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Hi all, I have made a very large mistake while welding on a new bolt handle to my '98 Mauser. I was using a TIG welder that was unfamiliar to me, and although I practised on a piece of scrap for a while, I still failed to realise that it was set to very high amperage. As I finished my last bead and to minimise any gas holes I pressed the foot pedal way too much and have actually melted all the way through the bolt body and distorted the internal threads for the cocking piece. I know, stupid mistake! My question is this, is this bolt able to be salvaged and repaired? I can buy the correct tapping thread to repair the thread, but will the amount of heat it took have damaged the metal too much. The melted through portion is around 1/4" in diameter but is still intact with no holes. Does anybody know where I could get this repaired in the US? Thanks in advance guys, I am so embarrassed I made this boo boo, but things happen, I guess. Cheers. | ||
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More experienced than I will have to answer. What about the end of the bolt with the cocking ramp/ Bet that puppy got hot as well. I would start over but that is me. As usual just my $.02 Paul K | |||
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As long as the lugs didn't get to hot I wouldn't worry about it on a standard pressure cartridge. If it's a magnum well just for my piece of mind i'd have to do something about it to make me feel better. What that is I can't say as i wasn't welding it. www.KLStottlemyer.com Deport the Homeless and Give the Illegals citizenship. AT LEAST THE ILLEGALS WILL WORK | |||
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What were you welding so close to the body for? Yes, you can re-tap the internal threads if you wanted to but a tap will cost more than a new bolt so I would just get a new one. For those who have not welded bolts, it is actually hard to get the locking lugs very hot when welding on bolt handles with TIG welders. I usually hold them in my left hand whilst doing it, albeit with a glove on. "Get this repaired"? Not worth it unless you do it yourself, and I am assuming it is a military bolt. | |||
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The biggest concern is getting the cocking cam hot enough to anneal it (as mentioned, the lugs are very hard to get that hot). Your bolt is trash though. The tap you mentioned is probably from brownells, and is the wrong thread. Buy another. Nathaniel Myers Myers Arms LLC nathaniel@myersarms.com www.myersarms.com Follow us on Instagram and YouTube I buy Mauser actions, parts, micrometers, tools, calipers, etc. Specifically looking for pre-WWII Mauser tools. | |||
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No doubt his cocking cam is now soft; get a new bolt. | |||
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Thanks for all the advice, pretty much what I thought anyway. Now, the question is where you guys recommend me to get a new bolt from, I am in Australia and very few people here deal in Mauser parts and I don't know if I can import one. All help is greatly appreciated. Cheers. | |||
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Hi Mauser 98? I can help but how to get it to you? let me know | |||
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I understand there is a thingamabob called a: Side Handled Tube Plug with Spring Loaded Plunger and Safety Catch They are best shipped disassembled and when you assemble them they look remarkably like a Mauser 98 bolt. Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Mike, that was hilarious Paul Smith SCI Life Member NRA Life Member DSC Member Life Member of the "I Can't Wait to Get Back to Africa" Club DRSS I had the privilege to fire E. Hemingway's WR .577NE, E. Keith's WR .470NE, & F. Jamieson's WJJ .500 Jeffery I strongly recommend avoidance of "The Zambezi Safari & Travel Co., Ltd." and "Pisces Sportfishing-Cabo San Lucas" "A failed policy of national defense is its own punishment" Otto von Bismarck | |||
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It has been, for many years, common practice to re-harden cocking cams on Mauser bolts so that is a non-issue. The threads are a buttress-type and a tap might be a bit spendy. I have simply notched an old cocking piece and hardened it to make a rough and ready tap to clean up threads and it works OK. It is,of course, easy enough to make a tap with drill rod. It is probably even easier to just get another 98 bolt and try again. Regards, Bill | |||
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Check your local metal working shop. They may have something that will screw in place of a heat sink. I'm thinking 5/8x11 or something along those lines. And use a good heat stop paste. Frank | |||
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For a heat sink or to back up a weld, you can turn a plug of graphite to screw into the bolt body. Mostly, a heat sink is a waste of time but having some support is worthwhile to prevent damage as described. I clamp the bolt body in aluminum jaws in the vise. If the bolt doen't change color, there is no harm done. Like I said before, re-harden the cocking cam; not a big deal. Sometimes, people tend to over-think this stuff. Regards, Bill. | |||
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I made an aluminum heat sink, drilled a hole thru and flush with cold water and haven't worried about cam hardness. | |||
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Years ago had a very high end stocker in the gun trade stock a s/b/s for me. I'm tall so it was about a 15 1/2 inches stock. Called to see him and he was very apologetic. he'd finished it and then confused it with another gun and cut the stock down to 14 3/4 inches! He offered to re-stock it again at his entire expense. labour and timber. I just told him to stick a red rubber pad on it and do me the fore-end to match from the off-cuts from the orginal butt wood blank for free to match! As he hated fore-ends! | |||
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Mike has the correct terminology to employ when dealing with governments, even your own. A short story, if you will permit me. Years ago Roger Johnston was working with NORMA to develop the factory 6BR. They needed barrels, but Sweden had this ugly 100+% tariff on barrels to protect their industry. They order 6 Shilen barrels at the SHOT Show that spring, and have them delivered to Roger's place in NorCal. Roger founded NECO. Roger marks the paperwork "Internally threaded, high helix, thick wall tubing" and ships them. They sail right thru Customs, and the tariff was about $8 per barrel. Rich | |||
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Rich, that may have worked in the olden days. | |||
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416RigbyHunter, Single point chase the threads. Turn a piece of 360 brass with thread pitch as a heat sink. Weld & Blend. Done | |||
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Thanks again guys, I am not a novice when it comes to welding, this is my first trade and I am quite accomplished at it, but I will admit that I am not that familiar with the steels used in 1924, which is when my VZ24 was made. Seeing as though I have had some encouraging posts, I will attempt to rethread the bolt after I have built up the spot, the metal surrounding the point of damage is not overly effected by heat (HAZ), so I think the fix should work OK if I get the bolt case hardened again, it should not effect the safety lug if theccase hardening works as it should. A new bolt here is a pipe dream. Cheers. | |||
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I feel obliged to say, one more time, if you have not over heated the locking lug end of the bolt (no color=no change)there is no reason whatsoever to have the bolt re-case hardened. The safety lug doesn't have to be hard anyway and it is unlikely even it has been affected. I know I've welded a hundred or so Mauser bolt handles using oxy-acetylene and the rear third of the bolt was always pretty hot from this operation. The cocking cam was then re-hardened using the same oxy-acetylene torch. I switched to electricity for welding handles a dozen years back (wire feed) but the O-A worked OK for years. Like I said, don't overthink it. Regards, Bill | |||
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