doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Opinions on weld repair

I have one (it's a 12) and it's got uglier welds. I can take photos. I'm not set up for posting them but can e-mail them to you.
Paul

I agree that the loop will never fall off and will outlast the rest of the gun.

"Both welds were laid in in a continuous pass, no back stepping or staggering, and both show strong undercutting- from the crowned appearance of the welds- were laid with 1/8" or 5/32' 7018 high iron deposition downhand rod- aka- "Rookie Rod"

Runs, why would anyone weld these barrels with either 1/8" or 5/32" rod on this thin of metal? The amps for 5/32" 7018 would be at least 200 amps.
Of anything 3/32", but more likely it was TIG.

Thanks guys. My mind is at ease. Of course it still isn't much of a gun, but hey, what can I say.

The bead is NOT TIG- and I wrote 1/8" or 5/32" (1/32" larger than the 4/32" that is also, by pure luck, 1/8th"-- Using the rule of one amp per every thousand of an inch of the bare rod dia- and with a heavy deposit and larger flux OD of AWS 7018, I would run it at 120 amp. AC-- and 5/32" in the same AWS 7018 at about 130 amps. Where did you go to welding school anyway- that high crowned and undercut weld bead(s) sure as shooting ain't from TIG, but SMAW--

Agree, that ain't TIG, or MIG. I can't swear it was 7018, but seems likely.

Point is that it is factory and safe to shoot also it is covered when the for-end is on. Pretty it may not be but rugged as heck it certainly is. These guns were built tough and at a price point. Extra finishing would have been out of place and driven up the cost. That gun will last until the writing on most of our tomb stones is worn very shallow with just normal care. And the weld will be just a ugly and just as sound. Shoot it and have fun. It is a genuine Winchester double gun.

I forgot Runs, your Bonifide, but I don't think in welding. Maybe the lumps in the welds are from running it too cold like your setting for 5/32.

Bonafide, but if you believe the others in this thread, apparently not very familiar with the M24.

if a welded lug is safe on a 24 then why not on other guns??.....

That weld is 4 welds.
2 tacks, and then two beads running along the lug sides.
Done with a mig gun on a jig. Mild steel wire.

Since the material below the weld is very thin, the gun is aimed at the side of the lug to put enough heat on the lug for fusion, but not burn through the tubes. More of an overlap onto the tubes as opposed to a full wet out situation. I don't see a ribbon of silver next to the bead.
An inch on each side of that lug would give substantial purchase. Like in the thousands of pounds to tear it loose. Taking a section of barrel with it.
The little dimple at the ends of the welds with the spot in the center is a dead give away for a shop wire weld where the operator didn't let the gun cool the weld after releasing the trigger. You have to let the gas patch cool the puddle or it dimples.
I'm guessing there was a time/production constraint regarding welding model 24 barrel lugs.
I think Mr. Fox misspoke. 5/32 takes at least 150 amps to run, and even on my best days, I would never weld a thin tube with 5/32. I hope he meant 3/32, and about 55-60 amps.

At Ford Rouge Steel (Severstal) I once poured 50lbs of 5/32 7018 rod (with flux, almost 3/8" dia)into the sides of a run-off trough in 1 shift. All vertical stringers. 9 stringers deep. 5/32 typically runs 3 rod widths in puddle, so a 3/8 to 1/2 inch wide puddle is typical. As fast as I could run it (never lifting my hood between rods changes), the guys running LN-25's with innershield wire walked away from me.