Soldering a barrel rib

[andy49]

I need to solder a rib on to a pistol barrel and would like any suggestions as what solder to use and how to solder this (tinning or simple soldering). Should I use silver 15?
Thanks
Andy

[Hungry Horse]

 I use Stay-brite solder from TOTW. Its on sale right now, but still is pretty pricy. It melts at a little over 400 degrees, and is four or five times stronger than traditional solder. I really like it for soldering lugs on fowler barrels.

                 Hungry Horse

[jerrywh]

 Stay bright is very good. The best I have ever found was swif-95 past solder but it is almost impossible to find anymore thanks to the Employment prevention agency [EPA]

[kutter]

Regular 60/40 or 50/50 lead/tin general purpose solder works fine and was used for a few centurys w/o much problem. I've used 60/40 and regular NoCorrode(sp?)  paste flux to re-rib a hundred or so cartridge SxS shotguns and rifles and reattach loose ribs and have yet to have a complaint.

I don't like using the the so-called acid flux mixtures (they are really metalic chlorides usually). The heavy after-rust possible from them if they are not completely removed is too great a risk inside the voids on SxS's. It is really agressive and difficult to remove.
It does work great as a flux, but with clean metal and procedures, a regular non-corrosion paste flux works just as well w/o  any thought or worry about a future problem.

It's the soldering job you do not a magic solder or flux that does it for you.

Clean the metal,,flux and tin the surfaces,,re-flux lightly & clamp the pieces together by one method or another and sweat solder the parts together.
Don't over heat,,don't burn the flux.
You can add a touch of extra solder when the parts are up to to temp and the solder flows, but generally they don't need much if fitted up well which is part of the 'secret' to a strong soft solder job.
Soldering isn't a gap filler.

The silver bearing soft solders so common now in this greenie world (95/5 I think they are,,tin/silver) are stronger in many cases than the lead/tin compounds,,I don't see the need for any extra strength over the lead/tin solder in this application but such things do draw the interest of some.

Also ,on old (re)work or restoration I still prefer the lead/tin as any thin line of solder showing at a joint will darken to a dark gray almost black color.
The silver/tin soft solders are called "stay-bright' for a reason. They do just that.  I imagine any joint line from them could be colored in some way,,but it's just another step and a touch up at that.
Just some thoughts.

[Turtle]

 I need some swif-95 use advise. I must be using it wrong. The instructions say heat until the dark flux stops bubbling. It continues bubbling long after the solder melts and I chicken out and stop heating. I'm I missing something?
                         Thanks,Turtle

[jerrywh]

I do not heat until the flux stops bubbling with swiff95. As soon as the solder melts and flows I stop heating.  As far as double barrels goes Kutter has a very good point about the acid soldered fluxes. The acid flux will corrode beneath the ribs of doubles. But for under ribs I like it because it is simple. I silver solder barrels and ribs together because I heat blue them but  I have soft soldered a couple of doubles in repair work.  Soft soldering barrels is easier than one might think. The hardest part for me is getting them set up and then the clean up afterwards. 

[heelerau]

Gentlemen I have to re attach the bottom rib on my single barrel English bore rifle. I have picked up some rozin flux and have some 50/50 soft lead tin solder. I have a small propane torch which I think should be ok and easy to manage the heat.  I gather chalk is good for keeping solder from sticking on where I don't want it to run. I will clean up the barrel flat with a file and wet and dry, scrape the old solder and rozin from the bearing surfaces of the rib, tin both then clamp together with soft iron wire and horse shoe nails. I am guessing the ram rod pipe might be hard soldered as one of them has an eye which recieves the j swivel hook on my rifles sling. Would I be best to have the barrel with the top flat facing down rather  and work each side with the torch carefully ?   I tried to sweat a bottom rib onto a percussion single barrel when I was a kid with  silver solder and did a great job of creating an "s" bend hence my caution at this attempt. I might add I found out many years later I should have used soft solder, I did not realise you could solder iron and carbon steel.

Kind regards

Gordon

[n stephenson]

I use Stay-brite solder from TOTW. Its on sale right now, but still is pretty pricy. It melts at a little over 400 degrees, and is four or five times stronger than traditional solder. I really like it for soldering lugs on fowler barrels.

                 Hungry Horse

I also use Stay Brite. Check your local welding gas shop they often have it for about half what others charge. I have found it at Ace Hardware stores as well.

[smylee grouch]

I like to use some type of silver solder to put thimbles on before the rib and use a soft solder to attach the rib after that.

[Craig Wilcox]

Jerrywh and Kutter really know what they are doing in the soldering department - follow their lead and that solder job will go like magic.

Kutter, that was a real nice treatise on how and what, regarding soldering.

[heelerau]

Thanks Gentlemen, will follow Kutter

Cheers

Gordon

[Pukka Bundook]

Gordon and all,

Only thing to add, as yes, the soft solder of choice works well, is in soldering, I put the barrel in the vise rib -side up, and after tinning both sides and re-fluxing.
(I use a grease-looking flux named "Jiffy" or something)
I lay the rib in place, and put wire loops around it and the barrel, with heavy-ish weights attached.
How many weights depends on length of rib)
Then play torch back and forth along the lower side of barrel, not directly on the rib.
As the heat comes up, you will see the rib settle into place as the weights pull it down.
On an old barrel, only cleaning the immediate area of the rib helps to prevent solder where you don't want it.

On a Real long barrel, a dowel in the muzzle and supported helps to take the strain off the vise -end.

Good luck!
R.

[davec2]

One important rule to ALWAYS follow with any type of soldering, hard or soft, is that the solder will flow toward the highest heat.  And, with torch heating, the thinnest / smallest part will heat the fastest.  Hence the recommendation to play the torch on the heaviest section (the barrel) and not on the thin section (the rib).  And the solder will follow the torch heat once you have reached liquidus temperature.

[Bill Raby]

Why not just attach the rib with rivets and avoid solder?

[heelerau]

Bill the barrel is relatively thin, unlike most of your long rifle barrels and say Hawken rifles which you could drill and tap and screw the barrel rib on.
    Thanks Gentlemen,  I will post in a couple weeks after I have done the job, your advice on the finer points is exactly what I am looking for.

kind regards

Gordon

[gumboman]

My next build will need rib and thimbles soldered on. Since I have little to no experience with solder I am anxious about doing this task. The feedback in this thread helps but I wonder if a forum member who is skilled at soldering ribs could post a video showing the complete job. That would help a novice like myself a lot.

[alacran]

My next build will need rib and thimbles soldered on. Since I have little to no experience with solder I am anxious about doing this task. The feedback in this thread helps but I wonder if a forum member who is skilled at soldering ribs could post a video showing the complete job. That would help a novice like myself a lot.

When I was a novice like yourself I took the advice of a mentor, The late Loid Niemeier. He told me to do it pretty much the way which has been previously described. He emphasized proper fluxing, just like the previous posts.
You have enough information so just do it. If it doesn't work  the first time figure out how you did it wrong, and try again.
That is the only way you learn. By doing, screwing up and doing it again till you get it right, you will learn more than any video will ever teach you.

[B.Habermehl]

CLEAN! CLEAN! CLEAN! The most important part of soldering under ribs, lugs etc. I use modern plumbing solder and flux. I’ve never had a joint failure not due to a cold joint. Grafite aka pencil lead will also repel solder. But I can’t over emphasize cleanliness. No finger prints etc. BJH