ribs
 

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Hard to believe but these rang nice.
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...b/IMG_1327.jpg

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

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.

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

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