DIY Gunsmithing Gone Wrong

You need to go back to welding school.

tigrr said:
It's more than just cracked now!! It could be done but with proper gas shielding, carbon strips, preheated and a mig gun. Then the inner rails would have to be re-machined. In 33 years of welding the only thing that is impossible to weld is a cast aluminum sewing machine base, that is saturated with mineral oil all the way through.
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Red_Liner740 said:
Whats awesome is that you, with superduper welding skills couldnt see right off the bat that its an aluminum piece.

But hey, i hear coat hangers are better than purpose based filler rods. How stupid of everyone, spending $$ when raiding holiday inn is all thats needed.
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Boy, you sure set me straight. I'm glad there are people like you on this forum that are readily willing to tear down someones opinion for what I can only assume is your own personal satisfaction.

I am sure you have a lot of good quality friends that have your back. Good luck with life.
 
Call me ignorant or uninformed (as I haven't read all the pages here), but would it not have been better to try and get a replacement from Walther, as opposed to muffing it up like that? Why bother trying to fix it, when you could probably get a new one? (or at a partial discount)
 
mattcwc said:
You need to go back to welding school.
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I more or less agree. When I was in my teens I spent several summers working in a one man machine/welding shop that was run by an old guy who was a licenced aircraft machinist and welder and I learned more about metals,welding, and machining tricks then then any other time in my 35yr career which is still going. First thing if it's non ferrous is to identify the alloy with an acid test kit or
other means then properly clean and prep before even putting a tig torch near it. Learning tig torch set up was another chapter along with preheating. I seen all kinds of castings welded and repaired including zinc,white metal,magnesium and cast irons all with success and even did spray welding and machine repair to obsolete shafting bearing surfaces including blab biting journals of an old lathe. Never will I forget old Loydd.----Dieseldog!
 
wbaad said:
They are not alluminum. The slides are pretty heavy, even for steel. Reminds me of that sintered iron they use...
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The slide at the top of this thread is not steel. No doubt about it. It's likely a mix of zinc and aluminum and a ####ty mix at that, Hence the crack in the material.
 
dieseldog said:
I more or less agree. When I was in my teens I spent several summers working in a one man machine/welding shop that was run by an old guy who was a licenced aircraft machinist and welder and I learned more about metals,welding, and machining tricks then then any other time in my 35yr career which is still going. First thing if it's non ferrous is to identify the alloy with an acid test kit or
other means then properly clean and prep before even putting a tig torch near it. Learning tig torch set up was another chapter along with preheating. I seen all kinds of castings welded and repaired including zinc,white metal,magnesium and cast irons all with success and even did spray welding and machine repair to obsolete shafting bearing surfaces including blab biting journals of an old lathe. Never will I forget old Loydd.----Dieseldog!
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I did my AME apprenticeship in the early 80's with a bunch of WW2 aircraft mechanics. What they could do with simple hand tools or rudimentary power tools was absolutely amazing. When I asked them how they figured out to do "the things they do" I was told when Jerry is bombing the crap out of you and the only thing between you and having to learn to speak German is a serviceable aircraft -- you learn in a hurry.
Best demonstration was watching an old timer weld an aluminum air intake plenum with an oxyacetylene setup and blue goggles.
Unfortunately, one of my mentors went from functioning mechanic to someone who didn't recognize me - in 8 months due to dementia.... Would have liked to have had a couple of years with him to learn more..........

L
 
Likewise, I did my training on WWII engines and had an old Lancaster rigger/ fitter instructing.
One time in the early 90's, I had an outboard engine with a split block. I took it to the "welding god" at the metal basher shop on base and for the paltry sum of 12 beer, he welded the aluminum block. never had a problem with it after that. He was damned good!

lmar said:
I did my AME apprenticeship in the early 80's with a bunch of WW2 aircraft mechanics. What they could do with simple hand tools or rudimentary power tools was absolutely amazing. When I asked them how they figured out to do "the things they do" I was told when Jerry is bombing the crap out of you and the only thing between you and having to learn to speak German is a serviceable aircraft -- you learn in a hurry.
Best demonstration was watching an old timer weld an aluminum air intake plenum with an oxyacetylene setup and blue goggles.
Unfortunately, one of my mentors went from functioning mechanic to someone who didn't recognize me - in 8 months due to dementia.... Would have liked to have had a couple of years with him to learn more..........

L
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dieseldog said:
I more or less agree. When I was in my teens I spent several summers working in a one man machine/welding shop that was run by an old guy who was a licenced aircraft machinist and welder and I learned more about metals,welding, and machining tricks then then any other time in my 35yr career which is still going. First thing if it's non ferrous is to identify the alloy with an acid test kit or
other means then properly clean and prep before even putting a tig torch near it. Learning tig torch set up was another chapter along with preheating. I seen all kinds of castings welded and repaired including zinc,white metal,magnesium and cast irons all with success and even did spray welding and machine repair to obsolete shafting bearing surfaces including blab biting journals of an old lathe. Never will I forget old Loydd.----Dieseldog!
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Ever tried welding copper?
I practiced GTAW on copper for a short time many years ago.
Bloody difficult!
The Cu is such a great heat conductor, the entire piece needs to be preheated to about 5 degrees short of melting, or so it seems.
Then it does not change colour as it gets close to melting, so no warning...
And it has no surface tension either. Bloop!
 
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