Ladies and Gentlemen:

I did some research on this forum, but have not come up with a complete answer.

I have an 1898 large ring Mauser action, where a prior owner filed off the front of the feed rails at the pinch point near the front of the receiver. I would like to salvage this action by TIG welding a 1/16" thick by 3/4" long bead to each rail where they were filed off. This extra metal would give me enough to re-contour the rails, so it will feed 6mm Remington rounds properly. I would prefer to do this without re-heat treating or re-casing the receiver.

Can this be done with a barrel stub used as a heat sink, heat control paste on the lug recesses, a wet rag over the receiver and an artful and clever welder?

Also, if someone on this forum can do this, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Chris Bemis

I would pose this question to the metallurgical folks at a company that heat treats Mausers, like Blanchards.

http://www.bmproc.com/index.html

Mete is a metallurgist. Perhaps he will chime in.

I'm also interested in this. I have a rifle that had too much work done on the feed rails.

If you can clean up pits on the outside with a welder I don't see why you couldn't fix the rails on the inside. I've always been told the secrete to welding on an action is to go slow and not let it heat too much. Hit it a few times and go have a cup of coffee then hit it again. I would want it heat treated after job was finished just to be safe. Wouldn't the rails need to be hardened so the action would cycle smoothly?


Terry

quote:

Can this be done with a barrel stub used as a heat sink

maybe thread one out of copper/aluminum bar or thick tubing

there is a dry rag sort of thing that stops heat, also; I've seen it advertised in fabrication journals- probably a trip to the welding supply for more information on it.

When you are finished welding you are going to want to neutralize the area to reduce any brittle spots. If I remember correctly, you have to heat it to a point just shy of the upper transformation point. You can't do that very well without the heat spreading to the lugs. I would fork out the additional $75.00 and have the action re-heat treated were it for my customer. I would want to consult the heat treating shop for their suggestion for a compatible fill rod.

The first question I'd ask myself is, "Is this action so special that I want to go through a bunch of money and effort?"

Yeah...I agree w/Forrest. I've had a few "agressively opened" actions and usually they can be made to feed by thoughtful reshaping of the rails...maybe undercutting...maybe new, wider follower..I'd use a lot of imagination before screwing around with welding

It certainly can be done. A friend brought me a 1917 Enfield action that had been opened up too far and I had it "TIG'd" up and I reground/filed/stoned it until it would feed a .450 Ackley round properly. Whether or not I did it properly, I can only say that the owner never complained of any failures. Years ago, I had an expert welder TIG up the locking lugs on an SMLE that just wouldn't headspace. I had no source, at the time, to find a longer bolt head so did it this way. It also worked to my friend's satisfaction. From a liabilty standpoint, I don't think I would ever do it again.

Do you know the condition of the rest of the receiver .That is ,is it case hardened properly ?
In any case ,yes you could TIG weld it and best post heat 400-5 F. But I would also reheat treat the receiver as I always suggest for '98s.

Yale

Several years back I rebarreled a 98 Mauser to 243 and discovered someone had removed metal from the same area you described.

I would have never tackled this problem had I not forgot and checked for feed and function before I fitted the barrel. Since I wanted to see this project completed and get paid I reluctantly tig welded up the area you're talking about. It was pretty tedious for me as you know there is very little room to work in here. I used all the precautions, threaded arbor heat sink, heat paste, and most of all I took my time welded very small amounts and stopped often to let things cool down. I used mild low carbon rod.

I got it welded, reshaped, and feeding. I felt like the case hardening was good on this action before starting so we elected to forgo heat treating and check headspace periodically. I'm still in touch with the customer and after several years, no set back.

I dont recomend tackling something like this unless there are special circumstances like above or maybe salvaging a rare or expensive action.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Thank you for all of your insightful and experienced advice.

I paid almost nothing for the action, since the sporterization of the stock was awful and far out, so the price tag was low. But it has matching serial numbers, no rust and its worth having the rails Tig'd to make it into a 6mm Remington.

Yes, I could buy another one, its not rare or expensive, but something is telling me not to give up on this one. Maybe it will shoot 0.5 MOA some day.

Thanks again.

Sincerely,

Chris Bemis

You could just switch to a cartridge that will feed such as a .243 or 6MM/284 and skip oall the hassle.

If I were to weld one I would probably make a rectangular bar to slide into the lug raceways
and clamp or wedge it in place against the receiver rails. Then just TIG weld the bar to the rails a little at a time from the bottom.
Once you have it all filled out put it in a Bridgeport and mill out the bar and finish it with a file.
The bar will act as:
1. A heat sink
2. It will reduce the amount of warpage.
3. Reduce the chance of undercutting

Another fix would be to cut a section of the rails out and silver solder in rail sections with a low temp solder.

You could also look at a .425 Wesley Richards M98 and copy cat the retainer fingers only put them at the front of the action. This would permit you to use it without welding though but would be a lot more work.

You guys might want to give this guy a try. He fixed a friends rails [Rem] and they are perfect he says! I haven`t seen his work yet but surely will soon!
Aloha, Mark
http://www.accu-tig.com/

you can tig the rails without reheat treating the action, but use some blok-heat on the ring so it doesn't get hot

It could be done but it would be desirable to broch it out once completed and that might pose a problem..IMO its not worth saving a 98 action as you can pick them up really cheap from time to time..I don't suggest working with actions that have been monkied with by some butcher.

As to heat treating, I would absolutly do that. I would have them bring it down to soft and then back up to specs. Heat sinking in that area is a poor practice IMO, you might get away with it a dozen time but number 13 is an unlucky number.

I have seen two(I owned one) 03 A3 Springfields that have been brazed in the front portion of the feedrails, both fed and fired fine. The one I owned was from the Bozeman gunshow and had been barreled to 458 win, then put back to 30/06 and the rails brazed to make feed. The other was a friends and a nice sportization in 270, rec sight and decent stock, it was stamped on the barrel George Hoffman and shot very well, has been in his family for 40 years.