inlaying decorative rings on a barrel

[Dave Waters]

Is there a tutorial showing how to inlay silver, gold, etc. to make narrow bands just behind the muzzle and/or breech. I did a search but found none. I'm sure that this has been discussed before. My old memory just ain't recalling it.

[Dave B]

Dave I vaguely remember that there was some thing maybe from Jerry Huddleston on gold inlay work. I know that you really need to read up on the stuff before jumping in. I had only read about it from Meek's book on engraving and not very thoroughly. Knowing that I could buy 14 kt gold bezel from the jewelry supply I knew what I needed to do. I cut the bezel  to the width I needed cut the flat bottomed channel and uder cut the edges. I humped up the ribbon of gold in the centre for its entire length and pounded it flat into the under cut. It took several tries to get it right but I made it work. I found out later that you cant inlay 14 kt gold. No one told me I couldn't. Robert Evans showed us at the Oregon Gunmakers fair how to do gold inlay with 24kt gold. Talk a bout something fun to do. It was easy as pie with that stuff compaired to the first go with my 14kt. He showed us that you can cut a line and then come back with a fine punch that has a face ground lto about a 45 degree angle and looks like a needle till you get it under magnification. the cross section of the face is that of a "D" the leading edge of the punch is the belly of the D the flat is what lets you drop back the angle of the punch toward the other end of the engraved line(the channel of the cuts opposite side. You will drive the punch in at intervals bumping up the metal in the bottom of cut. You do this alternately along the grove. When the gold is driven into the groove it will lock in under these bump ups. I believe the engravers call this stiching. Using this technique will allow you to inlay gold wire as thin as a human hair.

[Blacksmoke]

Dave Waters--  I've done quite a little bit of gold and silver barrel bands in gun barrels.  As was mentioned by David B. only use 24kt gold or pure silver. When I first started I used 18kt. gold--- what mistake! the stuff worked hardened and became like spring steel--never again!   I make the first cut with a "jeweler's saw" only going about .020"-030" deep. For a wider band I use a fine cut hack saw to make the cut. Then I go in the cut with a 'knife" graver and under cut the side of each saw cut . Now lay the wire in the groove and with a small punch that has the nose roughed a little on a piece of sand paper set the gold or silver down with light but deliberate taps using a small hammer.  The gold or silver will squash down and spread into the under cuts. The excess will then be dressed off leaving a nice neat line of precious metal in the gun barrel steel.    Good luck,    Hugh Toenjes    P.S. try a practice piece with the less expensive pure silver it will behave the same as 24kt. gold.

[DutchGramps]

I once replaced the gold inlay on a Turkish barrel by amalgam plating; dangerous, but the results were excellent. It would not be suitable for narrow rings, I think.
I dissolved the smallest gold coin I could get: a Mexican peso, in mercury; the part to be plated was cleaned and etched with nitric acid, the amalgam applied with a small stiff brush, and the barrel was then gently heated until the mercury had evaporated.
I was fortunate enough to have access to a laboratory with a fume cupboard and filter; I would not have dared to do it in my workshop, or even outside....

[Brian]

The amalgam idea is cool for some applications - but I certainly understand your caution.  I wouldn't want to be within 100 country miles of vaporizing mercury!     That stuff will kill you graveyard dead!

[jerrywh]

 Narrow barrel bands are pretty easy. the wider they are the more complicated they become. Somewhere I have a tutorial I did on them. If I can find it I will e-mail it to you.

[Joe Stein]

From Jerry in the Archives:

http://americanlongrifles.org/old_board/index.php?topic=30.0
 

[Dave Waters]

Gentlemen, thanks for your help. - - - Dave Waters

[brokenflint]

Looking back at Jerry's tutorial I have a question on finishing after the inlay.   If the inlay band is placed in a blued (or other type of finish) barrel and you file / dress it up how do you retain the finish?  Or if the inlay band in installed prior to finish how do you protect the precious metals of the band?

Broke

[Dave B]

I was told that the use of chisels made from brass will allow a person to cut the exess gold away and not mar the surface of the blued surface. A polished brass burnisher will finish it up nicely. All my gold work was done before finishing the metal. I have used brass scrapers to remove rust from a blued barrel with out damaging the blue so it will work just as well in this case. Bob Evans talked with us about using brass flat chisels for working with the gold. Gold has a nasty habbit of sticking to the face of some types of steel tools and can be ripped out due to this tendancy to cold weld to the surface. It won't do this with brass. You can make the angles of the chisel the same as you would with a steel engraving chisel.