Rib repair

[Phil C]

I bought a VHE 16 gauge with 30” barrels about 5 years ago. It has about 4” of loose top rib from the muzzle aft. I have shot it this way early on but put it away and it’s just sitting in the safe. I would like to get it repaired if possible.
The original barrel finish is good so I would like a limited repair rather than having the top and bottom ribs removed and resoldered. This of course it would require a complete reblue of the barrels.
Has anyone had luck with repairing a small section of a rib and if so who did the work?

[GH-16]

Making partial rib re-solders can be done, but usually with only limited success.

IMO; With a rib that has come loose 4" it's probably only a matter of time before the rest of the solder fails. I've always found that's it's better to do the job right one time, in the long run you'll be much better off. It comes down to the old saying; You can pay me now or pay me later.

I'd send the barrels to Kirk Merrington for his evaluation and follow his advice for what needs to be done. Sometimes keeping these old guns maintained can be a tough pill to swallow from both a time & money standpoint. I feel your pain! I've been there many times making the decisions about required repairs on these guns we love.

[Phil Yearout]

I had Steve Bertram do a similar repair on my A grade 16ga Fox several years ago. So far so good!

[Quigley97]

Some are going to laugh and some are going to give some nasty replies. The rib on my hammer gun, laminated steel, came loose about three inches from muzzle in. I used a very small piece of wood to hold the end up. Cleaned the area with nail polish remover and believe it or not used gorilla super glue. Put a clamp on the bead end and loose rib repaired. That was two years ago and shoot the gun often. Rib is still tight. Tried to keep any excess glue from the sides of the rib as the heat from firing the gun turned the glue a tan color. Other than that it worked fine.

[Harold Pickens]

Tom, I have basically done the same thing, only used Red Loctite--I got that tip from a savy PGCA member, has held for 3 yrs now--it was just the last 3 inches, and it is very important to make sure it is degreased before applying. I used a dowel rod with a little hole in it( drill bit) to slip over the bead and clamped it down for 48 hrs.

[Richard Flanders]

I resoldered about 2/3 of the top rib on a damascus bbld Ithaca when I was in college. An uncle got it in a bar for $35 and gave it to me. I cleaned it all up well then jigged it upside down and propped the rib open below the bbls and applied a thin coat of flux to it all with a Qtip then placed 1" lengths of solder at short intervals along the rib and clamped the rib gently up into the V between the bbls using C-clamps. Keeping it upside down I went along very gingerly with a propane torch with a small flame, moving slowly and never dwelling in one spot. The solder melted very nicely and seemed to bond well as I moved along with the torch. This process created only a few minor discolored spots on the bbls and I'm pretty sure no one could tell even now that I resoldered that rib. The solder flowed very evenly and the coverage looks perfect with no gaps or pin holes. I'm totally confident they'll be fine for the duration. Sometimes you just do what you have to do!

[Keavin Nelson]

I resoldered about 6" of toprib on a SKB Ithaca I have owned for over 40 years using the brownells solder paste, which has the flux mixed with it. Worked very nice and has held up well. Recently resoldered the forend lug on a D Parker that had come loose and 300 rounds later all is well. I used regular solder for that application as the lug and barrels both needed tinned.

[Mike of the Mountain]

At the Southern in 2019, my buddy’s 12g bottom rib let go. He hit the hardware store, picked up a clamp and two part epoxy. Cleaned the surfaces up, added the epoxy, clamped it down for 24 hours and it was good to go. Still shoots that gun with no issues.

[WHO]

I had the same problem with an Ithaca 16 gauge. After researching what to use, I bought Locktite 380, also known as Black Max. No problems since and being black, you can't even see the repair. Like others have said, cleaning and degreasing is the key to a lasting repair.

[Phil C]

Thank guys for all of your imputes.