Filling holes in metal?

[Snow on the Roof]

I have an old CVA Big Bore Mountain Rifle which some fool drilled and tapped the barrel for scope mounts . How would one go about filling these? I thought about filling with solder and file smooth and re-brown but I'm not sure the solder would take the browning. Any thoughts?

Snow

 

[Supercracker]

Perhaps install and loctite it in place. Trim it off about 1/16 proud of the barrel, then file it down to near flush and then peen the remaining bolt metal to fill the space between the barrel wall and the bolt, then draw file it, then brown it. I would think if you did it right you wouldn't even be able to tell without looking really close. Just like installing and blending a vent liner.

I filled a hole in a lock plate the same way except that I very slightly counterbored the hole beforehand to give a bot more of a cavity to fill and soldered the threads in place from the back side. If I didn't show it to you you'd have never found it.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Simple solution, get some longer screws from the hardware store screw them in tight with a drop of locktite. Cut off, file smooth and refinish . :idunno:

 

[rustyh]

If you have access to a MIG or TIG welder or even an oxy/acetylene torch you can fill the hole a little above the surface and file it smooth.

 

[frogwalking]

I once had a Numrich underhammer with a Bushnell Banner rifle scope screwed to it. It was a dandy!

 

[Bill Hall]

What I do is very slightly countersink the hole ( I just use a bigger drill and turn it with my fingers), find the softest screw I can, screw it in tight, file it off to about 1/16" proud, then peen the heck out of the top. It smooshes metal into the countersink, and when filed off flush, it should be invisible. Never used loc-tite or glue or anything.

And no, solder won't take any kind of colorant. Good luck, Bill.

 

[stinkyfeet]

Yes, screw in longer bolts tight, cut and file off the excess flat is the easiest. I myself have a welder I would just tack weld a bead over top of the hole and file it down flush, either way is good.

 

[Zonie]

Well, if it were me, the last thing I would want to do to a quality barrel is to hit it with a weld of any kind.
IMO, even a small weld creates stresses that could damage a barrels precision.

I also would not use any kind of solder.
Solder will stick out like a sore thumb when any kind of barrel finish is applied.
(picture a nicly browned barrel with several shiny lead spots smiling at you).

Either the filed off screw or the countersunk/peened and filed screw works for me.

 

[jerrywh]

In my opinion Snowdragon has the best answer. I have made that kind of repair several times and it has always been invisible when finished. Believe zonie. It is not a good idea to weld on a barrel. Unless you are a true expert in metalugy and welding you will probably have a major problem after doing so.

 

[Pioneer flinter]

snowdragon hit the nail on the head. no pun intended.

 

[flashpanner]

any body ever use a heil-coil to repair buggared up threads? works great.

 

[John Taylor]

If you have access to a MIG or TIG welder or even an oxy/acetylene torch you can fill the hole a little above the surface and file it smooth.

All welds shrink. Welding on a barrel will cause a tight spot in the bore.
Best for screw holes in a barrel is a soft screw with Loctite and peen the screw then file it off. If done right the repair will be very difficult to find

 

[JonnyReb3]

I'm much appreciative to this thread, as i've 2 rifles from the 70's that were tapped for scopes at some point and i really wanted to put them back to original form. I've installed grub screws to fill the hole and was going to file off the excess, then re-brown but had not thought of the peening, which is a fantastic idea, thanks so much to ya'll for mentioning that neat little trick. J.

 

[mooman76]

We used them at work on bomb trailers when I was in the military. They had to hold allot of weight and they worked well.

 

[Herb]

You will have to have the right size scope base screws to fill these holes, which are probably 6-48 Weaver base holes. Or 8-40, less likely, like the old Remington model 788, or even 6-40. You need a modern gunsmith who has extra screws to test the threads and sell you the screws or even fill the holes. Or take one out of a scope ring and test it, and compare that brand of ring (Leupold, Weaver, whatever) to Brownells catalog on their web site to get the thread size. Brownells has a "Scope Ring and Base Screw Kit". You can get a dozen Weaver Oval Head screws for $3.54 (my old catalog price) 1/4" or 3/8" long.

 

[M. De Land]

Yup, I totally agree about not welding on barrels and peaning in screws and filing flush. Although, there are some top smiths in the country that will TIG weld in the muzzle of barrel liners and report good accuracy after cleaning them up. It's done around the circumference of the muzzle joint but I don't feel comfortable about doing it. Mike D.

 

[John Taylor]

there are some top smiths in the country that will TIG weld in the muzzle of barrel liners and report good accuracy after cleaning them up. It's done around the circumference of the muzzle joint but I don't feel comfortable about doing it. Mike D.

The liners are made from 4130 steel which will harden when welding, also makes for a tight spot at the muzzle. There are ways to install a liner so it does not show at the muzzle.