One last question of you guys (2-piper, Drew, et. al.) better versed in metallurgy:
If you look at the first picture and focus on the bottom tube, you'll see the burst drove a strap of barrel wall (approx. 1-1/2" in length) directly upward and into contact with the top barrel. That strap was formed when the barrel wall rent in two places, exactly along the welds?/brazings? that attached the side ribs. That's why the side-ribs are bent all helter-skelter as they were directly over where the barrel let go.
My question is: Could the heat of however those side-ribs are attached at the factory have stressed or weakened the parent (tube) material making it more susceptible to failing there? The two ruptures are exactly along those lines. These seam-appearing tears are what I think Bill Shodlatz was referring to in his post earlier in the thread.
Any thoughts?
Rob
