How to remove solder to prepare for parkerizing

HankC1 · May 7, 2013, 09:18 PM

I was going to put a military barrel on a mauser receiver and realized that I cannot time the barrel correctly to get the sights at 12 o'clock position. Will need to melt the solder and alight the sights and thinking just remove the sights since the receiver is already drilled and tapped for scope anyway. However, how do I remove the solder completely to prepare the barrel for parkerizing? I like park finish and don't want to paint the barrel. The barrel is a 1912 Mauser in 7.62, is there a set screw under the front sight blade that I need to remove first? Any set screw in rear sight assembly?

**4V50 Gary** · May 7, 2013, 10:21 PM

propane torch comes to mind. Put a wet towel around the rest of the barrel and put a heat sink into the muzzle.

Bill DeShivs · May 8, 2013, 12:16 AM

Any solder-soft or hard, will have to be mechanically removed before parkerizing. Grinding, filing, and sanding are the only ways.

Scorch · May 8, 2013, 12:30 AM

If you are not trying to save the sight, remove the infamous screw and then peen the bottom of the sight band with a hammer. It will grow larger and break the solder joint, and you can slide it off without risking injury to the barrel by heating.

Dixie Gunsmithing · May 8, 2013, 07:08 AM

If its soft solder, you can heat it, as the temperature is below the heat treat temperature that the barrel was drawn to, and some silver based solder is also. However, don't get it any hotter than that, as if it gets hotter than what the barrel was heat treated to, its beyond repair, unless the whole thing is hardened, and re-drawn to the correct temperature. Then, it has to be re-straightened, and everything.

Mount it in a vise, to act as a heat sink, and even some wet rags wrapped around it close to the sight base will help. Then, apply heat to the sight base, not the barrel, until it breaks free, and pulls loose.

There's a trick to not overheating, too, in using a 390 F. Tempil Stick, for the temperature of just slightly above soft soldering (360 to 370 F.). Apply a mark on the barrel with the Tempil crayon, and if that mark melts while applying heat to the sight base, immediately take the heat away.

After the base is off, polish any remaining solder off before parkerizing.

http://www.tempil.com/

HankC1 · May 8, 2013, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Any solder-soft or hard, will have to be mechanically removed before parkerizing. Grinding, filing, and sanding are the only ways.

Oh well, I was hoping there are other tricks!

How hard is it to time the sights with solder joints? How do I turn the sight while keeping the heat up and adjust to the dead center. I guess I can always go slow, check alignment, reheat and move little again, but there must be some tricks! The 1912 Mauser barrel has the sights 180 degrees off when installed on a VZ24 receiver.

Dfariswheel · May 8, 2013, 07:20 PM

The easy way is to use strips of abrasive cloth "shoe shine" method to sand the solder off.
Put the barrel in a padded vise and use a long strip of the abrasive wrapped partially around the barrel. Rotate the barrel often.
Originally, Mauser rifles used an almost pure lead soft solder to mount sights and it's soft enough to come off fairly easily.

One pointer: Sand off the solder until you're sure it's all gone, then apply a coat of cold blue.
Any solder left won't color and you can see it. This will help prevent the barrel coming out of the Parkerizing bath with areas not covered because of remaining soft solder.

Ajtozzi · May 8, 2013, 08:15 PM

Try a solder sucker and solder iron.

Dixie Gunsmithing · May 9, 2013, 07:56 AM

Quote:

How hard is it to time the sights with solder joints? How do I turn the sight while keeping the heat up and adjust to the dead center. I guess I can always go slow, check alignment, reheat and move little again, but there must be some tricks! The 1912 Mauser barrel has the sights 180 degrees off when installed on a VZ24 receiver.

To do it that way would put too much heat on the barrel, and you wouldn't be able to control the temperature. What you need to do, after removing them, and cleaning up the old solder, is to find the center line on the top of the barrel, and mark the center of the sights. Then, apply flux to both the barrel and sight bottom, and use a piece of strip solder between the sight and barrel. It's flat and thin, so its easily formed. Once in place, you can use wire, twisted until the sight is down tight, to hold it in place, wile heating the part until the solder flows.

James K · May 9, 2013, 05:44 PM

First, the original factory solder is soft solder, not silver solder. Once you remove the sights, you can time the barrel as needed using a lathe to fit it to the inner collar and the receiver face. You should do that anyway, to set the barrel back far enough to allow getting the right headspace by reaming the chamber. (Getting the proper headspace otherwise with a fully chambered barrel is a crapshoot.)

FWIW, the Mauser factory installed and finish reamed the barrels first, then installed the sights, using the receiver flat as a reference point.

Jim

May 7, 2013, 09:18 PM	#1
HankC1 Senior Member Join Date: April 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 531	How to remove solder to prepare for parkerizing I was going to put a military barrel on a mauser receiver and realized that I cannot time the barrel correctly to get the sights at 12 o'clock position. Will need to melt the solder and alight the sights and thinking just remove the sights since the receiver is already drilled and tapped for scope anyway. However, how do I remove the solder completely to prepare the barrel for parkerizing? I like park finish and don't want to paint the barrel. The barrel is a 1912 Mauser in 7.62, is there a set screw under the front sight blade that I need to remove first? Any set screw in rear sight assembly?

May 7, 2013, 10:21 PM	#2
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 21,832	propane torch comes to mind. Put a wet towel around the rest of the barrel and put a heat sink into the muzzle. __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

May 8, 2013, 12:16 AM	#3
Bill DeShivs Senior Member Join Date: April 7, 2006 Posts: 10,981	Any solder-soft or hard, will have to be mechanically removed before parkerizing. Grinding, filing, and sanding are the only ways. __________________ Bill DeShivs, Master Cutler www.billdeshivs.com

May 8, 2013, 12:30 AM	#4
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	If you are not trying to save the sight, remove the infamous screw and then peen the bottom of the sight band with a hammer. It will grow larger and break the solder joint, and you can slide it off without risking injury to the barrel by heating. __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services

May 8, 2013, 08:15 PM	#8
Ajtozzi Member Join Date: September 14, 2011 Location: NJ Posts: 87	How to remove solder to prepare for parkerizing Try a solder sucker and solder iron.

May 8, 2013, 07:08 AM	#5
Dixie Gunsmithing Moderator Emeritus Join Date: April 27, 2013 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,923	If its soft solder, you can heat it, as the temperature is below the heat treat temperature that the barrel was drawn to, and some silver based solder is also. However, don't get it any hotter than that, as if it gets hotter than what the barrel was heat treated to, its beyond repair, unless the whole thing is hardened, and re-drawn to the correct temperature. Then, it has to be re-straightened, and everything. Mount it in a vise, to act as a heat sink, and even some wet rags wrapped around it close to the sight base will help. Then, apply heat to the sight base, not the barrel, until it breaks free, and pulls loose. There's a trick to not overheating, too, in using a 390 F. Tempil Stick, for the temperature of just slightly above soft soldering (360 to 370 F.). Apply a mark on the barrel with the Tempil crayon, and if that mark melts while applying heat to the sight base, immediately take the heat away. After the base is off, polish any remaining solder off before parkerizing. http://www.tempil.com/

May 8, 2013, 07:20 PM	#7
Dfariswheel Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2001 Posts: 7,478	The easy way is to use strips of abrasive cloth "shoe shine" method to sand the solder off. Put the barrel in a padded vise and use a long strip of the abrasive wrapped partially around the barrel. Rotate the barrel often. Originally, Mauser rifles used an almost pure lead soft solder to mount sights and it's soft enough to come off fairly easily. One pointer: Sand off the solder until you're sure it's all gone, then apply a coat of cold blue. Any solder left won't color and you can see it. This will help prevent the barrel coming out of the Parkerizing bath with areas not covered because of remaining soft solder.

May 9, 2013, 05:44 PM	#10
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	First, the original factory solder is soft solder, not silver solder. Once you remove the sights, you can time the barrel as needed using a lathe to fit it to the inner collar and the receiver face. You should do that anyway, to set the barrel back far enough to allow getting the right headspace by reaming the chamber. (Getting the proper headspace otherwise with a fully chambered barrel is a crapshoot.) FWIW, the Mauser factory installed and finish reamed the barrels first, then installed the sights, using the receiver flat as a reference point. Jim