I am sure they all started out similar size. They would be inserted inbetween the tubes on top and bottom as far as they would go. And cut off after soldering was done. They are there for filler material only. Nothing more. They serve little purpose by way of rib alignment. The tubes touch and the rib sits on top of the two tubes.
Farther back, the tubes are spaced out with flat pieces of shim material, maybe 1” long. Usually there are usually 3 places that these shims are placed. Sometimes it may be one large shim. And other times multiple shims. They end up all being soldered together through the process.
I will see if I can grab a photo of some disassembled barrels showing these spacing shims.
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B. Dudley
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