Dewat BAR Value Legal Ownership

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Just wondering if anybody more schooled in this could tell if it would be legal to own a Dewat Bar in Canada. Any papers or registration?

If so what would a reasonable value be?

By Dewat I mean it has several large flame cuts thru the action and chamber.

Just thinking hypothetically
 
I usually see these typed os BARs sell for the $500-750 range if they are still torch cut. If reasonably repaired (cosmetically of course, not for shooting) ,they seem to run in the $700-1200 range.

The one or two I have repaired have been a bugger to weld. The metal on the receivers is a really crazy cast which seems to have a high aluminum content; the metal would warm up and then just melt. I ended up just repeatedly touching the MIG to it build up the bad areas.
 
Value may not be an issue to me now. I do need to know the legal side of things. I don not want this possible acquisition to mess with already legally acquired firearms.
 
If it's properly dewatted, which it sounds like it is, it is not a firearm, and as legal to own as a hubcap. If you have any legal concerns about the 'dewatting', your local CFO would be the one to talk to.
 
If the receiver is cut in such a way that it can not easily fire, or be adapted to fire, a projectile with enough force to cause bodily harm, then it is no longer a firearm.

The rest of it is just parts. If you do get around to welding up the cuts for cosmetic reasons, you may want to blind pin the chamber.

As long as the gun wasn't stolen in the first place, I wouldn't sweat it.
 
I remember when these BARs were dumped. Apparently they had been issued by the RCAF for airfield defence in Europe. M-1s were used for the purpose as well. IIRC, the receivers were cast from "Armasteel", did a cosmetic rebuild for a guy, as Stencollector has said, welding one up is an absolute pig.
At any rate, if you are talking about the ones I've seen you have no legal worries. Strictly speaking, they are demilitarized - demilled - not deactivated.
I am amazed that anyone would pay $500 - $750 for one of these cut ones.
 
One option for the guy who doesn't weld is to fill the cuts with epoxy or body filler, and then paint the receiver. It won't be strong enough for a bayonet charge, but it will look good on the wall.
My guess: Even a skillful restorer like SC will not be able to hide the cut marks. The cuts will always show due to different bluing colours.
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I have found that the biggest nightmare in trying to get metal to evenly take the bluing, is when the metal is of different hardnesses. To that end, I would never quench the metal after a weld. A nice gradual cooling evens out the hardness and results in a decent finish.

And as I pointed out above, when all else fails, spray paint will be your friend.
 
stencollector said:
I usually see these typed os BARs sell for the $500-750 range if they are still torch cut. If reasonably repaired (cosmetically of course, not for shooting) ,they seem to run in the $700-1200 range.

The one or two I have repaired have been a bugger to weld. The metal on the receivers is a really crazy cast which seems to have a high aluminum content; the metal would warm up and then just melt. I ended up just repeatedly touching the MIG to it build up the bad areas.
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ran into the same problem with mine, first I had it mig'd and it turned the area to goo, then I had it TIG'd and that seemed to fix the problem but I never was really impressed with the look.

One smith in windsor says he has a guy who does spray welding and he stated he fix it so it looks brand new.
 
The problems with welds reminds me of an article I read. Back in the early eighties there was a magazine on the stands called, 'Firepower'. Their bit was demonstrating DIY NFA legal conversions. One story was a guy who was building a BAR from torch cut rear, middle and front sections. He put the pieces in a jig and welded them together. Then after lights out there was a ferocious bang from the workshop. After strapping on (he was American after all) and investigating, he found one of the welds had cracked. AFter studying the problem, he realized he had pieces from WWI, WWII and Korea, and each had different metalurgy.
 
maple_leaf_eh said:
The problems with welds reminds me of an article I read. Back in the early eighties there was a magazine on the stands called, 'Firepower'. Their bit was demonstrating DIY NFA legal conversions. One story was a guy who was building a BAR from torch cut rear, middle and front sections. He put the pieces in a jig and welded them together. Then after lights out there was a ferocious bang from the workshop. After strapping on (he was American after all) and investigating, he found one of the welds had cracked. AFter studying the problem, he realized he had pieces from WWI, WWII and Korea, and each had different metalurgy.
Click to expand...


Did he put it out of his misery? :eek:
 
cantom said:
Did he put it out of his misery? :eek:
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Good question. I might still have that issue in the archives. There was just too much good technical detail to throw them out. Where else could you read about drop in AR15 full auto sears, rewelded BARs and Miniguns mounted on the handlebars of ATVs?
 
found the magazine issue!

maple_leaf_eh said:
The problems with welds reminds me of an article I read. Back in the early eighties there was a magazine on the stands called, 'Firepower'. Their bit was demonstrating DIY NFA legal conversions. One story was a guy who was building a BAR from torch cut rear, middle and front sections. He put the pieces in a jig and welded them together. Then after lights out there was a ferocious bang from the workshop. After strapping on (he was American after all) and investigating, he found one of the welds had cracked. AFter studying the problem, he realized he had pieces from WWI, WWII and Korea, and each had different metalurgy.
Click to expand...

How this nugget stuck in my mind for over 20 years is a testament to how memories are formed, and what we remember when the story is truly interesting. (Now if I could only remember where I put my car keys?)

Sept 85, pp. 22-24, "Firepower", Turbo Publishing PO Box 15463, Santa Ana, CA 92705-0463, "One Piece at a time", by Frank W James:

''The resulting pieces were then sold to salvage dealers as scrap metal. The three pieces that made the reciever of this 1918A2 were each purchased for $50 apiece." ...

"After completion of this step, it was determined that approximately 90% of the pieces overlapped each other." ...

"The pieces were cut square, normalized in terms of heat treating, and then welded. The holes and gaps were filled with welding material. While the welded receiver was cooling on the work bench, there was a loud pop and it jumped into the air. A wide crack appeared in the weld between the front and the middle sections which left everyone puzzled as to the cause.

Approaching the problem from two angles, research was started in the Marine Corps archives as to the metalurgy of the Browning Automatic Rifle. Then an analysis of the leftover pieces from the bandsaw was undertaken. Both techniques revealed the same results; the front section was manufactured during World War I and the back two sections were made during World War II or the Korean conflict (sic.). How did they know? The front section had a high nickel steel content while the back sections had a high carbon steel content."

The author then described which welding rod and what heat treatment he needed to use to make the receiver workable. He ultimately finished the build and finishes the article with a range report.
 
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John:

At the risk of yanking on the steering wheel of a thread about BARs, were Brens oil blackened like Lee Enfields? Never had the pleasure of owning or examining one.
 
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