doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Soldering loose rib

Hal,
check your email.
Steve

Hal, I just have my Ithaca double done by Mike Orlen for less than that including insurance and shipping.
Casey
Ps: in less than a weeks time,

Rust is quite often found beneath the ribs. Could be because the bbls were browned or blued and some acid and water got in there through a sight bead hole or a loose spot; or because the gun was used in the rain with loose ribs; or because some genius used acid flux solder in the past without washing it before final assy.

The only time I would do a quickie is if one end of the rib loosened up due to mechanical impact and it appeared to be a clean separation. In any case, it's hard to work solder into the crack without using acid flux, which in turn will just cause problems in the future. And if you get it in there, it often sticks to the bbls requiring a rebrown/blue anyway. Rather remove the whole thing and do the job properly the first time. If you want to save money, then do rib removal, clean up, and barrel prep yourself.

However, if the gun is a $500 junker, you can't afford to spend any money on it so either shoot it as is, or cut some corners (as long as you don't create a time bomb).

I learned that hard way, had a well known barrel man tell he could solder the loose rib without the full monty. He did it and then did a nice job rebrowning the damascus. About 3 months later rust started weeping out from under the repair. He told me to rinse it with baking soda to neutralize the flux (he had assured me he would use non-corrosive flux).

The short of it is that after two years of weeping rust Kirk Merrington looked at them, gave them the full monty and said there was plenty of corrosion between the barrels that he had to clean out.

If the gun it worth keeping it's worth doing correctly.

The Super Fox HE I saw last week had the last 2" of the top rib loose. Needs to stripped, relayed and reblued. The owner is griping about it but there's no way around it.

If the gun's value doesn't justify the proper remedy then use epoxy. At least it won't make it worse.

Mike Orlen did my Remington 1900 about 16 months ago. The top of the top rib near the breech came askew. Perfect job, looked like new. I've put about 900 rounds through since and now the rest of the original solder came loose. The work Mike did was excellent just bear in mind he's only fixing a small part. The rest may last forever or not. This time I'll have to bite the bullet to have the whole thing relaid but I do recommend trying to have the small area you're talking about done first.
Frank

The way I see it it all comes down to why the solder joint failed. If the joint failed due to corrosion caused by hot blue,acid flux or moisture trapped between the ribs then a full relay may be required. If a small section comes loose and no corrosion is present (both surfaces appear tinned ) a spot repair is appropriate.

If you feel the need to put something between the ribs I would use liquid rosin flux . It is something that belongs there anyway, it will dry and leave a protective film. If a repair is needed down the road you won't have to worry about removing something that may contaminate a solder joint.

Mark

http://www.mbabllc.com

I pulled and relayed the lower rib, [on the third gun I mentioned],yesterday. Sure enough, the factory had missed a couple of spots. These finally started to rust, and that rust had started to move under the solder near it. Even if I could have repaired the loose parts alone, which is doubtful without acid flux, the rest would have continued to fail. It's quite possible that left long enough, that pitting would have thinned the wall between the barrels enough to cause a blowout. The spot worse afflicted was right about where you hold the gun with your left hand, just above the tip of the forend.....
The ribs are now air tight, as proven by immersion in hot water. Now for the clean up and refinish.
Jim

The fact that one canot see what is going on between the ribs ought tro scare the hell out of anyone owning an Over/Under with vents in the side ribs. I have always brushed a drop or two of good gun oil on the seams of my double guns' ribs with a soft toothbrush. Methinks some are making mountains out of mole hills. Chopper

The fact that one canot see what is going on between the ribs ought tro scare the hell out of anyone owning an Over/Under with vents in the side ribs. I have always brushed a drop or two of good gun oil on the seams of my double guns' ribs with a soft toothbrush. Methinks some are making mountains out of mole hills. Another item of interest: rather than dipping your barrels into boiling water, try blowing smoke with a thin plastic tube into the drainage or vent holes in the lower rib while plugging the other if there is more than one (and there usually is) you will quickly see any smoke issuing from any gap in the ribs. Just my 2cents' worth. Chopper

But Chopper I quit smoking 24 years ago.
Casey