I have kind of a "beater" LC Smith Ideal grade. I shoot clays with it and it has been hunter with alot.
Barrels have been ugly since I got it. Splotchy remaining blue, I guess if all blueing was gone it would look better than it does now. I never worried about it much.
Well cleaning it the other day, I could not get forearm off. It has a "wheel" release besides forearm "lever/spring".
Anyway when I finally managed to remove forearm, I'm checking for burrs or something and noticed forearm lug (soldered on barrel that forearm hooks into) is loose.
So I guess with a little play in that, its hard to release catch and pull up forearm.
Well I'm prepping to try and solder back in place, and worried about getting part too hot and loosening rib or something.
The more I'm thinking about that and looking at barrels, I'm wondering if I should just go ahead and have it rust blued and have whoever does that resolder lug.
I have no idea where to start looking. Not looking for a Turnbull restoration just a basic blue. Soeone mentioned "Philips" out of Texas.
Wondering if anyone here would be able to recommend a gunsmith that can help me out. I was told expect to pay $300 or so, does that seem right?
Any help would be appreciated. Just my luck the one hundred year warranty ran out!
Thanks Nick

Mark Lee makes a good one. So does rustblue.com. I mix that one with Everclear and apply it with an air brush. I think most solutions are pretty close chemically.
The mark Lee one is just a bit easier.

Laurel Mtn Forge, Gun Goddess.

Looking for someone to do the rust blue.

Al Siegrist in Whittemore, MI does a fine job of rust bluing.

You won't get it done for $300.00.

Read up on the procedure, get the necessary equipment/supplies and rust blue it yourself.
If you're reasonable patient and follow the instructions carefully you can get some very good results.
Get the lug repaired first.

I'll suggest the same thing. Rust bluing is one of those things that's pretty easy to do at home. The worst part about it is the prep work - hand polishing. The quality of the blue job is directly correlated to how anal one is with the polishing. The slathering of chemicals, sweating, boiling, and carding is the easy part. (I've "boiled" shotgun and rifle barrels by suspending them in a PVC tube and filling it with boiling water. Works fine and avoids the cost and hassle of a stainless steel tank. I card by hand with oil-free 0000 steel wool, it works fine too.)

As for the lug, you're on your own there. I would give it to a pro because it may not be as simple as solder coming loose, there could be rust causing it. And if that's the case I would feel better if I had the barrel's ribs re-laid at the same time because if rust is the culprit with the lug it could be eating away under the ribs too.

If it is simply a matter of re-soldering the lug you can do that at home too, if you're a handy guy for whom time is meaningless. The biggest concern is with jigging it up and thoroughly clamping the ribs so there's zero chance of stuff coming undone or moving around when heat sufficient to melt the good grade of high-strength solder is applied to the lug. It would ruin a guy's day to see the ribs lifting like the skin on a rotten peach. Like so many other projects, the jigging/fixturing/clamping can tax one's ingenuity and take hours to accomplish - just for a minute or two's time with a torch.

Al Siegrist did my entire model 71 for $150 last year.

Rust blue and latch lug repair?