Author Topic: soldered tenons/barrel heat  (Read 6586 times)

Offline alex e.

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soldered tenons/barrel heat
« on: July 03, 2008, 02:23:06 PM »
At a  reenactment a couple weeks age we had two fellows gun barrels come apart from their most forward tennon.Their barrels,like others there were too hot to touch during the scenario   20-30 min..    Question:Is it likely that the heat from the gun barrel melted the solder? Being that many use the low temp stuff. I have seen it happen one time before..But it was only one gun..Any thoughts?

Alex E.
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George F.

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Re: soldered tenons/barrel heat
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2008, 02:47:51 PM »
No experience with that, but my thoughts are the melting temp is 400-500 deg. I find it hard to think the barrel got that hot. Maybe they had a cold solder joint to start with. that's my thought.  ...Geo.

Offline James Rogers

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Re: soldered tenons/barrel heat
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2008, 03:13:52 PM »
What make of guns were these? Were they the same?

Offline Stophel

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Re: soldered tenons/barrel heat
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2008, 03:19:32 PM »
I think lead melts at something like 350 degrees, and tin has to be hotter than that.  I can't see a barrel getting that hot.

A thin dovetail can come loose, though.
When a reenactor says "They didn't write everything down"   what that really means is: "I'm too lazy to look for documentation."

Offline alex e.

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Re: soldered tenons/barrel heat
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2008, 03:21:12 PM »
One was a Centermark FDC,the other an English type fowler.
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Roy S.

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Re: soldered tenons/barrel heat
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2008, 03:34:04 PM »
 A $#@* job of soldering... either blobing it on or not a good lug to barrel fit or both and I have seen them come off. 

northmn

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Re: soldered tenons/barrel heat
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2008, 03:44:47 PM »
I had a forward tenon come off of a gun I made.  I have to agree with the others as it was not well soldered.  Resoldering did the trick.  There is a TIK solder that melts at about 250 degrees but that is above boiling.  I do not believe that a muzzleloading gun can be fired rapidly enough to get that hot.

DP

Offline AndyThomas

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Re: soldered tenons/barrel heat
« Reply #7 on: July 03, 2008, 04:20:13 PM »
I agree with the others, the barrel won't get hot enough to melt the solder.

I repaired a gun for a friend using a 96% tin, 4% silver solder, which has a higher strength than lead based solders. It hasn't come off since. I got this from Brownells. It melts a little under 500F and is easy to use.

Hope this helps,
Andy
formerly the "barefoot gunsmith of Martin's Station" (now retired!)

www.historicmartinsstation.com

Daryl

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Re: soldered tenons/barrel heat
« Reply #8 on: July 03, 2008, 06:03:22 PM »
Spot-on- leadless solders with tin added are the best stength-wise as well as the solder flows nicely.  Original English shotgun barrels with soft lead soldered ribs done properly don't come off and BP shotguns get hotter than hade's.  I've seen some loose, but they probably weren't done well or were loosened by some other problem, ie: rust underneath the ribs.