doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Safe to solder Fox bbl?

Wow! This is about the best post I have ever seen for great answers! Seems like you have quite a few good choices to choose from, Bill. Good luck.

This is maybe a dumb question but Kutter's post made me contemplate the following: Kutter recommends a small tuft of steel wool in the hole and then solder on top of it. How does the gunmaker solder the end shut with nothing behind the opening?

Steve,
I just did this when re-laying the ribs on some barrels. For an openning of more than an 1/8", fitting a small piece of steel into the hole is typical. It's usually a small triangle. At least it is on the Parker I took apart and other American doubles I have. This Lefever barrel rib has that triangle silver brazed to the rib.



On smaller holes, simply tilt the barrels muzzle down about 10 degrees, play the torch on the area to get the heat right, and add solder. If you keep them level, the solder will flow into the barrel gap and you'll end up adding more and more solder without getting the end filled and built up.

Another way I filled the end during sleeving was to machine a hourglass shaped piece and solder that in.

Wow! I was away from the computer this weekend and am amazed at the great response.

You all may be familiar with this book already, but I found an incredible resource yesterday at a local antique shop-Modern Gunsmithing by Clyde Baker c 1933. Was up half the night reading it. He mentions the insertion of tight-fitting cotton to plug the void pressed about an inch in from the muzzle, then pouring zinc chloride into the hole and then decanting it out. Next, soft solder is melted and poured into the hole to fill and filed off. Same idea as the steel wool, but not sure where the Zn comes into play. Also, I'm not sure how widely this book was read, but Mr Baker may be to blame for the the hinge pin peening to bring guns back on face as he does advocate this for the "working man's" American double. Other than this though, sound advice and some neat period info including some chapters by Townsend Whelen, the developer of the 220 Swift I think.
BTW, I also picked up a copy of our own Steven Dodd Hughes' book on custom doubles (not at the antique shop). Great info as well--and interesting to read about how the grainy black blue rust finish was achieved on the Fox. Beautiful guns, too!

I haven't had a chance to do anything yet, but as I'm so close to Earlysville myself, if Prof Apperson is willing, I'd like to bring the gun to him (and also an orig Parker 28 I found to show off).
Thanks so much,
Bill

I've done this repair before using a torch and silver solder just like what is mentioned before. Not too hard, but not for the feint hearted either.

Just do not rush and remember to take the bead off!

I'm wondering why silver alloyed solder, with a higher melting temp than the original/existing 60/40 tin/lead solder, would even be considered? 60/40 solder melts around 364F. JMO, but I see no advantage in using anything other than the original alloy or a lower melting point solder.

Alot of the silver/tin alloy soft solder around melts in the 400F range and will work well but I agree that plain old lead/tin worked fine in the original application and no reason to look elsewhere for a fixer. Alot of the stuff around now is 'lead free' silver alloy soft solder and it's marketed as Silver Solder though it's not the silver solder I think of. Plus the silver alloy soft solder stuff will stay forever bright white and never tone down to the medium grey of the lead/tin stuff if thats a concern on an older gun for looks. It'll always look like a repair as will an epoxy plug, but they'll work OK of course. Using the older zinc chloride flux will get you a great solder bond even with a less than perfectly clean prep surface but it will almost certainly guarantee some very active after rust in there if the stuff isn't completely flushed out. Another step to add to what starts as a simple resoldering job. Clean the edges of the surfaces well, flux with a noncorrosive flux and a touch of solder with your favorite applicator (electric or torch) and you're done. I'd wire and/or clamp if using a torch (which I don't use anymore) as alot of heat is dispersed into the barrels and ribs even with a small flame. No need to, as I said, if using a soldering gun or iron. If it takes more than 30 seconds to do the actual soldering at the muzzle, you're doing something wrong.
If you want to add a triangle steel piece to the opening, take a piece of round stock big enough in diameter that you can file to a three sided, tapered spike that will not fall into the opening but the three sides will hang up on the rib and barrel edges. It doesn't have to be overly long inside (watch the length on top that it doesn't interfere with the front sight bead). Tin it, clip it to length so there is just a bit of extra to the outside, drop it into place, solder and face it off to the muzzles with the soldering job.
FWIW, the soldering iron or gun is perfect for tinning the ribs and barrels for relaying too.

When I say torch, I mean the Smith's small torch. It has five heads; the smallest three are sapphire tips.The flame of the smallest is about 1/32 ".They are most often used to weld the links of gold jewelry chains.The heat is the same as any oxy-acetlyene torch and one can get in and out very quickly.I can generally make a repair in less than 30 seconds. Bill