Remington Parkers weep hole

[John Bastiani]

Trying to figure out why late Remington Parkers had to have the weep hole drilled in the barrel and the early Parkers did not? Also: What is the serial range that the weep holes started and are only the late Remington Parkers made in Illion subject to the weep hole or are some early Remington Parkers made in Meriden have them as well?

[Brian Dudley]

The answer is because Remington felt they had to. That was their standard practice. Just like Ithaca and LC Smith did also. And Parker Bros. in Meriden felt they did not have to.

Really a weep hole creates more issues than it prevents. If a barrel set has good tight solder joints, then there is no reason for a weep hole.

Barrels finished on guns made at Ilion, NY by remington would have them. And also on guns set back to Remington for Repair work (if barrels were finished) would have them.

[J. Scott Hanes]

Brian,
If the weep hole creates more issues as you have said (assume you are not lying!) would it be a positive action to plug that weep hole?

Scott Hanes

[Brian Dudley]

I have been known to lie often. So you just cant trust a word I say. Even when confronted with people that have 40 years experience in knowing it all.

I say that they cause more issues than they prevent because yes they allow moisture out if it gets in. But the hole guarantees that it will get in. Vs if the set is tight to start with, it wont get in at all.
And getting it out through that singular weep hole is a little bit of a pain after the fact once the bluing job is done. And during the actual bluing process, water will leak out some from the hole which can cause issues with streaking your rusting applications and such.

After the job is done and all is dried out and oiled, it does not really matter if the hole stays open or not. But if one wants to plug it up, a piece of lead shot tapped into the hole does the job.

This is just based on my own experience in bluing barrels and dealing with weep holes in them.

[John Bastiani]

Thanks for your thoughts! Does anybody have a serial number range that the weep holes were first drilled?

[John Bastiani]

It sounds to me like the early guns without the weep hole can be reblued without drilling a hole which might make it tougher to tell if the barrel has been reblued.

[Bruce Day]

If the barrels were reblued with the proper bluing and polishing technique what difference would it make if they had been redone?

Most early guns had barrels of composite steel , either the various forms of twist , laminated or Damascus , which were generally not factory blued anyway. Many early composite barrels have been worn or oxidized to such extent that the pattern is obscured and refinishing may be advantageous .

Most questions about Parkers are answered in The Parker Story. TPS provides an explanation about when the weep holes in barrels appeared.

[John Bastiani]

If the barrels were reblued with the proper bluing and polishing technique what difference would it make if they had been redone?

Most early guns had barrels of composite steel , either the various forms of twist , laminated or Damascus , which were generally not factory blued anyway. Many early composite barrels have been worn or oxidized to such extent that the pattern is obscured and refinishing may be advantageous .

Most questions about Parkers are answered in The Parker Story. TPS provides an explanation about when the weep holes in barrels appeared.

Thats exactly why I am asking these questions. Im trying to avoid buying a gun with a reblued barrel and want one that is factory original.

[Brian Dudley]

If a gun was built at Ilion (post mid 1937) then it would have had a weep hole originally. If it was an earlier gun that was re-blued by Remington during manufacture or up to the time that they stopped factory service (early 1950s) then it would have a weep hole, BUT also a remington repair code on the barrel flats.

So, if you are looking at a gun that is prior to the move to Ilion, and it has a weep hole, but no repair codes, then it was reblued and weep hole drilled by some other party.

[Dean Romig]

Regardless of who, where or why a weep hole was drilled.... why did anyone think these weep holes had to be so large in diameter. Most of the ones I have seen are about 1/16" - 3/32" in diameter. All that needs to escape from said hole is steam, not actual water. If it is suspected that there is moisture beneath the ribs, all that needs to be done is to bring the barrels up to 212 degrees (not nearly warm enough to melt the solder) and the steam will escape by expansion through a nearly microscopic hole...





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[Brian Dudley]

Just Steam?
How do you figure when the barrels are submerged in boiling water? Trust me, tons of water gets into the barrel set through a weep hole when boiled.
Does a hole in the bottom of your boat only let air out, and not water in.

[Dean Romig]

My point Brian.....
If you heat the barrels to 212 or a little higher a good amount of pressure will build up because the water will vaporize (at that temperature - remember, water boils at 212 degrees F) and escape, again, under pressure, until it is all gone from under the rib providing it was kept at temperature until it is completely caporized.... simple physics Brian....

Further, the weep hole is drilled after the barrels are blued to allow the vapor to escape, not before, which of course lets the warmter in.





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[edgarspencer]

Further, the weep hole is drilled after the barrels are blued to allow the vapor to escape, not before, which of course lets the warmter in.

Are you certain of this? Isn't the hole also for putting water displacing oil into the barrel? I don't think the barrels are heated, out of the tank to that temp, but usually just hung in a drying cabinet.

[Dean Romig]

No. I wasn’t there. How could I be certain?... any more than someone could be certain the hole was drilled before biueing. The method I suggested makes more sense to me but others may have a different opinion and I welcome their comments.





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[Brian Dudley]

Granted I was not there when the guns were built, none of us were.
But I can state a few things based on my actual experience and observations.

I have finished and blued quite a few new in the white Parker reproductions. Every one of them had weep holes drilled in the ribs in their new state. Before bluing.

If a weep hole is drilled in a finished set of barrels, the hole will show bright bare metal. And I have never observed any evidence of this on a set of original barrels from a maker who did put weep holes in their barrels (like Ithaca or LC Smith). Right now I own a true 98% benchmark condition Ithaca flues from 1916 that has two week holes in the barrels and There is no sign that those holes were drilled after bluing.

I do own a few sets of new old stock ilion built Parker barrels and they do not have weep holes in them, but they are not finished to the point of being ready for bluing. They still need final polish and cleanup. So I cannot say they are any sort of indication.

I did fit a set of new old stock LC smith barrels to a gun for my brother and blue them some years back. I would be curious to check on that gun to see if they had a weep hole in them or not.

[David Deck]

Thanks to all for the information on Remington made Parkers and the weep hole. I own early Remington era guns without the weep hole and late Remington guns with the weep hole. This has previously been confusing to me.

Here is a question. When Parker (Remington) made 1/2 frame guns, what type hard buttplate would be on a VHE?

[Phillip Carr]

Thoughts on how to proceed. Barrels hot blued. Estimate on repair and rust blue cost. I know I need to call around just looking for SWAGS.

[Tom Flanigan]

No. I wasn’t there. How could I be certain?... any more than someone could be certain the hole was drilled before biueing. The method I suggested makes more sense to me but others may have a different opinion and I welcome their comments.





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Drilling the hole before bluing would create a mess. Water will try to fill the hole when boiling (as evidenced by bubbles) and a bit of oil, accumlated over the years, would cause streaking, as Brian states. I always plug the holes, if present, with glass bedding compound dyed black. It lasts forever and the problem with streaking dosen't occur.

I never understood the advantage of holes. It's not desirable with rust blued barrels.