Helicoil Repair to Muzzleloader Nipple or Vent Liner?

[encore3006]

A recent topic came up on the Traditional Muzzleloader Forum which included the following:

Green Mountain had a bad run of drilling & tapping nipple seats and vent liner seats...had a big recall for a couple years...ran out of good breechplugs replacing all the recalled returns...so then they began trying to 'repair' the threaded seats by drilling them out larger, then screwing in a 'helicoil', then screwing a nipple (or vent liner) into the helicoil.

I asked my gunsmith and he said it would be O.K. I asked an aircraft mechanic and he said they are used in aircraft engines (if pre-approved by the FAA) and my dad used them to repair stripped spark plug holes in car engines.

Any thoughts?

[trotterlg]

If done properly they are at least as strong as an origional tapped hole.  The threads on a helicoil are extrememly hard, I would not worry about them at all.  Only down side would be, if for some reason, the threads unscrewed when removing the nipple.  Larry

[gunnut69]

I should think they would be fine. The higher carbon content of the helicoil may rust a bit more than a comparable steel nipple.. Many nipples are made from rust resistant material such as stainless steel.. also there are more places for fouling to get into which will aggravate the cleaning a bit. Still as a general rule the repair should be fine.

[DLH]

   The company that I work for tried to use helicoil for mold repair,  results were NOT good. now we use them just to get by to the weekend!  then fix it right, (ie weld shut and re drill and tap, or make a new part. 

  I wouldn't want a band aid fix on a gun so close to my face.  Fix it right!!!


 just my 2 cents.