ribs

[scott kittredge]

Has any one here had ribs relayed because of barrels not "ringing" when tapped ? And if so ,who did your work and were you happy with it? you cam P/M me if you don't want to post it here. thanks , scott

[John Campbell]

Scott: First off, a set of barrels doesn't necessarily have to "ring" to be good. You have to know what to listen for. A "buzz" or a dead sound is not good, however. It bears investigation. if they've been cut, all the more so. While you can personally look for a loose rib, the professional needs to assess the situation. This is usually the same fellow who can re-lay a loose rib. Sadly, there are just a handful of these people in the country.

If in doubt, send the barrels to Kirk Merrington:

http://www.merringtongun.com

I'm sure you will get a score of other strong opinions on this. But all will be just that. Trust a pro.

[Erick Dorr]

I don't think you would be guaranteed that after relaying a rib that the barrels would ring. Its an indicator not a certainty that there may be a rib issue. I've had barrels that wouldn't ring but by raising the extractor or cleaning up a gummy extractor the barrels would then ring.
Will be interested to hear from someone who has relaid a number of bbl sets whether or not they always ring afterwards.
Erick

[Jerry Harlow]

If the ribs are tight and it had not been hot blued I would never worry about it. Just my opinion. I rust blued three Sterlingworths last year and they all leaked like a sieve, but the ribs were tight. Just helped me get the moisture out.

The only one I've had the ribs relaid was a Fox A that someone hot blued and when you put air to it, smoke came out everywhere, and it would still ring. I had Keith Kearcher do it for me with the understanding to just relay the ribs and I would take it from there. Which meant I had to get all the excess solder off and then rust blue. I was happy with the work.

[Brian Dudley]

Yes, not ringing is not an absolute sign that the ribs are loose. But, I can say that I have not had a set that sounded bad and have the ribs not be loose.

Typically when ribs are completely stripped and relayed, the barrels will ring great afterwards.

[Mark Beasland]

Hard to believe but these rang nice.
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh80/mbab/IMG_1327.jpg (http://s253.photobucket.com/user/mbab/media/IMG_1327.jpg.html)

[charlie cleveland]

wow.... lot s of crude under those barrels...i ain t got the nerve to look under some of my old guns...charlie

[John Truitt]

what is the main source for such a build up of rust? esp is the ribs are not loose with any signs of separation etc.
is it moisture over time/ lubricants/ etc?
Do we see this with modern ribs relaying?

Just trying to future my knowledge.

[Mark Beasland]

On this one I suspect a past repair with acid flux.

[Brian Dudley]

That crud is not all rust. That is how most older Parker barrels look when they are taken apart.