PUK welding

MBiz

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Hello everyone,
I had a exchange on an European forum regarding pitting on firearm. One of the member mention that some gunsmith uses PUK welder to fill the cavities. Does any one have experience with the performance of this machine. Does the welding blend well after the rust bluing?
 
PUK welding is just a micro tig welding torch.
Matching colors would required matching the filler metal to the base metal. Then the lose of the temper in the steel would have to be addressed. Welding softens the base metal. The welding could shrink the base part.
Few places could do this job satisfactory.
Pitting in what and where?
 
PUK welding is just a micro tig welding torch.
Matching colors would required matching the filler metal to the base metal. Then the lose of the temper in the steel would have to be addressed. Welding softens the base metal. The welding could shrink the base part.
Few places could do this job satisfactory.
Pitting in what and where?

The barrel and the receiver of a Browning auto-5 1903.
 
The barrel and the receiver of a Browning auto-5 1903.

How bad is it, and how much are you willing to spend?

Unless there is a pressing cause for pounding money in to the project, you are likely far better off buying a nice one, and selling this one.

If it's got sentimental value to you, clean it up, stop any further damage, and count it as part of the History of the gun.

Gesswien, a jewellery supplies outfit, wants around $8K for the welder. I'm gonna say that anyone that has one, is like to want some serious money for their time and the use of their skills. If they will even touch anything 'gun'.
So, you would have to find a competent welder, willing to weld on a gun barrel, that also has a Micro TIG welding machine.
My bet is, there's pretty thin odds of you finding all that in one place.
 
How bad is it, and how much are you willing to spend?

Unless there is a pressing cause for pounding money in to the project, you are likely far better off buying a nice one, and selling this one.

If it's got sentimental value to you, clean it up, stop any further damage, and count it as part of the History of the gun.

Gesswien, a jewellery supplies outfit, wants around $8K for the welder. I'm gonna say that anyone that has one, is like to want some serious money for their time and the use of their skills. If they will even touch anything 'gun'.
So, you would have to find a competent welder, willing to weld on a gun barrel, that also has a Micro TIG welding machine.
My bet is, there's pretty thin odds of you finding all that in one place.

I have that love affair with the very early auto 5. I have a few of those very rare with the so called suicide safety and I would like to restore this one on which I am willing to experiment. PUK welding for filling cavities is one way that caught my attention. May be there is other options that you could suggest. Would TIG welding work as well? They will be about ten cavities to fill.
Thank you for suggestions.
 
RE ; 1903 Auto -5.I own a 3 ser # Auto five and would be interested in knowing the ser # of yours. Mine is far from a collectors specimen...bin rode hard & put away wet type of thing in a long lifetime of use. The barrel on mine is good enough to shoot safely but the two cracks in the receiver stop me from using it now.
 
RE ; 1903 Auto -5.I own a 3 ser # Auto five and would be interested in knowing the ser # of yours. Mine is far from a collectors specimen...bin rode hard & put away wet type of thing in a long lifetime of use. The barrel on mine is good enough to shoot safely but the two cracks in the receiver stop me from using it now.

You really caught my attention with your three digits serial number. I send you a P.M.. Here are some of my very early auto 5. There is a debate among aficionados of the early Browning auto 5 to determine if the specimen with the suicide safety were made in 1903 only or in 1903 and 1904. Here are some examples of my collection.

883009-DD-A6-D4-412-B-8-D72-3-EC8998564-A9.jpg


7-BFEE609-80-C0-43-AA-9-EEC-0-AA215-EA6319.jpg
 
Post a picture of the worst pitting. What is the budget? Who would machine it back down?
Only thing I couldn't weld was a 80 year old mineral oil saturated aluminum pot metal sewing machine base.
 
You really caught my attention with your three digits serial number. I send you a P.M.. Here are some of my very early auto 5. There is a debate among aficionados of the early Browning auto 5 to determine if the specimen with the suicide safety were made in 1903 only or in 1903 and 1904. Here are some examples of my collection.

883009-DD-A6-D4-412-B-8-D72-3-EC8998564-A9.jpg


7-BFEE609-80-C0-43-AA-9-EEC-0-AA215-EA6319.jpg

Those are in far far better shape than mine is...no I wont be "fixing it", it is sitting in my vault in the same condition it was when my old man finally quit using it, complete with spit & missing pieces of the fore-stock & frame cracks as well as the "bronze welded" magazine ring attached to the barrel after it broke loose on a field duck shoot one time when I was about 8 yrs old. The barrel flew like a javelin for 20 ft and stuck in a barley swath 3 swathes over from our hiding spot. My old man left everything in the field other than the shotgun and off home we went...dug out the acetylene torch, brazed the two pieces back together and back in the field 45 min from the time we left...No the old girl will remain just as she was when the old guy passed on....
 
Those are in far far better shape than mine is...no I wont be "fixing it", it is sitting in my vault in the same condition it was when my old man finally quit using it, complete with spit & missing pieces of the fore-stock & frame cracks as well as the "bronze welded" magazine ring attached to the barrel after it broke loose on a field duck shoot one time when I was about 8 yrs old. The barrel flew like a javelin for 20 ft and stuck in a barley swath 3 swathes over from our hiding spot. My old man left everything in the field other than the shotgun and off home we went...dug out the acetylene torch, brazed the two pieces back together and back in the field 45 min from the time we left...No the old girl will remain just as she was when the old guy passed on....

Just for the Browning history and my personnel knowledge. Does the triger group have the Browning patent marking on it?
 
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