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Jack Cronkhite
Member
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Posted: Sat May 16th, 2009 02:22 am |
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Hi: The "itis" is getting scratched with a true project piece. A kind PGCA member recalled I was looking for a barrel set quite some time ago. I just had to accept the offered gun - really rough but barrels not too bad. Anway, one, among many problems this poor gun has had to endure during its time on the planet, is a rather unceremoniously attached set of sling swivels. The stock was drilled for the rear swivel and the front swivel has been roughly soldered in place. Before I apply heat to remove this, I'm looking for suggestions. I assume that since it went on, it should come off and not harm the barrels/rib. My first thought is to just warm it slowly with a soldering tip and trim away the solder just as it softens. Other suggestions????
thanks
Jack
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David Purnell
PGCA Member
| Joined: | Sat Oct 29th, 2005 |
| Location: | Albany, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 470 |
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Posted: Sat May 16th, 2009 03:01 am |
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Hi Jack,
I removed a swivel from a Crescent .410 double hammer gun. Actually it was cleaner than yours, but I was afraid to apply heat because that's how the barrels were tinned together to begin with. I just used a chisel, then cleaned up the area, and re-blued. But, then that was a Crescent.
Dave
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Jack Cronkhite
Member
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Posted: Sat May 16th, 2009 04:12 am |
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| I will work a bit then with a chisel, gently, as I don't want to gouge or scratch the gun metal. Here's another interesting internal find. Home made sear spring. Not quite sure how it could even work given the excessive length. It was dragging into the wood of the stock. Jack Attached Image (viewed 140 times):
 Last edited on Sat May 16th, 2009 05:06 pm by Jack Cronkhite
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Richard Flanders
PGCA Member
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Posted: Sat May 16th, 2009 06:17 am |
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| I might try carving lead away with a very narrow chisel form tool of some sort, home made if necessary. The solder on the swivel is likely lead solder which will have a much lower melting point than the silver solder used to put the bbls ribs on..... I think they use silver solder. Perhaps someone can verify that. If so, the MP is much higher so you can heat that offending lead solder quite a lot before the silver solder starts to melt. I might immerse the bbls in water horizontally almost all the way to keep the rib solder from getting too hot as I melted the swivel solder. Try heating it with a soldering iron vs a torch so you can wipe solder off as it gets soft. I think you can pull this off if you're careful and slow.
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David Purnell
PGCA Member
| Joined: | Sat Oct 29th, 2005 |
| Location: | Albany, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 470 |
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Posted: Sat May 16th, 2009 02:18 pm |
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Jack,
Mine was different. It was just a big lump of solder on the lower rib. I used a curved gouge and a mallet and it popped right off. Then I carved the remnants off because lead is a lot softer than iron, and refinished. Yours is different. It looks to be a sloppy but well adhered solder job. Try Richards idea with a soldering iron and water bath. It sounds like a better idea for your case.
Dave
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Richard Flanders
PGCA Member
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Posted: Sat May 16th, 2009 03:25 pm |
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You can do this Jack. Have you an Xacto wood carving set? They have an assortment of chisels, knife points, a small saw, and best of all, a set of round and pointed little 'draw' carvers that you draw instead of push. Much easier to control a cutting tool that draws vs one that you push, such as a chisel. You could sharpen one deadly sharp and delicately start carving soft lead away and I bet you'd be able to remove 90% of that offending solder before you ever had to heat anything. Could be there's no solder under the swivel base and you could then just tap something under it to remove it, or it could just fall off when you get enough solder removed.
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Jack Cronkhite
Member
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Posted: Sat May 16th, 2009 05:02 pm |
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Richard: Draw don't push. I do have some wood carving chisels. I touched the solder with a jewelers screwdriver and deterimined it is fairly soft. I will be patient and maybe even get around2it in a while. Here is the bent rear tang screw. I couldn't quite understand why the thing was giving me such grief as I extracted it. Easy then tight, easy then tight and so on.
A couple good smacks to straighten or does someone have a trick for that too??
Cheers
Jack
lousy focus when trying to hold screw and little camera too. you can see the bend though.
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 Last edited on Sat May 16th, 2009 05:03 pm by Jack Cronkhite
____________________
Hunt ethically. Eat heartily.
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Jack Cronkhite
Member
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Posted: Sat May 16th, 2009 05:08 pm |
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Here is the rear sling swivel. Everything is covered with a nice "rustina" The innards of the action are about the worst I have ever seen on any gun. The wood is close to being beyond redemption but I still want to play. All the numbers do match but for some reason someone decided to drill the trigger guard to presumably strengthen the stock head somewhat. It was fitting quite loosely. The real problem was that the rear tang screw had been bent so it couldn't draw everthing together tightly. Unfortunately, the drilled guard and the extra hole in the wood obliterated some of the serial number on the guard and the stock head.
One wonders what the poor old gun has been subjected to over the years. Even with all its issues, the barrels could still call parishoners to a church service when gently tapped. There are two dents that need attention and of course work on the "rustina". Cheers, JackAttached Image (viewed 139 times):
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Tom Bria
PGCA Member
| Joined: | Fri Jan 28th, 2005 |
| Location: | California USA |
| Posts: | 526 |
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Posted: Sat May 16th, 2009 05:41 pm |
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| Jack, it's easy to get the rust off the interior parts by just soaking them in white vinegar for a day or two, then scrub off the black film with an old toothbrush, then rinse and oil the parts. Vinegar will also remove bluing.
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Kevin McCormack
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| Joined: | Mon Jan 10th, 2005 |
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Posted: Sat May 16th, 2009 08:50 pm |
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| Jack, I have removed a number of similar sling swivels from barrels by taking a old-fashioned, wooden-handled screwdriver with a wide blade inserted into the mouth of the swivel. I then heated the metal shaft of the screwdriver, NOT the swivel, with a propane torch while applying a gentle upward lifting pressure. After a few minutes the heated metal shaft of the screwdriver transfers enough heat to the swivel body to melt the solder and free the swivel. You can then clean up excess solder off the site by using the still-hot screwdriver shaft. This way you don't apply heat directly to the under rib area and risk separating the rib and/or the barrels.
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Jack Cronkhite
Member
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Posted: Sat May 16th, 2009 09:12 pm |
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Kevin: Interesting trick. I think I will try that when I get to that stage.
Now, in life, we all have a few tricks - some great, some so-so.
Here's a so-so that I have used for many years now but never shared.
Empty toilet paper roll cardboard tubes help keep loose electrical cords in check. Fold up the cord, stuff in the tube and that small appliance or tool can be stored without the cord getting all tangled up with whatever else is in the same vicinity. When the tube gets ratty, just toss and take the next available roll - there always seems to be a supply at hand.
Cheers,
Jack
____________________
Hunt ethically. Eat heartily.
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Richard Flanders
PGCA Member
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Posted: Sat May 16th, 2009 09:39 pm |
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That tang screw is easy to straighten. I use a 2" thick block of aluminum and a brass hammer that will not dent the screw. You roll it around on the aluminum and hammer as necessary and you can get them dead straight without mangling them.
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Jack Cronkhite
Member
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Posted: Sat May 16th, 2009 09:53 pm |
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okay, off to the tool store. I am not the proud owner of a brass hammer nor a decent chunk of aluminum. thanks, jack
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