doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Keith Kearcher (sp)

Some years ago I sent Mr. Kearcher a set of damascus barrels that had loose ribs to be repaired and then browned. His browning was very good, brought out a good deal of pattern.

A few months after I got them back I noticed rust weeping out from under the rib. I called him and was told to scrub them down with baking soda. I asked, "Why, did you use acid flux?"
Never got a straight answer.

Eventually I sent the barrels to another barrel man who took them apart and found a good deal of corrosion forming in there. Had to have them redone. The pattern was not as pronounced but they aren't rusting either.

The "why" for using an acid flux is easy. It works better than rosin. But as you found, rinsing, flushing, and oiling through a little weep hole drilled in the lower rib isn't likely to get it out or neutralize it.

I would like to find out if Oatey Lead Free Flux is acid based or not. It is the best stuff I have ever tried with 50-50 tin/lead solder, even on joints I could not clean as well as I'd like. It has very fine particles of tin suspended in the paste, and really does a nice job of tinning the surfaces by itself. I think it would be great for ribs if it is not corrosive.

I gotta go with the flow here. With Keith, it depends who shows up for work. He has done some very nice brown/white work for me and some that was terrible.
Buck Hamlin does wonderful work and, once he starts on a barrel set, it takes him about 8 weeks. "If slow is good, slower it better," is his mantra. A great guy.

When it comes to any barrel refinish job it all boils down to who can prep the barrel the best...

Well that is half the battle, but there is much more to it than that. The finishing process plays a very large part in the final product and different patterns require different techniques. We like less contrast on our brown and white as we feel it is more appropriate to English guns. These were done by my apprentice Manito Lara.

I find Kester (sp?)rosin flux works very well, as long as you do not get it too hot.

I looked at a tub of the Oatey Lead Free Flux, and lo and behold it says it contains Zinc Chloride and Ammonium Chloride. I believe it would tend to be hygroscopic in places where you could not remove all of the residue. Just for the hell of it, I put a dab on the end of a set of junk Baker barrels and heated it to tinning temp. to see what happens when it is left there in our current humid conditions.

Yes, the Baker barrels are really and truly junk. There is an area of very deep pitting across the top of both barrels and the rib. They are otherwise about as nice as you could hope for. It's been a mystery what could have done such bad localized damage and left the rest so nice. A shame.

A blood soaked glove and failing to clean and oil the barrels would be my guess. Blood is a powerful oxidizer.

So you're saying this Baker was once owned by O. J. Simpson?