doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT: O/U forearm lug re-attachment (tig or solder)

I have a set of Winchester 101 barrels that need to have the forearm lug re-attached. Would the preferred method be a silver solder as they were originally or would TIG welding produce a stronger attachment.

I'm going to have a gunsmith do the work. I was just wondering which method would be stronger and if TIG welding would be safe when attaching the lug directly to the barrel.

Thanks,

Oganza

I think that these lugs are usually soldered. I could be wrong but I think solder is the way to go.

Regards, Gordon

Gordon is correct, lugs are soldered in place. I use the Brownell's high strenght stuff. Seems to work quite well. Best, DR. BILL

If the original solder has a bit of a yellow cast to it, it likely is a silver bearing solder. Given that these lugs on 101's and Citori's have a small bearing surface area, I'd be willing to bet they used a silver bearing solder originally, just for the additional strength.

Mike Orlen could do it for you. It's very likely the lug was soft soldered originally. Silver solder probably wouldn't have come loose.

The only problem with any higher temperature solder is possible barrel warp, more so the thinner the barrel. Best, Dr. BILL

I'm pretty certain that the lug was originally attached with silver solder. The area does have a yellow/bronze color to it.

I thought that a full bead TIG weld might result in a stronger bond with less worry about warping or loosening the center ribs on the barrel. I am not sure whether the TIG weld would risk penetrating or hardening such thin barrels.

My main concern is the strongest bond with the least risk to the rest of the solder joints on the barrel.

If you tig weld it or silver solder, you will probably warp or change the inner contour of the barrel, not to mention possibly loosening the center rib joint. This is also of concern if soldering. I would, and have used successfully, Brownells Hi-Force 44 solder. It is about 25,000 tensile strength and does not take as much heat as silver solder. The one thing to wantch out for is the flux. It is highly corrosive and will take off all the blueing it touches.

Somebody better define just what silver solder is! Silver bearing solder is mostly tin with a small addition of silver. It is lots stronger than plain lead solder and requires heat in the range of 400-450 degrees. What is classically known as silver solder is in fact a form of brazing material requiring red heat to make a successful joining of metals. It is highly akin to brazing and much too hot to apply to ribs or barrels. I use the silver solder to braze brass hilts on custom hunting knives I make. Three pieces of brass are invisibly joined by this method and it requires red heat. Better get this straight before somebody screws something up. Chopperlump

OK, Ok, my OCD/type "A" personality got me digging through my welding texts. The sort of arbitrary cutoff temp that differentiates brazing from soldering is 450 degrees centigrade. "Sliver solder" therefore would be more correctly called "silver brazing". Hence the temp is a tad high in IMO for thin sxs's barrels. Brownell's Hi-Force 44 works just fine and melts at about 450 degrees Farenheit, considerably less than 450 degrees centigrade. Best, Dr. BILL