Best way to clean TC New Englander

[indian joe]

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he aint dead mate - just a mule bein a mule and havin a rest - turn ya back a minute and he'll be off and runnin tother direction.

[rfd]

he aint dead mate - just a mule bein a mule and havin a rest - turn ya back a minute and he'll be off and runnin tother direction.

[megasupermagnum]

The nipple should be removed no more than once a year for inspection and relubrication. Repeatedly removing it wears the threads, and will eventually cause dangerous failure.
Plain old luke warm water is all you need to clean with. Hot water causes flash rusting, and will actually set fouling a bit harder, taking more time to clean. Dry barrel with pieces of paper towel, then use a good oil in the bore.

I'm sure you have been at this for decades, but I'm not leaving a nipple in for a year or more. That's just asking for trouble. There's probably better, but I always used copper anti-seize, and it seems to work fine.

That is intriguing about using hot water. I've always used relatively hot water, and always get an orange patch or two, but figured it was just fouling. I'll try some room temp water next time.

I was talking to somebody who recommended a pipe cleaner for an ar-15 gas tube. It's dense cotton like a bore mop, and has scrubbing bristles in it. I think that will be the ticket.

[Maven]

mega...., waksupi has a point about not removing nipples. I.e, that way they can't be lost, cross-threaded or stripped. However, I have several cap lock rifles + 1 cap & ball revolver and I always remove the nipples when cleaning them. Btw, I also use white lithium grease when replacing them and most certainly am careful not to cross thread or over tighten them (been doing this since 1970 with nary a problem).

[mooman76]

I don't always remove the nipple but do like every s
2nd or 3rd time of use. Leave it too long and you may have trouble getting it out. There are little tiny brushes used for cleaning tiny things like air spray and electric paint guns. They aren't bad to have for them small areas to clean. Harbor Freight has them for cheap.

[OverMax]

I'm kind'a non-conventional when it comes to my side-locks bore cleaning.
Found plunging with the nipple removed each & every time initiates better water cleansing through-out the barrels bore and its firing channel. Quicker the water movement: Quicker its debris and fouling is flushed away.

Seldom do I clean my used nipples. Have a: Ultra Sonic Parts Cleaner in the shop for that purpose.

Typically done: Barrel flush. A quick nipple change out with a prior cleaned Knight Hot Shot my Thompson is good to go.

Such nipple change only requires a tiny bit of Anti-Seize grease freshly applied to its threads before its screwing in place. The anti-seize applied is {not} for easier nipple removal. More so to protect those Snail threads from disappointing surface corrosion.