soldering tutelage

[Three Hawks]

I have a GR .40 barrel I'm fitting to a T-C Seneca stock.  I had the barrel breeched by TOW with a T-C compatible hooked plug when I bought it.  That's the story so far.

I had a length of under rib from a junk box purchase and am in the process of soldering it to the barrel because the barrel wall is quite thin and I don't trust myself to drill and tap several 1/8" deep holes without drilling into the bore.  So I have tinned the bottom flat and the underrib with 50/50 solder and have clamped the rib in place with six small "c"clamps.  I haven't scrwed up the nerve to clamp the barrel in the vise and begin heating the assembly.

How've I done so far?

I plan to clamp the barrel by the breech using wood jaws in my machinist's vice, then begin heating the barrel and rib from the back going forward.  The reason is that all I've got for heat is a propane torch.  It worked OK for tinning, so I figure it should do the soldering as well.

Is my pland sound, or am I on a fool's errand?  

Again.

Three Hawks

[rollingb]

Sounds to me as though it should work (since you're using 50/50).

[BEAVERMAN]

your right on track Gerry, now if you had silver solder, you'ld still be trying to tin it as it melts at a much higher temp and the propane just wouldnt cut it.

[Three Hawks]

Both surfaces are tinned.  As I tinned them, I wiped away as much solder as would come off easily with a clean cotton rag.  I now have the rib clamped every 2" with 2" "c" clamps   I already fastened the rod thimbles to the rib with 5-40 brass flathead machine screws countersunk into the bottom of the rib and soldered to the rib itself.

After I get this thing soldered  I have several abrasive embedded  2" x 1/4" deburring wheels and a small electric die grinder to polish off any excess solder.  There shouldn't be much.  

I had the charcoal in a trench idea rattling in the back of my head for a long, long time.   I was pondering how a gunsmith in the time before portable torches would solder on an under rib.  I've seen many of 'em soldered but never gave it any hard thought.   So, tomorrow there'll be smoke over Mountlake Terrace and maybe, so's not to waste the fire, a game hen or two broiled on my bird fork.  

It's a bit late to have [size=150]"Three Hawks' Hay, Bait, Furniture, Gun Repair, Dogs Boarded and Chainsaws Sharpened"[/size] open tonight.   Tomorrow's soon enough.   Besides, the poor neighbors do need a respite.

Three Hawks

[Hank in WV]

Don't forget to re-oil that bore since you've burned it all away.

[Three Hawks]

Don't forget to re-oil that bore since you've burned it all away.

I've oiled it three times,  every time I get the barrel hot I've re-oiled it.

It's good to be reminded though, thanks.

Three Hawks

[Captchee]

yep like steve said , Tin both sides .
 
 now for others who may read this . pay close attention to your solders . some solders have a low initial melting point . however   once cooled , take higher heat to re melt .
also  use a  flux  designed for your  solder . this helps out greatly with silver solder . the use of  the wrong flux  is the most common problem folks have with silver solders .
Also when considering such thing, don’t forget to take into account any attachments you might  be going to attach to the udder rib  Especially slings .   This is where higher temp solders really shine

also depending on how thin your barrel is , be very  careful to keep the heat even  when using a torch  with higher temp solders .
 to much heat can warp a barrel  real good .
 so keep an eye on the solder  and keep the torch moving up and down the rib . once i the solder  starts to melt , work down the rib  keeping the heat moving . As steve alluded to ,  its pretty hard to get a even heat with a torch .
As such , what I will do many  times is to tin the barrel , then  using a high temp flux on the rib .  Then bring the rib up to a temp higher then the  solder .  Then place the rib on the barrel .
 But that all depends on what your using for solder
 you shouldn’t really have to worry much with 50/50  but some of the higher temp silvers, you can run into an issue .
also watch your clamps . remember the rib is going to settle  as it seats itself  so use lots of clamps .

 Heat beds like steve suggested  work well , BUT  keep an eye on it  so as the rig doesn’t slip  and that you get it out of the heat as soon as the  solder  melts