinder, the top of the ejector housing and the bottom of the barrel. There is no caliber mark. This may not be a re-chambered revolver and the assembly numbers may be for another purpose, possibly a factory rework.

Sorry for the long winded response,

Bill
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