Welding on a bolt handle

[Ksmirk]

Hey fella's I have a small delima! I can taste me shooting my new build but there is a slight problem, the guy that was going to weld on the bolt handle seems to have gone MIA and the other will be out for a couple of weeks, question is does anyone have a person that can weld on a bolt handle? this is a Mauser action and the bolt handle I turned since I could not find the one I was looking for. If anyone knows of anyone or can do the work please get with me. I've been working on building this rifle for the last couple of months and well I'm to a point I can't do the work being I don't have the proper tools and to be truthful I wanna get some bullets down the tube. I live in Oklahoma but I know how to use the mail fella's your help would be appreciated!!! Later,

Kirk

 

[James Jones]

Give Nathan Dagley a call , he TIG welds on the handels of the custom bolts when he uses the PTG bolts , or any decient gunsmith should be able to silver solder it on , not as strong but if done right you'll never break it off without tearing it up

 

[specweldtom]

Kirk, been out for awhile searching for Bambi's daddy. Did you find someone to weld the bolt handle? If not, email me at [email protected]. I've done a few Mauser bolt handles. TIG weld them.

Good luck, Tom

 

[Ksmirk]

I just thougth ya know if i don't give it a try I'll never know if I can do it so I just forgot about everything that was worrying me and just did it! turned out much better than I thought! I did get a couple of pits but they will grind out when I shape the bolt.

specweldtom, thanks for the offer sir! Later,

Kirk

 

[specweldtom]

Kirk. if you're heliarcing, use ER 70S-6 filler metal and a torch with a gas lense if you have to go back and touch it up. That will usually stop the porosity flare-ups. Once you have it tho, it's harder to get rid of. If you're just going to polish the bolt and handle and not blue or parkerize, you can use any 300 series stainless filler metal (ER 308, 316, etc and the porosity will clean up quickly. Makes a strong, tough joint too.

Good going; if it was easy, everybody would be doing it! Tom

 

[Dead Beat]

this sounds to much like work just kidding i have good luck useing inco 82 if your not sure what the material if made of its great for dissimilar metal's 309 is another good choice if there's alot of carbon in the handle

 

[Ksmirk]

Well fella's with a little help from a welder buddy the thing has been put together! I could not tell you the filler rod material but I didn't use all that much, ron cut the original off in the mill which made a nifty little pocket for the bolt handle to rest in and after welding it in not much grinder work to get it in shape, a little more is needed and yes I got a couple of porosity holes but for the most part it works great! by the time I'm done with the contour the porosity should be removed and I'll post a picture. Again fella's thanks for all the help! Later,

Kirk

 

[Dead Beat]

Kirk ask your buddy what filler rod he used being a welder for the last 39 year's i find all things about welding interesting

JIM

 

[James Jones]

I assume that you TIGed your handel on , I bought some 3 1/2% nickle rods from Brownells to play with and found that they give a very nice weld without any porosity troubles.
I'm gonna be trying to weld a bolt handel on soon and this is what I'm planning to use , I think that the actual welding is the easy part , getting it setup and timed correctly in a jig is gonna be the hard part.

 

[Ksmirk]

dead beat, next time I run into him I'll be sure and ask, with the way it was milled we didn't have to use much filler.

James, yes sir it was tig welded I did a 788 and was told silver solder would hold it, yeah that worked well!! seting things up is a real pain but with the Mauser action it's pretty simple getting things set-up and then getting things to stay in place is something that might make you say a few choice words lol. Best of luck to ya on your bolt weld project.

I still have not got that picture! but I'll post it when I get my camera back. Later,

Kirk

 

[specweldtom]

James, 3 1/2 percent nickel is an excellent filler metal for welding bolt handles. It's 80-90 ksi ultimate tensile strength, has excellent toughness , and great weldability to boot. I think it's prone to come out purplish (plum) color if you blue it tho, and I haven't tried parkerizing it yet. It's been many years since I used to blue guns (caustic hot blue), but I think that it was usually nickel content that caused parts to come out like that. If you do blue it, I would like to know how it looks.

Jim, ER 309 and INCO 82 are also very good choices if you want to use an austenitic filler metal for its toughness, strength and weldability, but they won't blue.

Kirk and James: If you weld on any assembly that was silver brazed originally, like Remington bolt handles, it is necessary to get absolutely every trace of the silver off before welding (no matter what kind of filler metal you use), otherwise it will spit, blow, smoke, crater, and may cause small cracks in the weld itself.

Kirk, silver brazing is about 1/2 science and 1/2 art. Don't be too hard on yourself. You would be amazed at how many skilled weldors can't do it right.

Man I'm long-winded.

Good luck, Tom