Good morning folks,
I have rings and a scope for my drilling and now I need to solder them together. I have done lots of soldering in the past but never to a scope tube. Is there anything unique that I should be aware of? As I think about it my concern is that the heat on the scope will effect the seals. Any advice and tips to help me along will be appreciated.
Thank you all.
Mike

Oops!!! Claw NOT clay mounts.Sorry for the fumble fingers.
Mike

I'm a little confused here. If you have rings, why do you need to solder anything to the scope? German claw mounts which were soldered to the scope tube die not use rings, they used half rings, and the scope tubes were made of steel, which is not often the case with modern scopes.

Lastly, if you do decide to solder the scope tube, in my opinion all the optics should be removed first and replaced after the operation is complete.

Sorry for the confusion. I have half rings that I want to mount on a steel tube scope as I have seen on several older German firearms.I am wondering how it was done in the past so that I could try it.
Thanks,
Mike

Mike V,
I watched my friend Walter Grass do this many times. You have to fit the rings to the scope and bases,bore sight the scope(held to the rifle in the rings by a chord), scribe witness marks on the scope tube/objective bell,take the scope apart carefully( wrap lenses, etc in tissue and store carefully)remount the scope in the rings(this time held by soft iron wire, such as "tie wire")lined up with witness marks and the ring/scope joint wiped with paste solder(combo flux/solder particles),heat rings/scope tube with a torch until solder flows,add solder from solder wire if necessary. Let everything cool,clean excess solder off, polish, blue. Send reblued tube and stored parts to scope specialist for reassembly.Note, this is only for steel scope.Epoxy might hold an alu. scope,but I doubt it. I only saw alu scope mounted in full rings or rail.
I have photos, but am too dumb to post them.
Mike

Mike,
Thank you. This is exactly what I was looking for. Don't know yet if I'll try it as it sure seems very critical work and I don't know if my old hands and eyes, combined with lack of experience would allow for success. On the other hand, I have all the parts and pieces just begging to be put back into service :-).
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.
Mike

Great post, Mon Ami- and like me, you are "Dumb" right- like a Fox is dumb-- Just looked at 4 fine Austrian and German drillings today- one 12 gauge with 70mm and 7x57, also a 16 with 65mm and 7x57- both with Hensoldt Diactyl 6-`12 scopes- and two other made in Ferlach- either with Krupp or Boehler special gewehrlaufstahl-- Ja- gut!!

RWTF,
If you buy one, make it the 16ga.A 12ga drilling is too big and heavy for my taste.Hensoldt scopes are great and 7x57R is a great caliber.
Mike

Just saw and examined four drillings for sale today- three have Hensoldt vari-power scopes, with the "two-=piece rail mountings- that's my term for the two piece rails set in place on the claws, with set screws that allow you to move the scope for your own eye relief- the one I like best is a 16 with a 7x57mm- cocking indicators- Krupp Special Gewehr Lauf Stahl, side green style safety, horn trigger guard, cheek[piece, bullet trap, all the bells and whistles--three of the four are 16, the other two were not marked as to the rifle cal.-- eyeball says either 7x57 or possibly 6.5x54-- the last one is a 12- with 2&3/4" chambers, Boehler Antitinit steel barrels, Hensoldt scope, Greener side safety, cocking indicators, very slight hairline crack in left barrel side jaw cheek of the buttstock-- all have tapered forearm with roller latch releases, no schnabels on the forearm tip, and the std 7/8" or possibly 3/4" wide sling swivels, horn or bakelite buttplates with engraved screw heads, craftsmanship like on a Rolex or a Steinway. I am tempted to buy one- and the 16 with the 7x57 looks like the "pick of the litter"- will advise, and if I do, will PM you some fotos in detail--

In my experience, the "set screws" are actually screws running completely through the rails, requiring holes to be drilled in the rails for their placement, and are therefore not adjustable for eye relief without drilling additional holes.

In any case, claw mounts have a limited amount of fore and aft adjustment, since moving the scope too far forward in the mount will prevent it from being tipped forward far enough for removal.

Thanks- I missed that detail--another gem of wisdom from a fellow drilling gent- now stored in my "book of knowledge"- Thanks RWTF

RWTF,
xausa is correct that the screws are not set screws,but some only go half their diameter into the rail, instead of the full diameter.For both types,it's pretty "iffy" to drill the holes. I recommend you don't try it if you can avoid it,by adjusting the focus and learning to shoot it with your head at whatever position it takes to see through the scope. If you insist(after all,it will be your gun), be advised you will have to drill the rail through the base because the rail is tapered and the base helps keep the drill from "running".Also, the Germans use a small cutter,similar to an end mill, in a breast drill to cut a "square" seat for the drill to start in. There should be a "center" on the underside aligned with the drill,to keep the hole lined up.The drill should be about the minor diameter of the screw, so you don't wipe out the threads if you drill too far.Then you would have to run a tap through if the hole is full diameter. This is a lot of "scary" work to move the scope a fraction of an inch. Good luck.
Mike

Again- thanks- I can move my head, and am, luckily- right handed, right master eye- so the cheekpiece stock normally found on drillings is not a problem--no moving my "cheek-weld" position for eye relief with the Hensoldt vari-powered scopes. I am going back next week and pick out one of the 4 I looked over-- most likely the 12 gauge-- Wow- what a detailed analysis of the procedure used toodify that style of mounts on the claw mounts-- intrigued by the term "breast drill"-- is this like a brace and bit perhaps? In Roger Rule's great book on the Model 70's (pardon the digression here) in the dis-assembly section, they have a print of a gun mechanic removing the machine screws to dis-assemble the barrel & receiver group from the stock, the rifle is clamped into a padded vise, and he is using a brace and bit-- Of course, a breast drill could also be a "Dolly Parton" model, nice to have her in my shop for a day--bet she would work out great in the heat treatment area- hardening tools, etc!! RWTF

RWTF,
Some people call a breast drill an "egg beater drill". I too have a bit brace set up with a screwdriver bit,it generates a lot of torque and works very well as long as you use a bit with parallel sides(tapered bit is bad to slip out).
Don't worry about cheekweld,otherwise you will have a hard time shooting a drilling.That is what I meant by "shoot it like a shotgun". Also don't use the sling to shoot with,use it only as a carrying strap.
Mike