Silver Solder / Rail Repair

[SVT_Tactical]

Guy brought me an older browning o/u that needed a small repair. The top rail is loose only near the breech end. Just slightly but enough you can lift it up some and move side to side. I'm hesitant to remove the entire rail and finish to re-solder with high temp silver solder and have to refinish the entire barrel section.

Do you guys think given I can get under the rear few mounting sections some low temp silver solder (275 degree melt point) would hold and not damage the finish? As well as hold up with it being only 275 melting point? This is a gun that gets used maybe once every few years for a family bird trip. Gun belonged to his grandpa and I don't want to do more evasive finish work than required to keep it original. Only experience I have with reattaching a rail was the entire rail was removed and high temp solder used to reattach and then cerakoted the barrel.

 

[mike mccormick]

Not an authority on the subject, but I would think it almost impossible to get the metal surfaces clean enough without removing the rib. Gun oil and moisture, etc, would almost certainly have crept into the void if this has been loose for a while. If you are not confident you can achieve a proper outcome, there is no dishonor in passing on the job. Don't want to mess up a family heirloom.

 

[marazzi59]

I was just doing some repair work myself last night with lower temp solder (475*f) and most if not all flux will damage the finish as well. Any way you could drill and tap for a small bolt? I'm not to familiar with the weapon your working on

 

[Trophied]

In the Shotgun Gunsmithing Services from Briley MFG:

Strip & relay ribs Your existing ribs are removed and then soldered back in place. This process includes a reblue.

$850.00

Or Midwest Gun Works:
Shotgun Resolder Vent Rib
Soldering is hard. Soldering a vent rib and side ribs on a very valuable Over/Under shotgun that has over 25 contact points and show little sign of solder line is harder. MGW has the art of soldering vent ribs on shotgun barrels down pretty well. We are one of the few that will still even attempt such a task. For those of you that know about this type of work you know how time consuming and difficult it is. In many cases a vintage shotgun used a soft solder originally on the barrels and after 50 years of shooting it has given up. We can address both top vent rib and side or bottom rib (SXS Shotguns). All Shotgun barrel solder work will require bluing as well.
Not Yet Rated
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Ouch!!! Shotgun work from any shop that specializes in them is expensive. Different breed.

 

[hpshooter]

"Gun belonged to his grandpa and I don't want to do more evasive finish work than required to keep it original."

You may consider using an adhesive like Loctite Black Max. Wedge the loose end of the rib up, clean contact areas with the strongest solvent you have that leaves no residue and apply adhesive. Remove wedges and clamp for several hours.

No idea how it will hold up over time but I did an emergency repair to a Williams front ramp sight that came loose several years ago with the Loctite product and the fellow is still using the rifle as a truck gun and the sight is still in place.

 

[SVT_Tactical]

Thanks for the insight all. I had a feeling that i was not going to be able to solder without messing finish up no matter how careful I was with the flux and solder.

 

[SVT_Tactical]

May try an adhesive like mentioned and see where it stands. As rare as the gun gets used i think it might be the only option without full scale removal and reblueing.

 

[tobnpr]

Well, this may actually be as nuts as it sounds- but why not try a small section with cyanoacrylate?
Assuming there's no gaps to fill, I wouldn't be surprised if "crazy glue" does the trick.

 

[WSnyder]

Loctite 380 Black Max is a cyanoacrylate. It's a toughened product meant for vibration and impact where other standard crazy glues will fail. I've been using it for over 20 years for applications like this. I first bought it for gluing on bolt bushings instead of using epoxy.

 

[ronemus]

I tried using cyanoacrylate glue to attach a bloop tube to my spacegun barrel, and it didn't work - let go the first time I used it. I use a gel epoxy from Ace Hardware (generic - maker unknown); the gel allows minute amounts of flex that keep it tightly attached. The hard part is breaking the bond when I rebarrel.

 

[SVT_Tactical]

Just updating an old thread. Used loctite black max as suggested above. So far after a few 100rds through the gun over thanksgiving there has been no movement and its staying locked down. That stuff is good.