Tell me about soldering on a front sight (shotgun)

[G37]

Hi,

Long story short... I went to hammer & brass pin on a sight on my shotgun barrel and the ramp/base which it would have attached too came right off the barrel. ARGHHH!!!

There looked to be some kind of soldier on underneath.

Could someone please explain the process of re-attaching it? Can I get the supplies from Home-Depot or Rona??


Much appreciated in advance
~Cheers

 

[Dr.Lector]

Nope.
If you ####ed up the barrel from Joe, that is silver-solder.
Go back and ask him to re-solder it. Plus re-finnish. Oh my

 

[Dr.Lector]

The big deal in all this is not the re-soldering, but the alignment of the 2 parts.

 

[G37]

Well, I repaired it myself today...

I went to Canadian Tire and bought some general solder (40%tin/60%lead); it was advertised as being able to repair holes in radiators - I figured it'd be strong enough (time will tell).

I also grabbed the Benzomatic mini-butane torch (pen style torch).

I lightly sanded both sides, then cleaned both sides with alcohol. I then put a thin layer of solder on both sides. I sandwhiched the two pieces, then heated the piece up with the torch and sqeezed them together with a vise as soon as the solder was liquid. It took a few attempts to get a straight set, but I am very happy with the results. It's straight!

So... anyone think the solder will hold (I Have enough and the job is good... I just question the durability of the "general purpose" stuff).

 

[Yuri Orlov]

Probably not. You mentioned that you had to try a few times to get it straight...unless you removed the old solder completely and started fresh, your bond is going to be brittle. Also it sounds like you didn't use any flux which usually leaves you with a weak bond. I've never soldered anything onto a barrel before tho...YMMV.

 

[G37]

yeah, in the back of my mind I am thinking it'll fly off... crap!

Thanks for replies guys.

 

[canucklehead]

Silver solder and tin/lead solder are two different things. Silver Solder is closer to welding/brazing, regular solder has little to no tensile/shear strength.

My opinion - send it to TacOrd (Arwen Ace) and get him to do it proper!

 

[gunrunner100]

Silver solder works best. Regular tin/lead solder does not have the bond strength.

 

[RePete]

You need high strength, low temp silver solder. It's about $2.00/inch.

 

[Steve David]

Silver Solder is the way to go. If that site comes off again, use the torch and run it back and forth over the solder on the barrel to clean it off by useing a damp rag and wipe wile appling heat. Then once it looks like it is all off, use grit cloth, the same as used for plumbing, and sand it until you see metal and the entire area of solder is clear. Then carefully, and I mean carfully, do the same for the site, mounted in a vise, but make sure you only run the flame from the torch back and forth, do not apply direct heat, and reapeat the same steps as on the barrel with the the damp rag and then grit cloth. Once all the areas are clean, align the site, clamp it if you can and solder it with silver solder, you can get it at most plumbing suppliers. I buy it in a package of 20 sticks from Masters. Just make sure you take your time and clean the entire area, that is most import, and use flux paste when you solder it again, that helps to bond it and evenly distribute the solder under the site.