Rib repair

[Richard Flanders]

I resoldered about 2/3 of the top rib on a damascus bbld Ithaca when I was in college. An uncle got it in a bar for $35 and gave it to me. I cleaned it all up well then jigged it upside down and propped the rib open below the bbls and applied a thin coat of flux to it all with a Qtip then placed 1" lengths of solder at short intervals along the rib and clamped the rib gently up into the V between the bbls using C-clamps. Keeping it upside down I went along very gingerly with a propane torch with a small flame, moving slowly and never dwelling in one spot. The solder melted very nicely and seemed to bond well as I moved along with the torch. This process created only a few minor discolored spots on the bbls and I'm pretty sure no one could tell even now that I resoldered that rib. The solder flowed very evenly and the coverage looks perfect with no gaps or pin holes. I'm totally confident they'll be fine for the duration. Sometimes you just do what you have to do!