Repairing a dovetail in a barrel

[andy49]

I have a barrel that I would like to use for a pistol build but the rear sight has been located to far forward. Is there any way to repair this? I have a TIG and gas welder but I am afraid these would produce to much heat to try and fill the dovetail.
Andy

[B Staley]

I would just cut a piece of metal and soder it in place and orient it on the bottom.

[Larry Luck]

Fill the dovetail with a corresponding piece of steel.  I'd use a cold chisel to raise the front and rear of the dovetail, install the filler piece, peen the repair in place and file smooth.  Properly done, the repair should not be unacceptably noticeable.  There are old guns (rifles) where the sights have been relocated (probably to accommodate ageing eyes).

I would not use any sort of welder to fill the dovetail.

I'd like to hear other solutions.

Larry Luck

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

Fill the dovetail with a corresponding piece of steel.  I'd use a cold chisel to raise the front and rear of the dovetail, install the filler piece, peen the repair in place and file smooth.  Properly done, the repair should not be unacceptably noticeable.  There are old guns (rifles) where the sights have been relocated (probably to accommodate ageing eyes).

I would not use any sort of welder to fill the dovetail.

I'd like to hear other solutions.

Larry Luck

I'd do it the same as Larry

[Don Getz]

I helped a guy out that was building a Jager, for a guy in Germany, no less.    He had the gun all finished except the front
sight, and wouldn't you know it, he cut the dovetail on one of the side flats.  He called me and needed another barrel, quickly.
Needing and getting are two different things.  I told him to send the barrel to me.  After I got it, I put it into the milling vise
and re-cut the dovetail.  I then took a piece of 1/8" thick steel slightly wider than the wide part of the dovetail.  Using the
same dovetail cutter, I cut the angles on the bottom two edges very close in size to the dovetail in the barrel.  I then put a
slight taper on it with a file, and drove it into the dovetail in the barrel.....very tight fit.  I milled it off and drawfiled over it....
if you knew where to look you could see it, but almost invisible.    I then cut a dovetail to fit his sight on the top flat.  I
saved his butt.........Don

[Acer Saccharum]

If you leave the filler piece slightly proud, you can peen it in place, closing the gaps completely. Then drawfile it all smooth.

You will see filled dovetails on many historic guns.

[WKevinD]

Once again the definition of a craftsman is more about how one fixes mistakes than weather or not mistakes are made.

[andy49]

Thanks everyone. I like the idea of filling and filing.
Andy

[Virginiarifleman]

Filling and filing works well.i use a piece of brass to fill and file it with the flats. looks pretty good.

[Dphariss]

As several have stated fit a dovetailed piece of steel so its TIGHT but not beat the heck out of it tight just tight enough it not going to move and slightly "proud". Then lightly pean the insert with a polished slightly rounded nose punch about 1/8" in diameter and a light hammer on the insert only. Then file flush. I have fixed some ahh... F ups in this manner in the past. Not by ME of course since I never make mistakes  , though somehow over the years I have learned to fix almost any mistake one can think of. I would not under any circumstances weld on any barrel that was going to he shot unless it was going to be lined afterwards with a liner that will take the pressure of firing. At best it will scale the bore. At worst it could cause a catastrophic failure.

Dan

[jerrywh]

 I have done some just as Larry and Dan said and if done correctly you will not be able to find the spot later. If done with the same type metal it will not even show after browning or rust bluing. It will show if it is heat blued . Everything shows with heat bluing.

[Larry Luck]

Dan,

The recommendation to peen the insert (installed proud) makes every bit of sense.  I would have peened the raised portions of barrel, as I do when I set a sight, but it makes much more sense to move the insert into the gap than to close it the other way.

Thanks for that improvement on my understanding of the technique.

Larry Luck

[Herb]

Here is a dovetail I filled in the GRRW 1 1/8" barrel of my Bridger Hawken.  It was cut in the wrong place (for me) when I got the barrel.  I used a piece of a 1" GRRW for hopefully the same steel thus the same coloring.  Filed it to fit, peened it in and filed it flush.  Doc White stamped the barrel for me, although in the wrong place.