Welding Up a Barrel Wedge

[Richard Flanders]

Interesting discussion this. I admit to not being any too observant as to how I close mine; that will change now. Perhaps I'll be a little gentler on closing them, especially when they are empty. I do try to always put a dab of chevron 'ultra grease' on the hook and wear plate when I clean them; it's like slightly thin wheel bearing grease, sticks v well and will not 'wash' off easily so protects the surface well. I've been shooting my vhe20 for 37yrs and the lever is still to the right so I must not be abusing them too badly. Seems that it's necessary with my Repros it's necessary to snap them shut at least a bit or the lever doesn't come over far enough. Perhaps they're too precisely made and tight. The Merkel I had could get held open by a few grains of powder under the ejectors. Way too precisely made.... I've taken to carrying a Qtip or two in my vest when I hunt; makes cleaning under the ejectors easy. As usual, I learn something every day from this forum....

[Ed Blake]

Well, it works. I have a supply of stainless steel shim stock, but I could never get it tinned with solder. I then used a scrap of a Mason jar lid that was the correct thickness, tinned both the wearplate and steel scrap, bound them together with thin wire and applied heat. Trimmed the new surface and the top lever is nicely right of center. We'll see how it holds up knowing the steel is very soft. Now to see how it can be done on a gun with no wear plate. This took all of 10 minutes.

[Roundsworth]

Keep us posted, Ed. I'd be curious to see how it would work on a barrel hook. I brought my 1877 Lifter back 'on face' with a .004" shim, but would like to make the repair a bit more permanent. What sort of heating device did you use?

[Double Play]

Mark/Ed
A few years ago on the Double Gun website one of the gunsmiths I believe it might have been Mike Orlen posted a series of photo's showing the complete process they use to solder a shim to the barrel hook. Perhaps Bill, Dean, or someone else saved that post and could post it here for those who did not see it. Although not the most permanent fix it was quick, easy and way better than fooling around with a loose shim that falls out every time you take the gun apart.

[Ed Blake]

I have taken a few guns to a guy near here who solders the shim to the hook. He uses a jeweler's torch about the size of a pen. The flame is tiny, but very hot. To see what was done you have to look very closely.

[Richard Flanders]

I have a couple of those tiny jewelers torches. I should spiff one up and try it. I think the very small hot flame is the ticket. You don't want to melt the solder that holds the lug to the bbls.

[Old and Reliable]

More good data from you gents- how we learn. First off, any torch that uses oxygen and acetylene, no matter the pressure or tip size, will produce a neutral flame of 6000 degree F- about 2.25 times past the critical temperature of mild steel- critical temperature being that which causes a solid to become fluid in state- - molten steel in a crucible is at critical temperature.

Secondly- you won't get any stainless alloyed steel (mainly nickel and chromium- either 300 or 400 series no exception) to "Tin" for soldering with the heat and flux flow you can accomplish with mild steel and even cast iron-For the same reason you cannot cut stainless or cast iron with a conventional oxy-acetylene cutting torch-

Laser welding is the way to go- no preheat, no need to anneal or reharded to whatever Brinell or Rockwell range the parent metal had-

I may be wrong about the Parker process, but I know from Houchin's fine book on the Elsie's- he mentions a man who was foreman of the barrel brazing shop in Fulton for over 35 years- that the lugs were brazed, not soldered. Brazing requires a higher temperature than solder or silver soldering, the entire surfaces must be 'tinned" with flux for the bronze alloy filler to bond. BUT- both soldering and brazing do NOT reach the temperatures in the HAZ that welding- SMAW, MIG, TIG or Innershield MIG develop- where the parent metal and the filler (shielded from oxygen and in some cases- also hydrogen) reach the critical temperature and then cool down as the heat input moves with the travel of the weld deposit produced.

6150 Chrome Moly steel was developed about the time Parker added the 12.5 wedge to the barrel lug- that's my "SWAG" as to the nature of the alloy steel they specified.

[Roundsworth]

Francis, the lugs on my 1877 Lifter and 1896 Syracuse Lefever are brazed in place. I do not know a lot about welding or soldering, so I cannot imagine what sort of equipment was used in 1877!

[Old and Reliable]

I am really not sure when the oxy-acetylene torches came out, but that process preceeded electric arc welding with the flux coat stick electrodes (SMAW)- But acetylene and carbide with water were used for miner's head lamps before 1900 I am sure-

My guess- the lug and assembled barrels were pre-heated by forge to allow the flux to flow evenly (tinning) and then the brazing metal added, clamped into a fixture (possibly like a sand mold cope and drag, not sure) and allowed to cool to ambient temperature- but that is only speculation.

[Dean Romig]

The barrels and lug were brazed together prior to keels, barrels and top and bottom ribs being soldered up, if I am not mistaken. The reason being that the lead solder has a lower melting temp and would have been the last process requiring such heat.