Vetterli 6.5 Carcano

[vintage hunter]

Before you go to cutting at it take a little time to find out just how it was originally attached. Chances are good that it'll either be a hidden non adjustable dovetail or it's a saddle type soldered straight to the barrel. Either way a little heat will reveal which one it is. I understand your concerns about reattaching it to the good barrel with the soldered sleeve but it is possible.
JB Weld and most other hardware store epoxies are way over rated for joining metals. The expansion/contraction properties aren't even close and the slightest bump will break it right back off.
My suggestion is, once it's determined just how it was initially secured is to use a low temp soft solder and a heat sink of some sort to reattach it. If it does turn out to be dovetailed it's possible it could be staked in place good enough and no heat would be needed at all.
Any good radiator shop worth their salt will know just how to fix it if it needs soldering on.

[WarPig1976]

Agreed, JB weld would be good for wall hanger purposes shooting is a different story.

[Aragorn243]

I'd prefer doing it right. I guess I'll wait and see until the barrel gets here and try heat to get it off, I can't really hurt that barrel. If I can successfully get it off with heat I may cut the barrel in half underneath to see what effects the removal had on the barrel sleeve joint. I'm 95% sure this is not dovetailed on these barrels.

Anyone have a cleaning rod they can measure for me. I need length, thickness and screw size. A photo of the tip would be nice too. Looks like I'll have to make one of these. I have a source for rod material. A Turk Mauser rod will not fit in the channel, a Swedish Mauser rod will but wouldn't screw into the socket. Both are way too short. I'm probably going to have to make a cleaning rod for my new Type 88 Hanyang rifle too. These have brass end caps.

Is there any other rifle's barrel band that would fit this? Probably not but I figured I'd ask.

[Aragorn243]

I wanted to let you guys know you were right. The front sights are dovetailed to the barrel. They are also soldiered in place. I tried heating it with a little torch which had no effect. I then tried heating it with a larger torch with no effect. I decided to cut the barrel right behind it and then try heating again. No affect. But in filing it down to get it smooth a faint joint appeared showing the dove tail. Still can't see it on the original barrel.

So I hack sawed the sight off the barrel and smoothed it down with files. Now the hard part of digging out the dovetail on the good barrel.

The torches I used had no effect on the interior barrel soldier that I can tell. I can see the seam where I cut it in half but it isn't eroded out at all nor did it melt out the end of the barrel which is only an inch or so from the sight. Interior barrel sleeve is about 1/8 th inch thick.

[Salt Flat]

Aragorn, I've used hard solder (silver brazing wire) to replace front sights on Krag rfles. They had a small dovetailed area that was really hard to see also. Silver brazing was the original method and is the strongest solution. The key to success is having a clean joint and the right flux. You can get enough heat from a propane torch. If you do this directly on the barrel (like a Krag) you must pack the last 3 inches of the bore with a paste made from bone black and water. This will pevent heat scale in the bore (old old gunsmithing trick). Sounds tricky but really isn't too hard. Most old gunsmithing books describe the process. You can buy the wire at ACE hardware but it is quite expensive ($20 ?) . The wire is very thin (nothing like brazing rod and melts at a much lower temp). I will try to find the exact brand name if I can. If your worried about other possible soldered areas, wrap them with wet rags. I would do a trial run on the scrap barrel shroud first and keep fire extinguisher at hand!!! Salt Flat

[Aragorn243]

I have some solder already from attaching a 1917 front sight. My torch didn't affect the liner so no worries there. I'm going to try heating the old sight and driving it out but not too hopeful after my previous attempts on the old barrel. Probably going to have to cut and file out the remains of the old sight.

[Aragorn243]

Front sight is fixed. Had some worries using hand files but solder hides everything. Now if I can just find a front barrel band.

[Aragorn243]

Here's my repair job. I'm happy with it. I just have some cheap hand files and I filed the old dovetail out, cut the other sight off the old barrel and filed it down to fit.

Before:



After:

[jmoore]

Very much nicer!

[Merle]

Aragorn,

Glad to hear that you got a bayonet for it. That is one accessory that I am looking for in piles of bayonets at Gunshows. You never know when you will run across one.

I agree that this rifle did see service in WWI. Some of my research indicates that although it was a "second line or cooks weapon", times were desperate, and quite a few saw action. But I am NOT saying by any means that it was a desired rifle or something that was highly respected.

As a side FYI, I do know that some gents have taken the Nepal Martini's that they purchased from IMA, and recalibered them to something less powerful, but more common (IIRC some were converted to .303Brit about 100yrs ago).

As both (Martini's and the Vetterli) were from the black powder era, and therefore might NOT be up to the job for running full power rifle loads. I suppose this could also be done to this type of gun. Some of the popular conversions for the Martini's have been 45LC (long colt).

I also agree with running low pressure rounds if you do wish to fire it in 6.5mm.

As such, I try and leave tags on any of my rifles that I have doubts or concerns about safety (especially if I haven't gotten around to repairing them yet). Hence why many folks do finally just clip the FP's or weld the bolt faces... therefore the intent is clear.

Looking on my tag, mine is an 1890 Terni. I also paid around $155.00 for it. IIRC, the barrel is almost mirror like!!

I did find the rifle in question, and will take photos. I also got out my Carcano ammunition, and will show you what a chambered round looks like. I "goobered" it up good with grease, so will need to clean it before I snap photos or chamber a round.

I am told that they are worth a bit more money, if you can find them in the original 11mm configuration.

Back in the early 70's I paid the magnificant sum of $16.95 for mine - from the Shotgun News.