Welding a firing pin.

darkshadow

darkshadow

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Was asked to fix a Squires-Bingham model-16 that I found has a broken firing pin.

The 'L' end snapped off of this poorly designed pin. The gun belongs to a friends father in law, and is not a prize winning piece, I don't think it has ever been cleaned, left in the barn etc, just a coon gun at best.

Was thinking of just welding the pieces back together after grinding out the break into a 'V' groove, and maybe re tempering.

Do you think this will leave it to brittle to stand up to abuse? well at least as good as the original design that is.
 
if you are going to weld it (and why not, its allready broken, you cant make it much worse!)
grind a v notch like you mentioned, and secure it in a vice to hold it inplace. grind off the excess afterwards and give her a try.
 
The plan was to make a template of the pin for size and square, clamp it with vice grips to a piece of thick copper stock. two on the main part, and a small one on the stupid little 'L' piece.


The copper should help with heat dispersion and I am not too worried about warpage, the 'pin' if you can call it that is over an1/8" thick and 5/16"wide shouldn't warp with the small amount of welding it is going to need.


Then to shoot a few boxes through it and see if it stands up. Hard since he could not find the mag:rolleyes::rolleyes:

I would braze it if I still had my set up but... nope.
 
Try it and see if it works, Take as accurate measurements as possible, put a little bevel on the pieces, clamp the pieces down good, on the copper is very good idea. Now as to what process of welding... what do you have available? A small oxy/acet torch would work. TIG would be good. Silver solder. Brazing. Just keep as low heat as possible to get fusion. Which ever you have. Once welded do not unclamp. let the piece cool down completely. Retemper. All you can do is try.

But if there was one available for $20 -$30. I would buy one. Rather than #### around. Only if it were impossible to get a new one, would I bother.
 
firing pin

darkshadow said:
I doubt this thing sees more then a box or two a year, just when a coon gets in the barn or what not.
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Dave, sounds as if you have problem solved!!!!!! One thing about a Squires , any thing you do is an improvemnt. When folks bring these problems to me I try and convince them the best fix is a new 10-22!
 
Interesting thread. I have an old Belgian .22, a Bayard #1 with a broken firing pin/striker. I think I'll have the local machine shop try to repair it. Can't lose, really, as it currently gathers dust in my safe.
 
SILVER SOLDER!!! Got lazy one day and tried welding on a firing pin. Worked hard at it to get it just right. First time I pulled the trigger, it snapped at the weld. Welding makes it to brittle.
 
KePet said:
SILVER SOLDER!!! Got lazy one day and tried welding on a firing pin. Worked hard at it to get it just right. First time I pulled the trigger, it snapped at the weld. Welding makes it to brittle.
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Did you gas weld or use one of the various arc welds? My impression is that gas welding does not leave the same sort of brittle spot that arc welding does. At the same time, brittleness is the reason that I originally suggested silver soldering

cheers mooncoon
 
I think the point at which it broke is likely the point of greatest stress. Repair isn't likely a lasting option. You might have to fabricate the entire piece from scratch, heating, bending and finally heat treating to acheive something lasting.
 
Machining a new one would be a potential solution I would try first. If a freshly machined pin is heat treated and still fails there probably isn't much hope for a welded one.

I wouldn't trust MIG welding because it doesn't seem to be as ductile as other processes. Whatever welding process you choose, perhaps a little preheat and postheat will prevent a quick failure where you weld it.
 
Listen carefully to Sunray. He is right.

High carbon steels are fussy.

Silver solder will affect metal properties the least as it is the lowest temperature repair.

Grinding out a new one will take a while, but may be a good learning experience - maybe an old skilsaw blade, or an old wood chisel or whatever - would be a good donor.

Welding such a small part would be tricky in many ways - a stainless would work best as a filler rod. Pre and post heat , then hardening and tempering - really unlikely that a guy would get it right. Really Really unlikely.

See Sunray above - no - wait - I will bring it down here...

"Gunparts has firing pins. $21.15US each. Listed under Armscor."
 
I would recommend getting a new one or making a replacement.

Welding the broken pin will not likely work for long at all. Any other method of joining the broken pieces will not last much longer IMO, especially in a semi-auto.

If you do decide to try to repair the broken pin, take accurate measurements and make detailed drawings of the original for reference before you work on it.
 
Can you tig weld it? Clean it and prep the metal. Use a heavy flat piece of copper to take the heat from the firing pin while welding. Sand it down to suit. I welded plenty gun components when no parts were available this way...Some chinese metal parts are unweldable mind you. No harm in trying.
 
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