L.C Smith Question

[John Turick]

My Syracuse guns Damascus 12ga barrels were shortened years ago, and although in good shape, the last 1" of the upper rib at the muzzle end has come unsoldered. Is it possible to solder just the loose part or will the whole rib need to come off, be tinned, and resoldered? Thanks

[Dean Romig]

If you introduce enough heat to resolder that section, you will have introduced enough heat to unsolder the section adjacent to it.

[Dennis E. Jones]

It can be done, I've done it but, you have to think through what you're doing to avoid a disaster. Here is a very brief description of how it is done. The barrels and the rib in the loose area must be cleaned in order for the solder to stick. The barrels and the ribs must be wired together and tapered shims placed under the wire on top of the ribs. The shims are used to force the rib down when the solder melts. I wrap the barrels with wet rags to keep the heat from moving too far from the area to be repaired. When you're done the barrels will need to be re-finished. Not to discourage anyone but, this a job best left to those that are set up to do it. I was fortunate to have a good teacher for this type of work. The barrels in the picture, a new set for a 500-450 rifle, are in a special fixture that I use for such work.

[charlie cleveland]

dennis i see you use the hose clampe and baleing wire like i do on guns...i m sure what you are doing there requires much skill...thanks....charlie

[Virginia Hessler]

The bottom rib on my Sarycuse gun came loose, also the last inch.
Pretty simple fix as was already mentioned secure the rib then heat it up. The reason to wire up the rib is in case you get handy with the torch and melt more solder than you should, it won't go anywhere. It will just stay put and cool and still be soldered.
Good luck, Tom

[Brian Dudley]

A loose rib at the muzzle is easier to fit than a loose rib elsewhere, such as in the middle of a rib, or back against the Forend loop.

That is because you can get under the rib from the front well to clean out under there. It is not a bad idea to maybe heat up and unstick the rib a little more behind the loose area so that you know you are cleaning out the section that was loose. Any old dirt, oil or crud must be reoved as well as much of the old solder as you can on both the rib and barrel to make sure a good repair is had.

And a little tip about soldering. Be careful with the flux. If you flux only where you want solder, then the solder will only stick there. If done right, cleanup of solder afterwards will be minimal. Rib cracks filled with tons solder of solder and tons of scraping and cleanup is a sign of too much flux being used.

[Dean Romig]

I've read that residual flux on the barrels and along the rib, if not properly cleaned off properly, can promote rust.

[Eric Estes]

Dean, that would be if you used acid core solder and/or acid core flux. That is what you would use for tinning steel, but you must clean it well and neutralize it. You would use rosin flux and rosin core solder to attach the rib after tinning. No risk of corrosion with rosin flux. Lots of people reattach loose ribs with no issues, but the recommended way I understand is to strip and relay them instead.

[Dean Romig]

I appreciate the explanation Eric.

Re: "strip and relay them instead." is what I would recommend as well. A friend has had two Ithaca's loose forward area of the ribs 'reattached' by two different gunsmiths and they have both come loose again within only about six years or so.

[Brian Dudley]

Here are some examples of the Soldering and fluxing that I was mentioning above. And on a set of LC smith barrels no less.

Here are the barrels before soldering but with upper and lower rib in place and fluxed. both surfaces to be soldered were cleaned of old solder and degreased. Then flux was applied using a Q-tip being careful to only get it on the surfaces to be soldered. Not on the sides of the ribs or too far onto the outer surfaces of the tubes.

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Here are some photos after soldering is complete. The solder flows into the areas only where flux was applied. Careful application of flux allows for very minimal excess solder to clean up afterwards. And notice... I have to say it... no radiator clamps. :)

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[charlie cleveland]

why is there no hose clamps brian.....thanks for the info on these barrels... charlie

[Dennis E. Jones]

B. Dudley,

Nice clean job! Truly well done.

The barrels in the picture I posted were a new set of rifle barrels that I made up for a T. Turner 500-450 double rifle that had seen way too many cordite rounds and the original barrels were badly washed. I solder the rear of the barrels with low temp silver and then regulate them using a temporary set of sights and use the hose clamps to hold everything in place during regulation. The clamps are left on even when I put them in my fixture to soft solder the barrels into their final position. And yes, sometimes I am less careful with the flux and solder than I could be when putting together a new set of barrels as I know I have a lot of cleanup and hand polishing to do afterwards. When relaying ribs on finished guns I really am much more careful.

[John Turick]

Thanks guys, soft soldered using rosin. Time will tell...

[Eric Estes]

Brian, those barrels do look real nice. I don't think I would end up being so neat. When soldering it dosent seem to matter if it is electronics, plumbing, or shotgun barrels. Until one gets some experience doing it most people always uses too much solder. Drips runs and spatters everywhere. :-)

[Bill Murphy]

Someone please comment on "solder with flux included". Don't ask me how I know about such things, because I have used it on some pretty expensive electronic "stuff", but that was when I was in high school. My knowledge of such things has not progressed since then.

[Brian Dudley]

I am pretty sure Brownells sells a fluxed solder. But I have not used it.