[Michael W Cuber]

Fortunately for me, this is just a couple hundred dollar loss at worst. I have other BHP's that I love dearly. The high price of BHP these days is the only reason that I would consider fixing this one. It was never going to be a carry "with my life on the line" use pistol anyway. I have others for that task.

I’ve got a friend here in Alaska that does really fine welding and also makes jewelry. If you could find someone in your area that could do it as a challenge / favor, and you take on the fine finish / filing work, I think you’d at minimum have a serviceable ‘truck gun.’

 

[wproct]

Old Gunsmiths had skills, curiosity, and were fearless. It's a shame to see them pass.

 

[1saxman]

Ka-Boom?

 

[trbnt]

Old Gunsmiths had skills, curiosity, and were fearless. It's a shame to see them pass.

Shop rate makes some work not worth it for the client.

If someone walked in the door with this or it belonged to a friend I might take it on just to help them out.
As a project I would know going in I’d be giving away my time.
If I quoted straight time the client might still say ok and have it done for their own reasons.
Skill, curiosity and attitude have little to do with it, it’s just the hard reality of what billable rates mean for this class of work.
The repair will cost more than the pistol is worth.

I own a fabrication business- it could be gunsmith’s have a rate schedule which changes that equation.
I doubt that is true.

One has to take a hard look at this pistol and see if it is worth the bother.
Look at the scoring under the grip scales.
This pistol looks like it has been rode hard and dirty for a long time.
Is it worn out in addition to being fatigue cracked literally to pieces?
If it were mine I’d fix it right up but I have all the equipment just sitting here to do the work.
If you have to pay a shop?

 

[Michael W Cuber]

Shop rate makes some work not worth it for the client.

If someone walked in the door with this or it belonged to a friend I might take it on just to help them out and as a project and would know going in I’d be giving away my time.
If I quoted straight time the client might still say ok and have it done for their own reasons.
Skill, curiosity and attitude have little to do with it, it’s just the hard reality of what billable rates mean for this class of work.
The repair will cost more than the pistol is worth.

I own a fabrication business- it could be gunsmith’s have a rate schedule which changes that equation.
I doubt that is true.

One has to take a hard look at this pistol and see if it is worth the bother.
Look at the scoring under the grip scales.
This pistol looks like it has been rode hard and dirty for a long time.
Is it worn out in addition to being fatigue cracked literally to pieces?
If it were mine I’d fix it right up but I have all the equipment just sitting here to do the work.
If you have to pay a shop?

That’s the way I’d feel if it were mine, and I’ve had friends that could do that kind of detailed welding, and I’d do the rest of it myself, but to pay a working shop rate, no, it’s not worth it!

 

[trbnt]

I used to use a shop up in Mass for micro tig work.
They do the basic weld up at very reasonable cost.
Old school files and stones to fair the work and stove top rust blue the gun.
That could work for anyone with the skill and time to do the post weld fairing and cost would be minimal.

The shop I used to use stopped taking in gun work but there must be others who still do.
Still- a couple of hundred or more for just welding (If me it would be more), so even that approach costs money.

If you have this welded up - leave fillets everywhere you can.
Don’t take it back to those square profiles.

 

[K1500]

Does it run as is? I would part it out and buy a new one if I wanted a BHP.

 

[USARV72]

Consider cleaning up the slide, bead blast ,have a flat milled on top rear, cerakote and install a small red dot. Internals should be ok for replacements parts

 

[Colt191145]

Salvage what parts are useable from the pistol and destroy the rest.

Why risk having the frame tig welded and turn into a frag grenade for a future owner? There is no way to test the integrity of that frame after repairs other than shooting it.

Put an end to it, there are a LOT of Hi Powers out there that can be fired safely for generations yet.

 

[GlockLeg]

Salvage what parts are useable from the pistol and destroy the rest.

Why risk having the frame tig welded and turn into a frag grenade for a future owner? There is no way to test the integrity of that frame after repairs other than shooting it.

Put an end to it, there are a LOT of Hi Powers out there that can be fired safely for generations yet.

You may have a point. That's a lot of damage and, as others have said, it might be a sign of poor metallurgy.

While I'm one of those guys who'd much rather fix a gun than get rid of it, there are times when it's better to just to the latter. Someone once said something in a comment, and it goes a little like this, "There's no point in polishing a turd."

Personally, I'd just keep it and wait. You never know when you might find a pro who'll take a look at it and give you a professional opinion and/or help fix it up. At the very least, they might be able to confirm whether or not it's a lost cause. The OP has other Hi-Powers, so he doesn't need it, nor does he need to get rid of it.

 

[warp2diesel]

The cracked portion of the frame is normally under a compressive load not a tension load when firing the pistol. Having the slide return to battery would not put that much stress on that part of the frame.
Looks like a bad batch of metal used for the frame causing fatigue cracks. Welding it up would most likely have a new cracks form on the sides of the welds. Not worth repairing.

 

[stefano462]

Does it run as is? I would part it out and buy a new one if I wanted a BHP.

I have never fired it. When fully assembled, everything functioned normally with no hint of flexing, but that is just me manually operating it, of course. I have no plans of putting it back together and firing it now.

 

[stefano462]

Personally, I'd just keep it and wait. You never know when you might find a pro who'll take a look at it and give you a professional opinion and/or help fix it up. At the very least, they might be able to confirm whether or not it's a lost cause. The OP has other Hi-Powers, so he doesn't need it, nor does he need to get rid of it.

Yeah, I am not going to throw it away. I am going to show it to some pros to see what they think first. The cost may be too high. The risk of future failure may be too great. I am mostly bummed because I was going to do something different with this one. If I go buy another one, it will likely be too nice to do anything to. If it is deemed junk (and I agree that it is most likely scrap metal now), I will turn it into a nice desk lamp or something. Meanwhile, yes, I'll keep enjoying my others.

 

[ratwhacker]

I've seen some surplused Israeli Hi-Powers that superficially looked as bad as that one, but without the frame cracks. The Israelis USE their stuff hard, without a lot of maintenance, nearly as I can tell. Most of the stuff I've seen coming out of Israel is in pretty rough shape. I gotta wonder where that one came from, it's pretty rough, also.

 

[Turbomunkey89]

JB weld the crack then send it while wearing a full face mask and body armor.

Or put it in a spare parts drawer. Maybe 20 years from now it will be worthwhile to repair it.

 

[stefano462]

JB weld the crack then send it while wearing a full face mask and body armor.

Then light up a cigar and say while smiling, "I love it when a plan comes together."

 

[BBBBill]

Laser and TIG welding - JMF Precision of Dacula, GA is a shop trusted by some of the top tier pistolsmiths. If they say it is safe, then I would accept that answer. If they say it is NOT safe, then I would absolutely accept that answer.

 

[trbnt]

-

 

[stefano462]

Laser and TIG welding - JMF Precision of Dacula, GA is a shop trusted by some of the top tier pistolsmiths. If they say it is safe, then I would accept that answer. If they say it is NOT safe, then I would absolutely accept that answer.

Thank you, I appreciate the referral.

 

[Txdweeb]

That’s insane never seen anything like that. I’d get a magwell stand and keep it as a display piece.