Correct Solder to add sights, etc. to a barrel?

[flmason]

Was thinking about attaching a rear sight to the barrel of an Army Colt or other open top Colt Revolver design.

So can simple electronic solder do the job or is something with a higher melting point a better choice, say silver solder? What would the issues be with that? For example, the barrel might get annealed at the point of heat application?

 

[Oyeboten]

There is often confusion between Silver Brazing alloys (fairly high heat), and Silver Solder Alloys (fairly low heat).


Hard Solder, or Solder having a high Tin content...should be fine...and would not involve heats sufficient to anneal or effect or harm the Blueing or the Metal's Temper of the Barrel.


I Hard Soldered a new Front Sight onto a fairly highish-Blue S&W Revolver recently...and used a regular Burns-o-Matic Torch usually used for Soldering Copper Plumbing joints...did not harm the Blue.

 

[rcmodel]

For example, the barrel might get annealed at the point of heat application?

Barrels and cylinders on those old guns were not heat treated, so no need to worry about annealing them.

Stay-Brite silver solder available at hobby shops should do the job nicely at reletavely low heat.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXFS75&P=FR

rc

 

[gb6491]

Hard soldering and brazing are interchangeable terms for the same operation; joining using a filler medium that requires red heat to melt. In common usage, the distinction is that "brazing" is generally used when the operation involves brazing brass (copper/zinc) as the joining medium and "hard soldering" when the medium is "silver solder (usually above 40% silver)".

Soldering is done below red heat.
The silver bearing solder (3.4-3.9% silver to tin) that rcmodel recommends is a very good alternative to a tin/lead solder. Silver bearing solders generally offer slightly greater strength and better wettability.
Here's a nice page about the use of silver bearing solder in regards to firearms: Silver Soldering It's Not That Hard !!!

By the way, I'm not dumping on high tin content tin/lead solder (60/40 or greater). I once repaired a tailgate latch by soldering a 3", tight friction fit, steel bar inside a U channel section with 60/40. It was supposed to be a quick fix until I got it welded, but it was still going strong 3 years later when I donated the truck away

Regards,
Greg

 

[flmason]

Thanks for all the info gentlemen.