[lawboy]

anyone had experience with welding up a cracked slide? My hi-power slide up and cracked on me the day after I spent $250 on new sights ... not to happy about that. I am wondering if a new slide, barrel and more new sights are the answers, or if I can just get this one welded and refinished. thanks for any input.

[R.H. Lee]

Is it a .40 or 9mm? Where is the crack? Can you post some photos? This is of interest to me as I am about to replace the sights on my BHP Practical. :)

[lawboy]

I don't have any photos. the crack is right at the top, rear edge of th ejection port. it runs about 1/2-inch from that edge, straight across the top of the slide. It is a hairline fracture but it is all the way through the slide. I do not think the sight installation had anything to do with it, I think the slide was faulty and it just let go after I spent my money rather than before!
The crack is easily an inch away from the front of the rear sight so I doubt they are related.

[Black Snowman]

It's possible it's related to the sight installation. If they over-tightened the slide in whatever jig they used to cut or install it they could have damaged it. Or, it could just be a mfg defect. Hard to say. Any waranty by any chance on the installation or the gun?

[Jim K]

Sorry, but my advice is to remove the new sights and scrap the slide. If that crack lets go in firing, you will end up with a face full of slide, which will ruin your whole day, not to mention your eyes, nose, and teeth. Don't try to weld it up. It could work out OK, or it could just make things worse. The strain and pressures involved are nothing to take a chance on, not when your continued health is involved.

Jim

[mete]

Welding can get tricky if you don't know what alloy they use , what heat treatment they use.Then it's a matter of picking the right welding rod and welding properly.Better to have a new slide installed.

[Bill Z]

and probably nearly the same price. I'd reccomend the new slide too.

[lawboy]

Thanks all. I called Browning. The gun is going back to them tomorrow. I am going to let them decide what to do. We shall see what their decision is. I expect to pay something for whatever they do. I guess is they will replace the gun with a new mkiii at a discounted price. I will go for that, although I truly prefer them mkii pistols to the mkiii If I am lucky, they will fit a new slide and barrel of mkii design to my frame and send me back the sights and parts from my slide. They may just say sorry charlie. We shall see.

[R.H. Lee]

Good decision, lawboy. Let us know what happens. :)

[greg531mi]

Don't send it out with your $250 sights....you will probally not get them back!!! Did you install the sights? I would put on the factory sights, and send it back, and see if they replace it....and not tell them about the new sights....Sorry, unless you really wacked on the slide, putting on the sights, I don't think it should crack the slide.
Sounds like a stress crack, where a sharp angle is milled out of the slide or frame. To prevent this from happening again, you should round out the sharp angle from a V to a U...that distributes the stress on a wider area, thus stopping the crack before it develops.....

[Dave Sample]

I do not reccommend any kind of dishonesty when dealing with a factory. George Smith at EGW can weld it for you. I would scrap it and install a new slide if it were mine. Labor is not cheap and I do not trust heating pistols.

[lawboy]

The sights I put on required extensive milling of the rear of the slide, and the cutting of a dovetail up front. MkII pistols had a pinned on front sight and a very small dovetailed rear. I put on a large dovetailed front and a S&W adjustable revolver sight that was flush mounted to the slide. The sights probably cost me $50, the labor was the other $200, so that is lost, period. The installation was flawless so there is no damage to the gun. I Did remove the rear sight before boxing the gun. The front dovetail was so tight I just left the front sight on. In my accompanying letter, I provided full disclosure on the sight work, admitted that this voided the warranty, and praised their product highly. My integrity is worth more than a few bucks. There is not a pistol on the common market I cannot afford to buy from petty change so it is not worth trying to fool anyone. I will let you all know. Regards. Lawboy.

[Dave Sample]

You are my Kind of Guy, Lawboy. I am very porud of you. Without honor and integrity, we are just a pile of dawg turds.

[lawboy]

Agreed. Good decision making and responsibility is the measure of a man. Regards to all.

[wally]

Interesting how positive and supportive all the comments have been. Suppose it had been a FEG or FM HiPower or Taurus pistol instead? :)

--wally.