Loose rib on a double-barrel?

[Sam1911]

Hi!

We have a family heirloom 16 ga. double that is a Stevens / Fox-Sterlingworth (not exactly sure of the age but it bears the Stevens logo). It is a wonderful gun -- light, quick, double triggers, hammerless, case-hardened receiver and small parts, etc. Just about wonderful for a "vintage" quail hunt or what have you.

On our last outing to the clays range I noticed that the rib right at the muzzle is ever so slightly loose. You can hardly see it move, and I have no idea how I caught it, but if you're looking for it you can see the seam open and close if you press down on the bead. And such a thing seems to me to be very likely to get worse, not better.

This is way too wonderful a gun to hang on the wall, but there is no way we can justify the cost to send it off to Doug Turnbull (my first choice).

I know that a proper re-soldering job of a double's barrels is an artisan's business. And, the heat involved would necessitate a re-bluing job as well.

What is the right thing to do? And who would you trust to do it? I'm in PA, though I'm sure qualified smiths are not scattered universally throughout the country. What to do?

Thanks!

-Sam

 

[interlock]

don't do it yourself

don't try to solder it yourself. I had an old english gun and the rib came adrift. i tried to fix it and made a dreadful mess of it.

If the rib is loose it makes quite a lot of difference to the gun, the barrels will no longer ring and moisture may have got under it and may have damaged the barrels where you can't see it.

My best advice is to drop some oil under the rib and put it away until you can afford to have it fixed properly. it won't eat anything.

interlock

 

[Jim Watson]

Simmons charges $200 to resolder ribs.
http://www.simmonsguns.com/

 

[Sam1911]

Thanks to both of you!

I would certainly not try to solder it myself.

-Sam

 

[rcmodel]

Simmons charges $200 to resolder ribs.
http://www.simmonsguns.com/

That right there is your very best option!

It will be money well spent, because they have enough experiance doing them not to make a mess of it!

rcmodel

 

[Red Hawk]

I checked the Simmons site..... that $200 price for resoldering is listed as being for over/under barrels. So now you've got me wondering: would it cost more to do the same job for a S x S? Also, what other costs would there be be? Cleaning/Testing/Sighting in? Reblueing?

 

[rcmodel]

You could just call them and ask.

Or, THR member http://www.thehighroad.org/member.php?u=11885

is on here every so often.

You might PM him.

rcmodel

 

[beretta9]

I had the exact same thing happen to my 16ga double. I just squeezed some liquid solder under the rib, clamped it for a few hours, held great even after shooting.

 

[rcmodel]

Not recommended.

If it holds forever, fine.

But if it doesn't, you got a real mess under the rib that has to be cleaned out before it can be soldered back on with soft solder the way it should be.

rcmodel

 

[AULefty]

I had Simmons resolder the side ribs on a Superposed with excellent results. I had to wait about 6 weeks to get it back but the quality of work was great.

 

[Sam1911]

I had Simmons resolder the side ribs on a Superposed with excellent results. I had to wait about 6 weeks to get it back but the quality of work was great.

Very cool! Did they do a full re-blue job as well?

Did you send them the whole gun so they could test-fire, etc?

If you don't mind me asking, what was the total bill?

Thanks!

-Sam

 

[rcmodel]

http://simmonsguns.com/Pricing.html

rcmodel

 

[Sam1911]

Thanks rc, I've seen their pricing page. Just curious what specific services AULefty needed and what the total charge was.

-Sam