welding scale 1911
- Thread starter Leakingaz
- Start date
Personally I would not ever consider welding the hood and lugs of a barrel without a tig. Too much chance of porosity or incomplete penetration of the weld. Not to mention that the barrel would have to be heat treated and checked for hardness afterwards (plus mag. particle would have to be done). That chamber is the only thing containing the pressure of expanding gas as the powder ignites. Your life is worth the price of a new barrel.
please delete
I do have the book, the late Bob Day shows pics and detailed dialogue on how he did the gas welding of the hood and lugs in the Air Force as an armourer. He used high carbon spring wire for a welding rod, I plan to peel a strip off a bar of 4140 on my lathe for welding rod. He claimed using his technique would improve the barrel as good or better than original. If gas welding was good enough for Bob and likely dozens of smiths in the 50's and 60's , it still should be just fine today........Back to the welding scale solution
I do have the book, the late Bob Day shows pics and detailed dialogue on how he did the gas welding of the hood and lugs in the Air Force as an armourer. He used high carbon spring wire for a welding rod, I plan to peel a strip off a bar of 4140 on my lathe for welding rod. He claimed using his technique would improve the barrel as good or better than original. If gas welding was good enough for Bob and likely dozens of smiths in the 50's and 60's , it still should be just fine today........Back to the welding scale solution
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1300_stainless
Regular
- Location
- Nova Scotia, Canada
It may work fine, but technology advances for a reason...
- Location
- santas workshop
tigs the only way to go dont even attempt with stick and it be shakey with a mig
He had something you won't.
Free replacement parts for the "learning curve".
You have something that he did not. A catalog full of quality aftermarket parts. Hundreds of choices.
Something to consider.
You might want to pick out one of them, in case...
FWIW, the realistic likelihood is that the reason he was using the filler rod he was, and was getting good results, was that he was using an alloy that contained a bit of nickel in it. If he was gas welding, the part was cooling off slowly enough that hardening was not very much a factor.
Buy some nickel rods while you are buying the anti-oxidation paste from Brownell's.
If you go with the welding, take pictures. I'd be interested in knowing how it turns out, one way or the other.
Cheers
Trev
Average replacement barrel cost - $250.00
Average funeral cost - $10,000.00
Go to http://forums.1911forum.com/ and ask their opinion there. Lots of talented gunsmiths frequent the site and they are always willing to answer 1911 questions honestly.
gunasauras
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Western Manitoba
If you are crazy enough to go blind on it, you can put a piece of wooden dowel in the chamber/barrel area. It will burn as you weld, but will prevent the internal portion of the barrel and chamber from scaling. The soot/resin/carbon from it burning should be easier to remove than scale. This all being said, I wouldn't bother trying to weld it that way. Tig is by far the best way, one dot at a time.
