doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Water between ribs

For a Trojan, sounds like the most practical solution is a set of subgauge tubes. Sleeving and Teague re-lining cost double the price of the average Trojan. Welding of holes in barrels, done by expert hands, has been done successfully but many would not feel comfortable with that. However, it sounds like your hole is more than a foot from the breech where pressures are fairly low. If the barrels aren't eaten up with corrosion between the ribs, it is at least theoretically possible that they could be repaired (requires a rib relay and still a large bill if you don't do that kind of work yourself). There are English gunsmiths who weld barrels, but I don't know of any here who publicly advertise that they do.

I'm not sure I would feel comfortable with having the hole welded. I have never used or seen subgauge tubes. Do they go the entire length of the barrel? The hole is about 17" from the breech. I suspect that it will be much less expensive just to find another set of barrels for a Trojan. I can buy another entire gun for less than the cost of sleeving or Teague relining.

Thanks for all the help.

Even if tubes are installed, you will have no idea how bad the corrosion is under the ribs. The ribs must be removed to inspect and clean out corrosion. I have a set of barrels with a hole in one bore that goes all the way to a corresponding hole in the opposite bore. How bad is the corrosion under my ribs? Very bad, I would assume. I would love to find someone who would agree to weld my barrels to close those holes, but I'm not holding my breath. I assume your corrosion resulted from the unprofessional refinish that was done by the fellow who drilled that weep hole but didn't know how to purge the moisture before sealing the hole. You might find someone who can sell you a set of Trojan barrels. Are your barrels with or without the extension rib?

Tom, check this out:

http://www.briley.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=106

Half the price of the average Trojan, but they are drop-in, full-length, interchangeable chokes, and they will preserve your hard-earned bluing job! Just an idea...

More info available on their website. They also have a "lightweight set" that costs 100 bucks more, but might preserve the handling of the gun a little better. I have no personal experience with them, but have heard good things in general. There are those on this board who own and use them.

Jim

Or, since I believe I understand him to say that the hole in the barrel corresponds with the solder-covered weep-hole in the rib, the previous guy may have actually MADE the hole in the barrel while drilling the weep hole. In that case, there might not be a corrosion problem at all. On the other hand, disregard if I misunderstood the situation as it exists.

I had a set of damascus barrels on a GH that I discovered a hole in when I re-finished them. I found it when I kept finding a small leak into the bore after each cleaning. I didn't recognize it for what it was the first couple of times I saw it, then the light came on and the stomach turned. I stripped the ribs expecting to find a mess of corrosion. Instead, I found beautifully clean barrels with a small pinhole that must have been there since it left Meriden. We gas-welded the pinhole (made easier by the fact there was no corrosion), ran a reamer through the bore to clean up the inside of the weld, relayed the ribs, proofed the barrel with the hottest commercially-available loads I could find, refinished the barrels again, and I still shoot it regularly with the standard <7000psi handloads I use for any damascus gun. I didn't trust myself to do the welding for fear that I might distort the barrel diameter. I had a friend who is an expert do it. I told him beforehand that I wouldn't hold him responsible if it didn't work out. He reluctantly agreed, but I knew if he felt the completed job was sound, then it would be safe. I watched and it went incredibly well. The filler metal mixed marvelously with the parent metal, and he was even able to build up a little extra thickness in the area of repair. Best of all, the whole repair is invisible because it is entirely between the ribs. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE, AND TAKE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MY OWN ACTIONS, but I have shot this gun for three years since the repair and have complete confidence in it. It seems like taboo in this country to weld a hole in a barrel, but the fact is, the English muzzle-loading shotgun crowd consider this a standard repair under the right circumstances. The friend who did the welding has since welded holes in a few of his own projects with good success. Again, I do not recommend this to anyone! You only get one set of hands and eyes.

The same idea crossed my mind that whomever drilled that pea sized weep hole half way down the rib hit the barrel. That's the only place I see anything in the barrel. However, the weep hole is large enough that he may have hit the other barrel also. And if the gun was shot with the hole in the left barrel, I'm wondering if the pressure going through the hole may have damaged the other barrel.

I have a small boroscope I use for work and I am going to try to slide it down the barrel tonight or tomorrow to see if I can see the hole.

Pulling the ribs may get expensive and patching a hole in a barrel is no gaurantee. Finding a replacement barrel would be my first choice.

The barrel has no rib extension.

VH20, the gun I own that has holes in both barrels is a rare gun that I would be willing to invest a bit of money in to restore. I would appreciate an email from you to give me information about the fellow who can pull ribs and weld barrels. He would love my project, a small bore Lindner made hammer gun in otherwise great condition. Thanks. Bill Murphy wilmrph@verizon.net

Sorry, Bill, but I can tell you he won't do it. He is not in business, and mostly just works on his own stuff. Nowadays, he's lost interest in double guns after restoring a couple hundred, and he's back into the Winchester rifles again. He is the kind of guy who can teach himself to do just about anything. I went through the learning curve of relaying ribs with him. Took him 5 tries on the first set he did, and still not perfect. By the time we got around to my gun, he had done about a half dozen and they were looking VERY good. I figured I had nothing to lose, and talked him into giving the weld repair a try. It couldn't have gone better. I helped with the rib relay, and did all the grunt work (prepping). He does lots of small, intricate welding for one of his other hobbies, and I knew he had the skill. I watched while he did the welding, as an extra pair of eyes was good to be on the lookout for signs of an impending burn-through. The rib relay came out factory-quality, and none of it cost me a cent (we "swapped work" for each other all the time).

I know a bunch of muzzle-loader guys whom I've heard talk about having barrels repaired this way. I hope to shoot skeet with them on Monday. If I can make it up there I'll ask around and see who they've used.

Thanks. I would just tube this gun and shoot it until someone made me an offer on it, but I'm afraid the corrosion is just getting worse by the day. I would like to address the problem and clean things up.

I check the barrel again last night and found that both barrels have a hole in them just below the area on the bottom rib where that pea sized filled hole was. I'll bet whoever worked on this gun in the past drilled through the rib and into both barrels. That hole seemed to large in diameter from the start.