doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com Resoldering barrels

I believe Mike is talking about nails like these:



From Lowes

Stan presents an interesting question here. I seem to recall reading somewhere that the makers of vintage U.S. shotguns merely aligned their barrels by sighting through them to converge on some point at an average shooting range, and then did the joining. That sounds haphazard, but careful bore sighting with a rifle can get you pretty close to desired point of aim. I have no idea what the actual truth is when it comes to SxS shotgun barrel regulation. I have read a bit about the process for regulating double rifle barrels during manufacture. It sounds like that can be a tedious process of both load development and adding or removing spacers between the barrels to get them to converge at a set range. I don't think it's likely that U.S. double shotgun makers lavished that much attention on run of the mill production shotguns.

I believe it was in Michael McIntosh's A. H. Fox book that he said Fox employees test fired their shotguns on the roof of the Fox factory right in the city of Philadelphia. I don't recall if this test firing was a Proof test, or to check choke boring, regulation, or all of the above.

The cut nails shown are almost exactly the shape of horse shoe nails. The difference is that they are extremely hard and don't bend. Horseshoe nails are annealed and designed to be bent at extreme angles to clinch the nail and then be cut off to length with nippers. The cut nails would be as good or better and available anywhere.

As to solid iron wire, it is available at about any building supplier. It is available in the concrete section as rebar wire. It is used to wrap and tie every joint of a concrete reinforcing system. Every form worker will have a roll hanging on his belt. It is annealed to twist and pull and is easy to work with. It costs a few bucks a pound and I keep two or three rolls hanging around my shop for any quick temporary hanging, clamping or holding need.