Frame feed ramp repair, pics

3026 Views 20 Replies 10 Participants Last post by shane45, Jun 28, 2001

pistolwrench

Discussion Starter · Jun 24, 2001

The top 1/16" of the feed ramp had been polished too far forward. Weld repair would have been another option, although some rail distortion from the much greater heat would have been expected.

Looks kinda pretty, huh?

------------------
Chuck Rogers
Rogers Precision

GOOD-CHEAP-FAST
Pick any two.

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1 - 20 of 21 Posts

CCV

· #2 · Jun 24, 2001

GREAT PICTURES! Teach me how to do that.

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donw

· #3 · Jun 24, 2001

Chuck, as usual a gorgeous job. God forbid, if anything ever happens to you, they should just tell the 'doc - you can fix him with silver solder!

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Chuck, how is the block attached? Did you get any warpage etc.. When you cut on, heat, braze etc.. aluminum do you worry about stress cracks?

Fantastic work, if i could only figure out what to send you.....

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pistolwrench

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jun 24, 2001

RMLamey,

It is a carbon steel frame.

The block or 'dutchman', was milled from 4130 ChromeMoly Rc28-32 and high-temp(1175F) silver-soldered into place.
Zero warpage, no surprises.

"When you cut on, heat, braze etc.. aluminum do you worry about stress cracks? "

I would never weld repair an aluminum frame
or otherwise heat it beyond 350F.
My concern would not be stress-cracks but a loss of heat-treat to the 'heat-affected zone'.
I have heard of the typical dustcover cracks
being weld repaired sucessfully on an aluminum frame, but have never made an attempt myself. Such a weld repair would definitely be visible if the frame was plated in any way. Spray and bake would be the only cosmetic option.
I'm sure George from EGW has 'been and done'.
Maybe he'll share his experiences with us.

Chuck

[This message has been edited by pistolwrench (edited 06-24-2001).]

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BK

· #6 · Jun 24, 2001

Very nice work Chuck! Thanks for sharing with us. Great pics also.

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RMLamey

· #7 · Jun 25, 2001

Chuck, dont know why i thought it was an alloy frame, but thanks for the informative answer.

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Ned Christiansen

· #8 · Jun 25, 2001

Nothing prettier that a great job with silver! Nicely done, was that with paste? How much space do you usually allow for the sliver to flow into?

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pistolwrench

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jun 25, 2001

Ned,

I most usually use .005" thick ribbon and
allow only .001" or so for flow.
In this case, a small rectangle of ribbon was placed under the insert, with both the insert and pocket liberally fluxed.
I then used a 'probe' to apply pressure inward and downward until the solder flowed.
This same technique is used to repair the 'ugly' left by a Millett Dual Crimp front sight!

Chuck

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John Harrison

· #10 · Jun 26, 2001

Hi Chuck,
Great looking repair! You always come up with inovative ideas. Got a question concerning the "dutchman", Is the radius on the front side of it machined or hand-fit? If machined, did you use a corner-rounding end mill to shape it? Thanks for sharing this with us!
Regards,
John

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RMLamey

· #11 · Jun 26, 2001

How would liquide flux work out? I know it works well with gaurds that i press fit. The only solder i can get to flow between the gaurd slot/tang junction is liquid, specifically TIX. I understand that TIX is a very low temp solder/flux so it may not be at all suitable for high stress etc...

But there are some high heat liquid flux applications.... just a thought.

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George Smith

· #12 · Jun 27, 2001

Hi Chuck,
First Great clean work!
Thank you for your kind words too.
Havn't done a cracked dust cover in alum. have a guy that does my fancy alum weld jobs though. and Yes anealing frames is not a great plan! (an anodizer melted one pretty badly and we had to rebuild the back where the main spring housing goes UGLY!)

Have to differ with you on one point though. (sorry, I really like that everyone gets along well here) had a bull M5 frame a nice young man polished the feed ramp with some 220 lightly. (moved it forward .075) so we could not hold it for an insert easly. welded a spot at a time an hr apart. took 7 weld spots but we did get through it and did not mar the plastic one ioda.
again GOOD work man!
geo ><>

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pistolwrench

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jun 27, 2001

John,

I always use the appropriate sized corner rounding end mill to match radii on my 'dutchmen'....lol!!!!
Anyway, the cheap corner rounding end mills produce a superior fit in less time.
Give it a try, its easier than it looks!
Iff'n I can help, just ask.

Chuck

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pistolwrench

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jun 27, 2001

Mr Smith,

You is now on record as sayin' you will weld repair a plastic frame,
don't tell the grock boys!

Chuck

[This message has been edited by pistolwrench (edited 06-27-2001).]

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Ned Christiansen

· #15 · Jun 27, 2001

Goerge, I got me a Raven that jams up on them bullets with the little steel ball in the end....

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John Harrison

· #16 · Jun 27, 2001

Originally posted by pistolwrench:
John,

I always use the appropriate sized corner rounding end mill to match radii on my 'dutchmen'....lol!!!!
Anyway, the cheap corner rounding end mills produce a superior fit in less time.
Give it a try, its easier than it looks!
Iff'n I can help, just ask.

Chuck

I think that I may have been exibiting
an "amazing grasp of the obvious"

in regards to machining the radii.
I've got to brush up on my silver soldering technique before I'm going to give this one a whirl. I've been TIGing these jobs so far, but I agree that it's preferable to avoid that much welding if you can. I've been doing as George describes: welding it up very slowly, a little at a time, then letting it cool. I actually get very little heat discoloration that way. The insert is definitely on my list. Thanks for sharing this with us. The pics and text are now in my shop manual.
Regards,
John

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George Smith

· #17 · Jun 27, 2001

Originally posted by pistolwrench:
Mr Smith,

You is now on record as sayin' you will weld repair a plastic frame,

May god have mercy on your soul.

Chuck