Welding on a muzzle brake

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Keeperfaith

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My buddy has a shotgun that was given to him. The barrel had been cut down to "18" inches and the cut is uneven. I'm afraid his barrel is too short. I was thinking that we can buy a shotgun muzzle brake and have it welded on permanently to avoid any questions to the length of the barrel.

Can anyone give me an idea if this is a difficult/expensive project?

Should I stick w/ a gunsmith or can any welder do the project?

I'm not concerned about the finish of the barrel or muzzle brake as I plan on cerakoting the gun for him.

Thanks
 
I'll leave the answer to someone that has experience in welding on barrels, but if you think the barrel is too short you may want to think very carefully before taking possession of the gun.
 
Here was an answer I gave a couple of days ago for a guy with the same problem.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=8400556&postcount=3

Your best bet is a gunsmith, as most machinists / welders good enough to make the extension and weld it on will charge you more then the gun is worth.

If they will even touch it.
Most won't, because of gun laws, liability laws, misinformation about needing an FFL to work on guns, etc.

rc
 
I know that.

But the machine shops and real good welders in these parts don't.

They simply will not work on guns.
And they are not inclined to discuss it with you.

rc
 
How about brazing it on? Anyone with a torch can do that very easily.

I don't know if that satisfies the legality aspects, though.
 
What kind of shotgun is it? pictures? Does it have an interchangeable Barrel? If it does just trash the short barrel and get a new one.
 
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You need to be VERY careful here!

This is a VERY dangerous situation you have on your hands both legaly, and mechanically. Please carefully read and consider this post!

If the barrel is in fact too short, then that shotgun is now an unregistered (illegal) SBS. Simply fixing or replacing the barrel will NOT make it legal once again. The ATF's position is "Once an illegal NFA weapon, Always and illegal NFA weapon". There is no legal way to "undo" or "fix" this.

Now granted if you replaced the barrel yourself and no one knew about it, your chances of being caught are next to nothing. BUT, if you weld on an extension to the too short barrel there is the question of how it came to that configuration in the first place. If I were a gunsmith, I wouldn't touch it. They might even report you. You need to look up how the ATF measures barrel length (the dowel method). I'm not sure how they deal with a non-square end though. Unless there is an official ruling to the contrary, I would assume that if any portion of the end is less than 18" from the breachface it is an illegal SBS.

The other cause for concern, is the welding on such a thin walled barrel. When you weld something you weaken the surrounding area and could cause the barrel to split when fired. This is why double barrel shotguns are not welded together; they are brazed (and as stated earlier is not considered by the ATF as permanent.) Also, this is why permanatly attached flash hiders are threaded on, pined, and the pin is welded to the flash hider.

You should proceed with the greatest of caution in this situation.
 
Have you actually measured the barrel? Is it 18 inches, or is it "around" 18 inches.

I'd be worrying about taking it to a gunsmith, the barrel being less than 18 inches, said gunsmith contacting the ATF, etc.

Barrels are relatively cheap. Go to gunbroker and buy a new one. Then toss the old one. You can buy a new one probably for what it would cost to do what you describe.
 
A barrel is not a gun...

Just an aside, but giving the barrel to someone overnight is no problem as long as the receiver/frame is not attached. You do not need an ffl to take possession of a barrel, but it had better be 18+ inches long!
If you destroy the barrel, I would chopsaw the chamber end into small bits. Don't cut off the chamber and leave 6" or 8" attached, that is a SBS.
The remaining pieces are useful for practicing bead installation or screw-in choke installation.
 
I would solder it on before I would weld it. Depending on your skill level you could probably do it yourself, if you could get a hold of an oxy/acet. torch. It would be cheaper to have a gunsmith solder it at $60ish an hour than a welder for $120ish.
 
Solder won't pass the legal test of "permanently affixed".

Hi-Temp Silver Solder will.

That takes a 1,400 degree acetylene torch to do it properly.

rc
 
BBBBill said:
It must be permanently attached via welding or high temp silver solder.
Click to expand...
Brazing would be considered permanently attached,as it takes grinding,cutting,or high heat to remove. It would not be the best way to attach it,but if done properly it would work. Once you put the ceramic coating on,no one could tell the difference. Brazing and silver soldering are actually the same process using different fillers.
 
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The problem is, normal cheap bronze welding rod won't really flow into the joint like hi-temp silver solder will.

A brazed muzzle extension is likely to have slag in the joint, and is likely to blow off at an inopportune moment, just when the ATF guy comes along with a dowel rod & tape measure!

Hi-temp silver solder, properly done, is never going to come off again, unless you and a torch want it too!

rc
 
I figured we could just take the barrel off and buy a new one. Problem was the barrel is screwed onto the reciever much like a rifle. Taking it off would require a barrel vice or some other specialty tool I dont have.

what do yall think?
 
Well, first things first. Measure it with a dowel to be sure. From the original post is sounds like you aren't certain it is too short. If it is long enough, take it to a gunsmith. Otherwise get rid of it. Either way, I would post saying "I measured and turns out it was 18.01 inches so I fixed it up and sold it at a gunshow" ;)
 
Keeperfaith said:
I figured we could just take the barrel off and buy a new one. Problem was the barrel is screwed onto the reciever much like a rifle. Taking it off would require a barrel vice or some other specialty tool I dont have.

what do yall think?
Click to expand...

What brand/model shotgun. A receiver wrench can be fabricated and a hardwood block can be used to make a simple barrel vice liner. It can be done with a little information, some step by step coaching, and careful work.
 
The best way is to send the barrel/reciever to PolyChoke.

Have a adjustable choke installed, that will lengthen the barrel so there's no question about it being legal.
 
I took the gun to the smith today. The best they could do is add a poly choke, it would be a $200.00 job and totally not worth it because the whole gun is probably valued at around $100...
Good news is the smith measured the barrel and it is right at 18" even at the shortest part of the uneven cut...
 
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