Mauser bolt handle welding....

[Clark]

It is my fantasy to have bolt handle stronger than the extractor or rim, so a stuck cast gets the pogo stick treatment.

I think this is why some guys are paying $1000 extra option for the new Mauser actions with single piece bolt body forgings.

 

[marki3rd]

Heat rises with convection, not conduction, so the orientation of a bolt being welded is of little consequence

 

[Durby]

The lugs are the only part that matter if the get hot, and critical temp is something like 600 degrees. The heat shouldn't get that far (with TIG), even without a sink. The reason the sink is important is so you can screw your shroud back in when your done. I TIG welded my Dave Talley handle on, ran about 140 amps with the petal to the metal. I didn't even bother to notch the handle, and theres no way it is coming off. The hardest part of the project is dremmeling the weld under the handle. Tempering the weld so it wont break would just involve heating it to blue, which is critical temp. i had mine heat treated, because I welded the firing pin hole and re-drilled and re-fit the pin.

 

[Clemson]

The lugs are the only part that matter if the get hot

I would have to take exception here. The cocking cam needs to stay cool so that it is not annealed in the welding process. That is the principle reason to use a heat sink. Some heat stop paste doesn't hurt either.

Clemson

 

[Clark]

The cockng cam is mentioned in Keunhausen's book [cough cough spit] and I have always tried to keep it at straw color or cooler.

I just had someone TIG weld 30 Mauser bolt handle bodies for me and he went past straw on lots of them. I will find out if it wears faster.

 

[Durby]

Ah, I did not consider the cocking cam, like I said, I had mine heat treated (by a professional heat treating company) so I didn't worry about what colors mine turned, and I should have worried about it when I went posting here. The heat sink I used was the mandrel I made that threads into the back of the bolt, and as I said, its main purpose was to preserve the threads. On all my mausers, the firing pins are so oversized, and the holes even more oversized, so welding, drilling and fitting was called for, hence the heat treat. Clark, I am curious to see if yours going past straw will make a difference, keep us posted

 

[BBBBill]

...I had mine heat treated by a professional heat treating company...

Durby, who did you use? I need to add a good heat treater to my resource list.

 

[Clark]

The average gun I buy gets 0.3 trips to the range.
Waiting for normal wear data from me is probably fruitless.

I can do highly accelerated stress tests on guns, becuase it takes so little time.

I could put a lug lapping type spring in a chamber, but lube the lugs instead of abrasives. Then I could move the bolt handle with a reciprocating saw.

I guess I would be looking for galling.

 

[doubleh]

Icebones, I don't know where you got the information you posted but you need to go to some other source as it is dead wrong. A weld made with mild steel rod with any process is soft and is entirely adequate for welding on bolt handles if the welder doing the job is competent. The TIG process is inert gas shielded ( the IG part of the TIG) and is a clean process inducing no slag since the filler rod is bare and leaves no slag. In fact, no welding process, TIG, MIG, O/A, stick, or flux cored introduces slag into the weld if the welder is half-way competent. The only ones that leave slag are stick and flux cored and that is to protect the weld from oxygen in the atmosphere. The slag is on the surface, not in the weld. O/A consumes all the oxygen around the weld thus protecting it. How do I know this? Over 40 years making a living welding. And yes, I've welded on a few bolt handles. By the way welding induces less heat into the bolt than forging, a good thing. Use a heat sink and either way will work, welding is just easier.

 

[marki3rd]

Amen to all that Doubleh! In addition to inducing less heat into the bolt welding allows some beautiful looking bolt handles that are much prettier than just forging the existing handle. It really makes the finishing touch to a high quality custom rifle job. I was going to comment on the statement that welds are hard but didn't want to ruffle any feathers, so I didn't . I use nickel steel filler rod from Brownells when I TIG weld a bolt and dressing the weld area proves a weld made that way is not hard or brittle.

 

[dirtyjim]

if you just have one or two bolts to weld & don't have the equipment you can try looking up tanglewood16137 & z1r at Military Firearm Restoration Corner they both do very good work & are reasonably priced.

if you do it yourself & get it to hot blanchards specializes in heat treating mausers. i use them any time i lap the lugs on a mauser or use a bolt that i cant verify is czech or german. they charge $75 for the first bolt & receiver then $20 for each peice after that. they are in salt lake & their number is 801-972-5590. i had their e-mail but i cant find it right now

 

[marki3rd]

http://www.bmproc.com/index.html

Here is a link to Blanchard Metals Processing in Salt Lake City that dirtyjim mentioned in his post above

 

[icebones]

doubleh, yes i know the only welders that produce slag are stick, and the slag is only on the surface, but how many unexpierenced guys out there have you seen go over a weld? (why would a newbie try to weld a bolt handle in the first place? i dont know but it happens)

i havent been welding near as long as you, and if you use mild rods---no the weld wont be brittle, if you use harder rods, the weld will be the first thing to snap, most guys i know that still use stick reach for the good old 6011 rods...

unless you know how to weld really good.

im by no means the best welder out there but...