Got a question:

If I use 3.5% nickel rods with this bolt handle on a Vz-24 bolt and rust bluing, will I have a uniform blue?

Just concerned about dissimilar metals not taking the bluing the same.

thanks,

Rust bluing is generally pretty forgiving that way. Caustic bluing, not so much. Id be polishing it silver if I was caustic bluing. The weld would come out slightly grayer.

These days a bolt handle should be tig welded IMO..I don't tig weld but my gunsmith is the best. Ive even had a silver soldered bolt come off..maybe the welder, don't know, don't care. All mine are tigged.

Tig welded for sure.

Don't use 3.5 nickel, just use high quality plain mild steel filler wire.
Rub the copper coating off and you will have a good match to the parent metal that will blue nicely.

while the nickel rod is durable on steel it is not a metallurgic sound weld - use tig

Am I the only one who presumed that the OP was planning to TIG weld the bold handle, using 3.5% nickel filler rod?

Or was he wanting to stick weld it?

Anyhow, to help answer the blueing question, I've had a couple Talley handles TIG welded using fill rod I bought from Brownells, (can't recall exact nickel percentage...) and they rust blued very evenly. At least one bolt was from a VZ24.

quote:

Am I the only one who presumed that the OP was planning to TIG weld the bold handle, using 3.5% nickel filler rod?

That's how I figured he was gonna do it....


.

quote:

Originally posted by JTEX:

quote:

Am I the only one who presumed that the OP was planning to TIG weld the bold handle, using 3.5% nickel filler rod?

That's how I figured he was gonna do it....


.

X-2

Every bolt handle I’ve ever welded was done with ER70S2 or S7 bluing including rust blue works just fine.
I’d only torch weld a handle if that’s all I had. But never on a soldered on handle.

S7??? that's some pretty tough chit ain't it?