swamped pistol barrel advise

[andy49]

I have a 45 cal, 7/8 X 10" swamped octagon barrel with a .720 waist. This leaves about an .135 sidewall.
Is this a safe thickness as long as no dovetails are cut into the waist?
Thanks
Andy

[Acer Saccharum]

Andy, you can make lugs from sheet steel, .03 thick, and dovetail them in with no worries with that kind of wall. The lugs merely hold the stock tight to the barrel.

Please don't be pounding the undercuts with a great big chisel with a heavy hammer, you'll be sure to dent the bore.

If it were mine, I'd make an .025 deep cut.  Then with a 1/8" wide chisel, raise up the dovetails with light blows, while moving the chisel from one side of the barrel cutout to the other, one blow at a time. Set your lug in place, then tap the raised metal down to retain the lug.

[Daryl]

I have a book I purchased from Track on English Pistols. This book gives pictures as well as measurements - the thinnest waist on an original swamped barrel pistol - most likely damascus - steel-iron, stub twist, was .013". YES! 13 thou. Safe?? I don't know - but it's there. Many had .020" to .050" waists.
The Indian made India Pattern Bess' I bought then returned.  It had .100" thick breech walls, btw. The barrel was ground/tapered thinner towards the muzzle to about  a .045", of course, but the bore not centered. It had thin spots.
I don't think it's absolutely necessary to put a pin in the waist of the pistol, when a bit ahead or behind would work just fine.
I would not be concerned about the .135 sidewall waist. Just don't cut the dovetails 1/8" deep.

[jerrywh]

 Even if you cut a .045 dovetail it would still be safe if it is good quality steel like 12L14 or 1137.  Your standard load should be about 20 grs. of fffg. That barrel would probably stand 5 times that load if loaded correctly.

[andy49]

Thanks all for the replies. This is my first try at swamping a barrel and I was afraid I might have gotten carried away with the file. Is it a bad idea to silver solder barrel lugs? What maximum heat would be safe?
Thanks
Andy

[David R. Pennington]

I solder the lugs on the skinny part of swamped rifle barrels. Soft solder should hold them. Mine have been there ten years so far. Tin both pieces and clamp the lug in place and heat till it fuses.

[Habu]

If the barrel is rifled, don't forget to figure the depth of the rifling into the wall thickness.  For instance, if the barrel mic's at .720" minus bore measurement of .450" (probably actually a tad larger)=.270"/2 (to get single wall thickness) =.135" minus .010" (depth of rifling) = .125".  Under a .025" dovetail, that would leave you a wall thickness of .100".

A guy could do it, but there is very little "fudge factor"; as David R says, soldering might be easier.   

[jerrywh]

 Don't try to silver solder the lug on.  The only way you can silver solder on a lug without putting a choke in the barrel is in a furnace. Soft solder or dovetail.