Welds and their affect on steel finishes

[Booneliane]

I’m thinking of welding a bead of build up on the comb face of a poorly fitted steel butt plate (front of the heel portion) than taking it back down with files to better fit a poor pre-inlet job.

I plan on browning the steel furniture.

Do you suppose that weld will take the brown differently and possibly come out off colored from the rest?

There’s a 1/32” gap between the heel and the wood, so that’s about how much weld would be left.

Other option is re-cut the butt, plug the existing heel screw hole, move the whole works forward to close the gap, re-drill the heel screw,......welding seems faster.

 

[painter]

The metals will be different alloys as the buttplate is probably cast. I don't know for sure, but I think that they'd take color differently. You might try browning the plate, and a sample of welded material to see for sure. It would definitely be faster than reworking the curve and plugging the screw holes to refit.

 

[martin9]

I've welded triggerguards, tang extensions and holes to be redrilled in a couple lock plates and they finished out the same as any other part. I normally use LMF and let it rust a good bit then scotchbrite it out.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
The only thing that would make a noticeable difference is if some metal is hardened after the heat of welding. Hardened surfaces retard the rusting process.

dave

 

[jerrywh]

There is probably a better way to fix the problem if pictures were shown for us to determine the best way.

 

[Booneliane]

This is not the rifle in question.

It’s a GPR kit. Sizeable gap in the pre-inlet work where the arrow points. Sizeable. Kind of shoddy in fact.

 

[Scota@4570]

Yikes! Stop the music. : ) Work on the wood! This is a simple 15 minuet job. It is a kit, there is no expectation of finished inletting.

Trying to weld on the edge will ruin the butplate.

 

[Booneliane]

.

 

[jerrywh]

Just move the but plate forward. No big deal. It is easier than welding it up.

 

[Scota@4570]

See the attached photo with comments.

 

[Booneliane]

Another question.

How much can a guy bend on these cast parts?

I noticed the trigger guard will need a slight tweak as well.

 

[jerrywh]

Can't weld on the edge?? Depends on who is welding. I can weld 2 needles together. Some people can weld aluminum foil.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

On my very first build my fixturing was not secure and the tang bolt hole ended up off center. I had a guy in the toolroom weld up the hole and I re-drilled. After browning the welded area was invisible. Having said that, I agree with the comments above to either shim and fill with wood or move the butt plate forward.

 

[martin9]

Do it right...move the buttplate by rasping wood. Use inletting black or prussian blue to get a nice, tight fit. Plus, it may seem like more work but it's a lot easier to rasp wood than it is to file and sand steel smooth enough for a finish.

 

[old ugly]

The metals will be different alloys as the buttplate is probably cast. I don't know for sure, but I think that they'd take color differently. You might try browning the plate, and a sample of welded material to see for sure. It would definitely be faster than reworking the curve and plugging the screw holes to refit.

i would suspect that the but plate is not cast. it quite possibly is cast steel and should take a weld just fine. i have repaired these type of parts by welds.
but
it is likely that the builder of the gun did not fit the but plate properly and you may want to look into the wood work ideas first.
ou
tom

 

[Scota@4570]

Can't weld on the edge?? Depends on who is welding. I can weld 2 needles together. Some people can weld aluminum foil.

You are at an extremely high level of expertise and experience. This is more or a beginners' forum. The average guy will grab a mig or arc welder and make a huge mess. Even if successful the top line of the plate will not match the top line of the stock. That needs to be fixed by working on the wood. That makes any welding pointless and unnecessarily risky.

 

[hinamanra]

It wouldn't be nothing for me to fire up the tig and weld that, but not for a 1/16", I'd rework the wood and make a perfect fit all the way around.

 

[Booneliane]

The only reason I mentioned welding, is the rest of the butt plate fit is on the money. Just that one spot is off. (The lock plate is another story).

If there were other spots that needed addressed, yeah I’d go to work on the wood. Still might.

 

[Scota@4570]

The only reason I mentioned welding, is the rest of the butt plate fit is on the money. Just that one spot is off. (The lock plate is another story).

Except it is not "on the money". The top of the plate need to be parallel to the stock. You should be able to lay a ruler on the top of the stock and have a a perfectly straight line from the wood to on to the top of the butplate. In this case the metal is at a different angle than the wood. The whole butplate need to be slightly rotated to make it right. Or, if the metal is thick enough file the butlpate. Sounds like you are on the right track now. Good luck

 

[Mike New]

I have done what you are describing with a tig welder and coat hanger. Mine turned out fine with LMF browning. I worked on progressive dies when I did the repair on the butt plate and tig welded every day. I am not sure what your level of proficiency is but I would not hesitate to do it again. Mike