doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Sarasqueta sxs barrel blueing ?

Hi, I've been asked to tidy up a pair of sxs barrels from a V.S. Sidelock and have a question, they look too shiny to be rust blued and appear to be brazed at the breech end/lumps,along the ribs and possibly the fore end loop, I can't see any trace of lead solder, not even as filler at the muzzle end but I'm hanging fire until I can find out if it's safe to even think about putting them near hot salts. It's only a guess but I think it is a late gun, possibly mid 80's, haven't been able to find the correct info on dating from the serial No.or proof marks yet.
I'd be grateful if anyone out there has experience with these guns and can help out. Will get more info tomorrow regarding numbers but I'm clueless at the moment.
If these's any doubt I'll rust them and keep them in one piece.
Thanks in advance for any replies.

Proof year code should be a letter followed by a number, frequently separated by an * (example: 1980 would be 'Z1' or 'Z*1'). The Victor Sarasqueta company closed its doors in 1981, so mid 1980s is an unlikely time of manufacture. Unless, of course, the gun was assembled by a different maker from parts left when VS closed their doors.

Here are the year codes:

http://personales.jet.es/rafa/b_punzones_eibar_fecha.html

Take a very sharp and thin scribe and drag it along the seam between the ribs and tubes. You should be able to see (color) and also feel if the solder is soft lead solder or hard (silver) solder.
A loop helps when doing this.

Not uncommon to find these hard soldered together.
Some Belgian sets too. Undoubtedly others.

Some were left open at the muzzle end to be able to get bluing salts to rinse out of the space easily. Then closed up afterwards w/a soft solder.
Some not. I guess they relied on their ability to really seal things off so the hot blue soln didn't get in there, as it's a very tough situation to get clear w/o a decent exit to work with.

If in doubt,,rust blue. It's the classic finish anyway.

Thanks for the help guys, I'd guessed it was late model as I had some sketchy info which was probably wrong and thought it could have been made in the time of the diarm group. Given the new info I will check it as soon as possible against the serial number on the gun. Thanks again for that kyrie.
Kutter, thanks for your suggestion regarding the scribe, the joins I can see are a golden colour , the only part I cannot see is where the loop is joined. I will give it a scratch and see. I had a Belgian gun which was brazed but the loop was lead soldered, maybe it had been moved or re-fitted at some point, possibly being a guild gun it may have been up to the person who finished the gun to fit it to suit. One thing's sure, I'd have needed to fish it out of the hot tank and re-fit it myself, complete with red face if I hadn't checked.
I'm tempted to suggest rust blueing them more now. Maybe they could go in the hot tank like many over/unders I've done but until I know for certain, I won't take any chances. As you say, it's the classic finish anyway and I totally agree


Thanks for your input.
Nick.

Checked the proofmarks today. They indicate that it's a 1977 gun. The loop is brazed on, could make the joint out by torch light . The owner wants the original shiny finish reproducing, I'm tempted to dull them after polishing to give it a nice satin sheen, but the owner's the boss. So hot salts it is then. If it goes wrong in the tank I'll post a pic of all the pieces.