Reblued, but no weep holes - OK ?

[Double Trouble]

When one reblues Parker barrels, is it a requirement to drill weep holes in the bottom rib ?

I ask specifically about the "Belgium bluing" process.

Please share your opinions.

Many thanks !!!!

John

[B. Dudley]

No. Drilling a weep hole is not required and is frowned upon both from a resale standpoint and a bluing process standpoint. The reason one would put a weep hole in the rib is for venting of hot air between the ribs.
The only Parkers that "should" have a weep hole are ones that were reblued by Remington.
And even those were in a repair scenario.

A better way of venting is to put a hole in the end fill or remove the end fill completely. Then re solder it back up when done. The water better drains out when working with them this way as well.
I, myself question if venting between the barrels is really needed. I do not think that venting hot air is the real issue, but more making sure that water that gets caught in there can get back out.

[Autumn Daze]

John, It is my understanding that weep holes were drilled in the short rib between the forend lug and barrel lug to allow any solution that may have seeped in from minute voids in the ribs to drain out and not rust the barrel tubes from the inside out. I agree that drilling the end of the tubes would be a better way but how would you replace the barrel keels that Parker installed on the muzzle end. I would rather have the original keels in place than the void filled with solder.

[J. A. EARLY]

When I started bluing as a hobby to fix the junk I buy, I asked the best gunsmith I know about this. He said absolutely not to drill holes.

The next time I spoke to him, having taken in a gun to relay the ribs, he found the gun severely rusted and nearly ruined from the inside where it had been reblued and water had gotten inside the ribs. From then on, his policy was to vent the ribs.

If you put the gun in the boiling water and air comes out from between the ribs, then water is going to get inside once all of the air is out. I really like the Fox idea with two weep holes. I reblued one Parker that someone had drilled three weep holes into the ribs under the forend. Now that one was easy to get everything out.

If one drills the end, then it is clear where the hole is filled with solder. Thus I take Dave's position on this. I am not skilled enough to remove the keels and resolder them in place without screwing it up. For the junk I recover, I am happy to have drilled a single hole and let water displacing oil get into the voids, which I blow out and do over again until I am satisfied that all of my water has been displaced, letting the last submersion in the water displacing oil drain out of the weep hole(s) by gravity. I put them into a 3 inch pvc pipe filled with water displacing oil and let them remain for a while. Repeating this process.

If the gun goes in the boil and there is no sign that there is any air coming out from between the joints anywhere, then water is not getting inside (hopefully). But I am never comfortable with a set of barrels that may have gotten water inside and are now rusting forever from the inside out. Thus I drill a single weep hole where Remington did, in front of the forend lug, being a true but cautious amateur at this. You asked for opinions, and mine is only what it is, an opinion so I hope I don't get attacked as an idiot.

Undrilled Parker barrels should not leak. Probably never did from the factory. If they did, they were sent back before finishing to have the problem fixed. But finishing to get ready for bluing removes solder from the ribs, probably making them leak when they never had before. A professional told me if they leak, then the ribs need to be relaid before bluing.

The professionals present on this site do it differently and I have discussed this with a few of them taking up their valuable time, which I appreciated greatly.