OK... Devcon isnt enough... or is it?

B

BabySeal

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
225   0   0
Location
BC
So I bought a ghost ring set for my shotgun. No troubles installing the rear, drill, tap, and its off to the races.

Then it came to the front sight. I dont have the kit to do silver soldering. Or the know how. But I did read a testimonial on the Devcon website about how they used some titanium putty to replace the worn mounting bolts that holds the engine in lace on a big ship at sea. Thats GOTTA be enough to hold a dinky little front sight on right? Nope.:bangHead:

I roughed up the barrel and the sight, and set it right over the factory bead so that there was that much more to hold on too. I even drilled holes for two 1/16" spring pins to help secure it.

Well all that work held out for about 12 hours of hiking through the bush on various weekends and about 20 slugs at the range today.

So... Anybody in the lower mainland want to help me out with a little silver soldering. Show a fellow tradesman how its done?

I'll buy the timmies.
 
Last edited:
Devcon is great stuff, but not for this particular purpose. Acraglass would have been a better choice in this instance.
Heat may damage the insert in your front sight if it is so equipped.
KK
 
Babyseal,
Have you considered low temperature silver solder? It has a melting point of 290 F and requires no special equipment other than it's own special flux and an ordinary propane torch. Knife makers use it a lot to solder guards without altering temper of blades. It can be bought anywhere knifemaking supplies are sold.
 
Hmm... that sounds like something I could do at my workbench at home... I like this.

Now...

Who sells knife making supplies?
 
Baby Seal,
When I was still playing with that sort of thing I used to get my supplies from Steelmet in Saskatoon and House of Tools. The second is a chain with about 3 locations in BC. Whether they are all into the knifemaking stuff I don't know, but they used to have a specialty catalog for knife making supplies and tools. There are no doubt other sources as well.
 
The Wilson Combat/ Trijicon come with an epoxy, to be exact "3M 2216 GRAY B/A". Installation includes cleaning and roughing up the surface a little, degreasing with MEK and then clamping it in place for a day. I thin cross pin them. I have never had one returned. Some of my work is on a major police department range on training guns where they pass is from one shooter to the next and they do get smoking hot.

I have silver soldered some on also. It works great but you must remove any night sight first and then re-install later. Of course silver soldering will ruin the finish and now your are into a refinish of the barrel. This is why they give you the epoxy, to eliminate the need for refinishing.

The night sight modules can be ruined by heating them to 300 degrees F. I know this from first hand expereience as the Teflon coat I do is baked at that temperature and I have had some modules "pop"
 
OK so the concensus seems to be to give it another try with the devcon.

I will let it lay up under a clamp for longer then. I didnt let mine cure for a week.

If that doesnt work I will just have to get the torch out and buy a book on silver soldering. At least its my gun I am practicing on.

Thanks all!
 
Surface prep is probably the most important. Use MEK, and nothing else. Wipe many times, never using the same wetted surface. ie: throw away paper towel, and wet a new piece, and re-wipe. We use Devcon quite frequently at work, and it stands up to the constant vibration of aircraft operation. But with poor surface prep, it's adhesion doesn't last long.
 
Another alternative might be Loctite "Black Max"

From the Brownell's catalogue:

BLACK MAX ADHESIVE
Mfr: LOCTITE

Instant Adhesive That Withstands Shock Perfect For Gluing Sights & Ribs

Instantly glue on shotgun sights, sight ramps or make fast repairs to vent ribs and beads with this modern, tough-as-nails adhesive. A fast-fix for installing rifle-type sights on plain barreled shotguns. Fast-curing cyanoacrylate, toughened with elastomers, provides greater resistance to impact, vibration and increased shear strength. Impervious to most common gunshop solvents and cleaning agents. Adheres instantly to properly-prepared rubber, plastic or metal surfaces. Flat-black color blends with most blued firearms.

SPECS: Liquid, squeeze tube. .10 fl. oz. (3 ml).

Catalog page 166
Click to expand...

:) Stuart
 
BabySeal said:
Ok, what is MEK? I have been using a good scrub in hot soapy water followed by methyl hydrate.
Click to expand...

MEK=Methyl Ethyl Ketone, terrible stuff for liver and nervous system. Works the best for certain purposes (strips any paint, glue, surface prep etc. etc.)
Paint shops should have it.
 
kell2784 said:
MEK=Methyl Ethyl Ketone, terrible stuff for liver and nervous system. Works the best for certain purposes (strips any paint, glue, surface prep etc. etc.)
Paint shops should have it.
Click to expand...

x2. A place I used to work in Vancouver in the late 80's-early '90's used to sell it by the gallon for thinning certain screen printing inks. I often think back to the "solvent room" where all it and several other solvents were stored and wonder why we didn't have three-headed mice running around. I wouldn't be surprised if it's "not available to consumers" now, given the Big Brother State. Anyway, I will risk disagreeing with kell2784, and suggest that acetone or lacquer thinner should work fine; a call to the mfr. of whatever you use would clear up any questions. But yes, use a clean cloth, solvent-proof gloves and good ventilation.

:) Stuart
 
Most Totems sell low temp silver solder, look for it in the plumbing section with the no lead solders.

There are all kinds of different epoxy strengths, usually the longer the setup time, the stronger the epoxy. Acraglass gel is one of the stronger epoxys, add some atomized steel or stainless steel to it or use steel bed.
 
josquin said:
x2. A place I used to work in Vancouver in the late 80's-early '90's used to sell it by the gallon for thinning certain screen printing inks. I often think back to the "solvent room" where all it and several other solvents were stored and wonder why we didn't have three-headed mice running around. I wouldn't be surprised if it's "not available to consumers" now, given the Big Brother State. Anyway, I will risk disagreeing with kell2784, and suggest that acetone or lacquer thinner should work fine; a call to the mfr. of whatever you use would clear up any questions. But yes, use a clean cloth, solvent-proof gloves and good ventilation.

:) Stuart
Click to expand...

Acetone should work great too. Anything terribly toxic usually works the best.:puke:
 
buckbrush said:
There are all kinds of different epoxy strengths, usually the longer the setup time, the stronger the epoxy. Acraglass gel is one of the stronger epoxys, add some atomized steel or stainless steel to it or use steel bed.
Click to expand...

Or just buy SteelBed.
 
ok. Good news. It was the degreaser I was using I am sure.

I got some terribly powerfull stuff from our autobody guy at work and just used acra-gel because I was tired of wasting the expensive titanium Devcon. I forget the name of the stuff I got, but it ate through my rubber gloves.

I have fired about 100 rds now and about 1/4 of that has been slugs and 00 buck. Even better yet is that I have just got back from a week of camping and hiking with it. While climbing a big pile of rocks it swung down off my back and the front sight banged into the rocks and then snagged on them while I was climbing up. That front sight would have held me there all day I am sure! Still rock solid. My faith is restored.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom