Bachelder's work continues to be stellar

[chris dawe]

Originally Posted by Eric Eis

The problem is these guns are 80 to 120 years old and you can have small holes between the rib and the barrel that can't be seen and during the process water will get trapped between the rib and the barrel. You might not care but you will get unseen rust in there. A weep hole can be covered up after that it will be hardly noticeable.

Right on !

[10ga Hammer]

For what its worth, this is what you find under the ribs of an 1879 Parker. Barrels were all original, no weep hole, just 140 years of decay.
Almost every set of barrels I have refinished, no matter the maker, show small solder voids along the ribs when submerged in the hot water tank.
I worry that such ribs might come loose later after I have completed my work. So far to my knowledge that has yet to happen.`
If you want to truly RESTORE a set of barrels this old, just pull the ribs ,clean out the crud, relay the ribs and refinish. Just my opinion, worth what you paid for it. Before and after pics.

[Woodcock survey]

I have a Greener that I can hear some thing roll back and forth in the space between the barrels. A video posted a few years ago on this site of the ribs being soldered by an english maker shows a good chance of a lot of debris winding up in this space, flux and solder. Your example I believe shows this and it would hold a lot of moisture if it had a way in and a liquid will find it if it is there.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by edgarspencer

No Dean, My comment wasn't directed at you, or anyone, specifically.

FWIW, you know perfectly well if I had an issue with you, as I'm often likely to do, I'd pick up the phone and call you

Hmmm... no call yet. All’s well that ends well I guess.





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[Bindlestiff]

Thanks Robert, very informative. Those pictures are worth a thousand words!

[BRDHNTR]

I don't weep over any of my holes

[Mills]

Could this thread please be allowed to die?

[BRDHNTR]

I second that motion Mills.

[Parker Bachelder (Brad's Profile)]

For what its worth, we do not drill weep holes unless necessary. I do NOT consider it an acceptable thing to do to a Parker. With the quality of the these barrels, very few exhibit severe rib separation. Though almost all barrels will allow moisture into the ribs to some extent. Keep in mind it is impossible to finish a set that is leaking as it constantly hampers any attempt to maintain clean applications, meaning the leak must be insignificant. Once finished, the problem of remaining moisture is mitigated by submerging into displacing oil bath and put under mild heat to evaporate any remaining water. The barrels are also put under heat after every application so that there is never a chance rust can occur through the procedure.

We have in the past drilled weep holes on Parker's when deemed necessary under the directive of Brad. I could not tell you particularly why, I imagine Brad was simply not as fussy about having a drain hole as its standard practice across virtually every other double brand, of course there are always exceptions.

Occasionally we get barrels that have holes drilled from previous refinish. Obviously this was never done at the factory. I don't recall if the CHE posted had a hole originally or not. That particular set was refinished months ago as part of a multi part job.

As of the last two sessions and going forward, any set refinished under myself will not have a drain hole.

[King Cobb]

Thanks for the participation and insight as always Parker!