The best epoxy?

Ok folks,,I have shot&shot&shot some more BUT damatol,I need a rear sight for my smoothbore,
problem#2 There is no-one even remotely close to me that I could get to solder one on for me.
SO I need to know which epoxy will work on the flats of my barrel to install a sight with.
I cannot afford to send smoothbore off,near $70.00 shipping and insurance,and this barrel is pinned,so I have no idea how to remove barrel,plus the fact ,I can't solder for s@#$,so if you can help here,tell me which epoxy will hold?

Many Thanks,Mike

There is a glue we use to laminate bows called Smooth On. Very strong! Runs about 18$ a pint, but I swear it's the exact same stuff as AcraGlass Gel.

Use any superglue. Get a package of two little tubes for about $2.50 at Ace Hardware or WalMart. I have a gunsmith friend who uses the cheapest Walmart stuff. These products have a melting (heat realease) temperature about 450 degrees, same as solder. I have not had much luck with superglue on wood, but it sure holds metal.

Thank You Sir Herb! :bow:

also, if you screw up the super glue or change your mind later acetone (or nail polish remover) will dissolve the super glue, epoxy is a bear to get off once it sets.

This is some good information :thumbsup: it ought to work on barrel tenons for a Oct. to Rd. barrel also.

http://www.micromark.com/tix-solder-pkg-of-20-three-inch-sticks,6707.html

I ordered some of this solder from Ebay. I have not had a chance to try it yet. Please note the very low melting temp. Sounds like this solder is hard to mess up. Great for those little projects where heat could be an issue.

I would not epoxy something as important as a sight on. It would be gone when I needed it most. Think about taking it in and out of a case or what if you bump it hunting? Perhaps I am the only one that is like a bull in a china closest.

Fleener

If you use superglue, be sure to clean both surfaces with acetone. Also, remember "a little dab will do you". Just a drop will work just fine.

Just a thought you didn't say what your barrel configuration is . If it is oct to round. If it was mine I would cut a dove tail in it and forget it. :2

I mounted one on mine years ago using some thin deer rawhide just like an original Indian gun had been done - a field expedient fix-it...I've tried various glues and have had no real luck keeping one on even with the top line SG or epoxy...

for solder look around locally for low heat paste solder or get it from Brownells, it's practically foolproof

On the other hand if you're handy with a file and hacksaw or have a friend who is why not just make a dovetail and mount it like normal - this also allows for some windage as well...put it just behind the wedding ring - should be plenty of meat there for a 1/32" deep dovetail...to make sure measure the outside diameter of the barrel, subtract the bore size and divide by two which will give you the thickness of the barrel wall...

addendum - a standard for thickness of the barrel left under a dovetail is at least .100" or just a little less than 1/8" which equals .125"

Super glue has a shear strength of around 3000 psi on steel parts.*

There are a lot of different lead solders and each has different shear strength but a strength of around 5500 psi is not uncommon. **

Notice that these strengths are based on the area of the joint in square inches.

If the size of the contacting surfaces is only 1/2 square inch, the strength of the joint will only be half of the values mentioned above.

A sight sitting on a barrel flat that is .350 wide and has a base that is 1/2 inch long would have a contact area of .350 X .50 = .175 square inches. This would result in a joint having a strength of 525 pounds with Super glue or 962 pounds with a lead/tin solder.

Put another way, neither method is really strong but a soldered joint would be 83 percent stronger.

A shallow dovetail would be much stronger method of adding the sight.


* http://www.loctiteproducts.com/tds/SG_BOTTLE_PRO_tds.pdf

** http://www.aws.org/wj/supplement/WJ_1976_10_s330.pdf

Brownell's has a black glue specifically made for attaching sights.

Epoxy, is the best glue for strength. The slower the cure, the stronger the glue. If super glue is so good, how do you get the cap off. Epoxy is in two containers, and a chemical action takes place. It is used in gun bedding, fiberglass, etc. Get, the 1 hr. cure, not the 5 min. a hairdryer or heat gun can get it off. Super glue is thin and really needs to penetrate a porous surface, to have strength. However, glue might not work, at all, for this purpose, maybe worth a try.

ACC cement comes in several viscosities; thin, medium, and thick. Most hobby shops carry them all, as well as an accelerant for it. You don't need the accelerant, if you plan on letting it sit awhile (like overnight) before you shoot it

In addition to the many epoxy suggestions, you might also consider JB Weld. It is an epoxy with steel powder in it. It is hell for strong.

Same problem as you. I was advised against soldering as mine was needed on a SxS. The local farm supply had a 2-part deal which was a bottle of superglue-like stuff and a bottle of powder which is metal dust. You sparingly dust the area after taking both the sight and the barrel down to bare metal at the joining area, degrease it (I used acetone), and apply the superglue liquid to the sight and barrel and immediately place the sight all the way down in the exactly perfect position you want. Once it's seated, you're done .. literally. If it's wrong, it's going to stay that way. The working time is less than 10 seconds at 80 deg.

I didn't get it right so tried to pull it loose. No way! I didn't want to break the sight off at the fold-down junction so I thought I'd shoot it with some stout loads to see if it came loose. Trouble is, I haven't shot it yet .. been too busy bowhunting.

The stuff is called ultra bond or something like that and cost me $14.

I build Model airplanes, another bad habit, but I have used glues for 30 years and CA or superglue will not hold an airplane engine firewall, but epoxy will. Imagine a 40 pound airplane with a 100 cc or larger engine, superglue ain't going to get it. But wood is much easier to penetrate than metal, that's why epoxy or JB weld is a better option.

If you don't want to or won't use solder, the dovetail is the best - IMHO the only - way. I wouldn't trust the glue, it may hold for a few shots but beyond that...

Brownel has a loctite for installing sight ramps on modern guns. It is better than super glue but is of the same class. I think it is called 380 loctite. There are other places you can get it like here. The barel and sight must be clean. Solder is still better. http://www.all-spec.com/products/38004.html?gclid=CMbR-PeiksECFQqCfgod3A4AXw