IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA

EASTERN DIVISION

BRIAN BONNER, )

)

Plaintiff, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 3:06-cv-00715-MHT

)

INTERSTATE ARMS CORP., et al., )

)

Defendants. )

PLAINTIFF’S EVIDENTIARY SUBMISSIONS IN OPPOSITION TO TWO

DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Comes now Brian Bonner and offers into the record of the above-styled matter the 

attached evidentiary materials. In addition to all other materials in the record, plaintiff 

relies on the attached items in opposing the motions for summary judgment separately 

filed by China North Industries Corporation (“Norinco”) and Qiqihar Hawk Industries 

Co., Ltd. Attached are affidavits executed by John T. Butters and Raymond Thompson.

Plaintiff is separately filing memorandum briefs explaining his opposition to 

Norinco’s request for a summary judgment and his opposition to Qiqihar Hawk’s joinder 

in Norinco’s summary-judgment motion and assertions of additional grounds.

Case 3:06-cv-00715-MHT-TFM Document 83 Filed 03/06/2008 Page 1 of 2
2

Respectfully submitted,

s/ David J. Hodge

Of Counsel for Plaintiff

Bar Number: ASB -4617-I71H

Pittman Dutton Kirby & Hellums, P.C.

2001 Park Place North

1100 Park Place Tower

Birmingham, Alabama 35203

(205) 322-8880

(205) 328-2711 facsimile

Email: PHDKH-efiling@pittmanhooks.com

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on 6

th day of March, 2008, I electronically filed the 

foregoing with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will send 

notification of such filing to the following: 

Todd M. Higey, Esq.

RICHARDSON CLEMENT, P.C.

200 Cahaba Park Circle, Suite 125

Birmingham, AL 35242

Attorney for Interstate Arms and Qiqihar Hawk

James C. Barton, Jr., Esq.

Alan D. Mathis, Esq.

JOHNSTON, BARTON, PROCTOR & POWELL, LLP

2900 Regions/Harbert Plaza

1901 6th Avenue North

Birmingham, AL 35203

Attorney for Norinco

s/ David J. Hodge

Of Counsel for Plaintiff

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Engineering Simple Solutions ©

vista engineering & consulting, llc 

 1500 1st ave. no, b117 birmingham, alabama 35203 www.vistaeng.com 

phone: 205.307.6550

fax: 205.307.6551 

Hodge Shotgun Report – 18800 

Prepared For:

David Jason Hodge 

Pittman, Dutton, Kirby and Hellums, P.C. 

1100 Park Place Tower 

2001 Park Place North 

Birmingham, AL 35203 

(205) 322-8880 

Prepared By:

Raymond Thompson, PhD, PE 

Vista Engineering, Inc. 

1500 1st Avenue North 

Birmingham, AL 35203 

205-307-6550 

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Items Examined 

Items examined included: 

Shot gun with the following markings: 

• 12 ga 2 3/4 3” 

• LHY scribed in various places 

• 8-1 

• I A C Billerica Ma 

• LHY scribed on brazed part 

• 0016971 

• made in china 

• Norinco 98 

The braze joint between the gun barrel and the ring attaching it to the magazine tube was 

examined in detail. 

Fig. 1 gun as received 

Visual Analysis and Measurements 

Measurements are shown in Appendix C. 

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Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Analysis 

The brazed face of the part pictured in Fig. 2 was examined in the SEM. ined in the SEM. 

Brazed Face 

Fig. 2 

The brazed face was found to be covered with; 

• Braze pulled off of the opposite face (barrel side) 

• Flux 

• Bare steel 

• Mixed steel and braze 

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c e g 

b 

d f 

a 

Fig. 3 

The brazed surface was examined as shown in Fig. 3 and the pictures and chemistries can be 

found in Appendix A and B respectively. The picture and chemistry captions are labeled with the 

area shown on Fig. 3 so that picture a1 25x is found in Appendix A and is a picture of the region 

a at a magnification of 25x. 

Braze 

Bare Steel 

Flux 

Fractured braze 

Fig. 4. 

An example of the braze surface is shown in Fig. 4. The braze was found to be of a type like 

BAg27 which is a silver, copper, zinc, cadmium braze. However, exact identification is not 

possible without destructive testing. 

The braze was found to be heavily populated with flux that was not removed from the joint 

during the brazing process. This is seen in Appendix A photos: b1, b2,b4,b5,c2,d1,e1,f1. The 

bright white area in each photo is concentrated in flux. This was confirmed by energy dispersive 

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x-ray chemical analysis of these spots. These chemical spectra can be found in Appendix B with 

similar caption numbers; b4, b5, d1, g1. 

Appendix A photo b3 particle and Appendix B spectra b3 particle show what appears to be an 

unmelted flux particle. 

Most of the braze surface is composed of braze metal that did not stick to the steel. Most of the 

poorly adhered braze in on the barrel side which means not enough heat was used to make a 

strong brazed joint. This is seen in Fig. xx where the raised braze in the photo has detached from 

the barrel side and the lower bare metal is where braze has detached from the ring side. 

Only small areas of broken braze where found. Fig. xx is an example of braze that has a ductile 

rupture. This type of surface on the braze was only found in a small area of two of the 7 areas 

examined in the SEM. Of the area examined, a braze surface of this type was less than 5%. 

Fig. 5 area a2. 

Analysis 

The brazed joint was poorly made and defective for that reason. The braze did not adhere to 

either the ring or the barrel. The lack of strength of this braze joint is the cause of the separation 

of the barrel from the magazine. The cause of this poor manufactured braze joint is most likely 

poor heating of the joint during brazing. The joint has entrapped flux which shows that not 

enough capillary force was developed to remove it during brazing. Poor fluxing would also 

contribute to the lack of adhesion between the braze and the steel. Fig. 6 and 7 show large areas 

of trapped flux. 

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Flux, typical 

Fig. 6 

Flux, typical 

Fig. 7 

The combination of large areas of trapped flux and no adhesion to the steel surfaces caused the 

defect in this joint that caused it to break far below its intended strength. 

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Opinions 

The gun examined for this report was defective in the brazed joint that connected the barrel to 

the magazine. The defective braze joint caused the separation of the barrel form the magazine. 

The facts and reasoning for this opinion can be found in this report. 

Signature & seal 

Qualifications 

Relevant Experience of Dr. Thompson 

Dr. Thompson is qualified by education in engineering design, engineering mechanics, 

failure analysis, materials specifications, materials analysis and materials testing. He 

received a BSE in engineering in 1974 and a MSE in materials engineering in 1975 from 

the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He received a Ph.D. in materials science and 

engineering from Vanderbilt University in 1979. 

Dr. Thompson is a registered engineer in Alabama, Arkansas and South Carolina and is a 

Fellow and a member in good standing with the American Society of Materials and the 

American Welding Society. 

Dr. Thompson taught in the Ceramics Engineering Department at Clemson University 

from 1978 – 1981 and taught at UAB in the Department of Materials Engineering from 

1981 – 2002. While in these positions he taught undergraduate and graduate level courses 

in engineering design, fracture mechanics, strength of materials, materials testing, and 

manufacturing practice. He also conducts award winning research in metal science and 

metal processing and has led various national and international committees in these areas. 

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In Dr. Thompson’s private professional practice, he has acted as a consultant for industry 

in the selection and use of metals, the fabrication of products and the processing of 

materials. Dr. Thompson continues to be active in research through contracts with the 

Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation. He participates in national 

committees in engineering and reviews articles for technical publications in science and 

engineering. He has also served both plaintiff and defense lawyers as an expert in matters 

of engineering design, failure analysis and manufacturing methods. 

Vista Engineering reserves the right to make addendums and changes to these 

findings and opinions based on new information and further investigation. 

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Appendix A 

Figure A1: A1 25x 

Figure A2: A1 500x 

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Figure A3: A2 500x 1 

Figure A4: A3 500x 

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Figure A5: B1 25x 

Figure A6: B1 500x 

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Figure A7: B2 500x 

Figure A8: B3 500x 

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Figure A9: B4 500x 

Figure A10: B5 500x 

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Figure A11: C1 25x 

Figure A12: C1 500x 

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Figure A13: C2 500x 

Figure A14: C3 500x 

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Figure A15: D1 25x 

Figure A16: E1 25x 

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Figure A17: E2 500x 

Figure A18: F1 25x 

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Figure A19: G1 25x 

Figure A20: G1 150x 

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Appendix B 

Figure B1: A1 EDS 500x 1 

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Figure B2: A2 EDS 500x 1

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1

Figure B3: A3 EDS 500x 1 1 

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Figure B4: B1 EDS 500x 

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Figure B5: B2 EDS 500x 

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Figure B6: EDS 500x 

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Figure B7: B3 Particle 1 EDS 500x 1 

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Figure B8: B4 EDS 500x 

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Figure B9: B5 EDS 500x 

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Figure B10: B5 EDS2 500x 

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Figure B11: C1 EDS 500x 

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B12: C2 EDS 500x 

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Figure B13: D1 EDS 500x 

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Figure B14: E2 EDS 500x 

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Figure B15: E3 EDS 500x 

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Figure B16: G1 EDS Bright 3000x 1 

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Figure B17: G2 EDS 500x 1 

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Appendix C 

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1 or 7

11/21/0'7

l--io4je JJ.ot1utJ

M<'QS"R tneNlS

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Case 3:06-cv-00715-MHT-TFM Document 83-5 Filed 03/06/2008 Page 41 of 44
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Appendix D 

Brazing Handbook. 4th Ed. American Welding Society: Miami, Florida. 1991. pgs. 70-71. 

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